Scoff at cheaper bus fares and No 10 North if you like, but Andy Burnham knows what he’s doing | Jonathan Freedland
Why This Matters
Key context: <p>Retail politics while taking power out of London: if this works, Burnham’s premiership could be seriously transformational</p><p>One of Andy Burnham’s first policy moves brought back a sharp memory. On Wednesday, he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/22/burnham-announces-bus-fares-across-england-to-be-capped-at-2">announced</a> that single bus fares across England would be capped at £2, starting from January. It was part of a series of small, practical measures designed, said the new prime minister, to offer a little “breathing space” to a hard-pressed public, but this was the one that registered with me most. That’s because it echoed the first time I ever experienced a specific public policy that I realised affected me directly.</p><p>It was in the autumn of 1981 when the newly elected Greater London Council, led by Labour’s Ken Livingstone, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/10/transport.transport">slashed bus fares</a> in the city. The headline-grabber was a new, short-hop fare of only 10p. I was 14 years old at the time, so for me it was even better: all child tickets were reduced to 5p. They <a href="https://ourhistory-hayes.blogspot.com/2007/06/fares-fair-newly-elected-labour.html">called</a> the scheme Fares Fair.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/24/andy-burnham-no-10-north-manchester-bus-fares">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.
Retail politics while taking power out of London: if this works, Burnham’s premiership could be seriously transformationalOne of Andy Burnham’s first policy moves brought back a sharp memory. On Wednesday, he announced that single bus fares across England would be capped at £2, starting from January. It was part of a series of small, practical measures designed, said the new prime minister, to offer a little “breathing space” to a hard-pressed public, but this was the one that registered with me most. That’s because it echoed the first time I ever experienced a specific public policy that I realised affected me directly.It was in the autumn of 1981 when the newly elected Greater London Council, led by Labour’s Ken Livingstone, slashed bus fares in the city. The headline-grabber was a new, short-hop fare of only 10p. I was 14 years old at the time, so for me it was even better: all child tickets were reduced to 5p. They called the scheme Fares Fair. Continue reading...
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