Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has urged the next government to “rewire” England by devolving power and money to town halls as she made her pitch to return as housing secretary.
In a speech at the London School of Economics, Rayner set out a vision for radical devolution that closely mirrored the agenda being championed by Makerfield MP Andy Burnham.
She told the audience that if councils cannot fix potholes, they have no hope of delivering the major regeneration schemes needed to transform a town’s high street.
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Caption: This is a generic photo of coins on top of an energy bill letter. See PA Feature FINANCE Energy Cap. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA feature FINANCE Energy Cap. PA Photo. Picture credit should read: Alamy/PA. NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany FINANCE Energy Cap.
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cost of living
The three ways Burnham could cut your energy bills
Officials have drawn up contingency plans to cut further green levies from energy bills if prices remain high this winter, The i Paper has been told.
What happens next?
Several options are now circulating among Burnham’s transition team who are believed to be weighing up how to deliver on that pledge. A Treasury source said work on a package was ongoing to help with rising costs.
Caption: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: MP for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, delivers a speech at The People’s Museum on June 29, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
OPINION
3 min read
The options on the table
Millions of Britons have been urged to submit energy meter readings to avoid paying higher bills than they need to as a 13% jump to the price cap takes effect (Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire)
Scrap green levies
Burnham could remove remaining green levies from energy bills, funded through general taxation instead.
Windfall tax on banks
One proposal would be to raise the bank surcharge from its current 3 per cent.
Caption: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: MP for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, delivers a speech at The People’s Museum on June 29, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
Mortgage rate falls are good news for buyers (Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty)
Investment-led alternative
Replace stamp duty, loosen fiscal rules and tax the capital gains uplift on inherited assets.
What happens now?
A written statement published by the Chancellor said the remaining sum would be “confirmed at Budget 2026, in a fair and balanced way”.
Any plan to cut bills will have to compete for the same pot of money as a separate, unrelated problem Burnham will also be inheriting – a £4.7bn shortfall in the defence spending plan
The Government currently has around £24bn of “headroom”
Ofgem will confirm the next price cap, covering October to December, on 26 August, by which point Burnham is expected to have set out more on how he intends to deliver on his cost of living promise
Caption: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: MP for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, delivers a speech at The People’s Museum on June 29, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Photographer: Jeff J Mitchell
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
politics
Burnham has made the same dangerous mistake every day since he was elected
The coronation of Andy Burnham is fraught with dangers. Never will a prime minister have arrived in Downing Street with so little scrutiny of what he wants to do.
The submarine robots that hold the key to fighting off Putin’s secret attacks
Sir Keir Starmer’s much-delayed Defence Investment Plan had one big bet at its heart: drones are the future of warfare.
The Ministry of Defence says Russian incursions into UK waters have increased by 30 per cent over the past two years
What you need to know
Britain will build at least six ships called “Common Combat Vessels” (CCVs)
They are crewed but act as “motherships” for uncrewed vessels operating in the air and underwater
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins wants a “hybrid navy”
CCVs are currently neither designed nor built, but similar assets exist elsewhere
Analysis
4 min read
Robot submarines could monitor Putin’s attacks
American company Anduril makes the “Seabed Sentry“- a weighted cylinder that uses sensors and AI to monitor what is happening under the sea. They could be used to listen out for spying and sabotage by Russian submarines. They are far cheaper than crewed submarines using traditional sonar.
Caption: People with Russian flags look at the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba, arriving at Havana’s harbour, June 12, 2024. The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan — which will not be carrying nuclear weapons — and three other Russian naval vessels, will dock in the Cuban capital from June 12-17. The unusual deployment of the Russian military so close to the United States — particularly the powerful submarine — comes amid major tensions over the war in Ukraine, where the Western-backed government is fighting a Russian invasion. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Source: AFP
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Exclusive
4 min read
How it works
The sea sentry
Caption: Anduril’s Seabed Sentry submarine at Anduril’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, US, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. The supply chain for US defense manufacturing is too reliant on China, Anduril Industries Inc. founder Palmer Luckey said on Friday, shortly after new tariff threats by US President Donald Trump sent the markets skittering. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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A dozen of the cylinders can be dropped onto the seabed at a time by an autonomous submarine, with the devices forming a network which communicate between themselves and listens out for undersea activity.
Big Read
9 min read
UK commandos conducted an operation against a Russian ship sailing under a false Cameroonian flag earlier this month, sparking discussions on British defences capabilities against further Russian aggression (Photo: UK MOD/SWNS)
WORLD
Putin is preparing for war. Why aren’t we?
The UK is woefully unprepared with the Royal Navy in a desperate condition. Whoever sits in Downing Street come next September will need to address matters of defence, homeland and cyber defence especially, with urgency.
What to know as child rescued six days after Venezuela earthquake
President Delcy Rodríguez described the child’s miraculous rescue as a “source of hope for our people”.
Volunteers search for survivors and victims after two earthquakes struck Venezuela. (Picture: Lin Chunyin/China News Service via Getty Images)
What you need to know
A vigil in tribute to victims of Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes, outside Valencia Cathedral (Photo: REUTERS/Eva Manez)
Pulled from the rubble
The three-year-old boy, named as Klieber Morán, was rescued alive from the rubble in the state of La Guaira.
Trapped
A Jordanian search and rescue team helping in Venezuela first used to cameras to locate the boy.
Members of the French Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment in Caraballeda (Photo: Miguel MEDINA/POOL/AFP/Getty)
Families pick clothes at a shelter for the victims of an earthquake that struck Venezuela. (Picture: Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Cheers of joy
There were cheers of joy and applause as Klieber was freed and taken to hospital.
Watch more from The i Paper
Hope among the death toll
Klieber is in a stable condition in hospital. His survival is well beyond the limit of three days, which experts say is usually the longest someone can survial under rubble after an earthquake.
Mourners at a mass for Venezuela after two earthquakes struck the country. (Picture: Pedro Lazaro Fernandez/Reuters)
Analysis
4 min read
The latest from Venezuela
The death toll in Venezuela is now over 1,900
Thousands are still reported missing despite rescue efforts
The UK Government will match public donations to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s appeal
NEWS
3 min read
Sycamore Gap sapling stolen from National Trust castle
The famous tree was illegally felled in 2023 – now one of the 49 saplings grown from its seeds has gone missing.
Caption: (FILES) A picture taken on June 4, 2023 shows the Sycamore Gap tree along Hadrian’s Wall near Hexham, northern England. The two men guilty of felling of one of the UK’s most iconic trees, sparking national outrage, were jailed on July 15 with a sentence of four years and three months. A jury at Newcastle Crown Court in May found the two guilty of criminal damage for the 2023 felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
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What you need to know
The sapling was stolen from Wray Castle in Cumbria between 9 June and 16 June.
Cumbria police are investigating and have asked for information.
Experts believe the sapling may be viewed as valuable by collectors.
Jez Westgarth from the National Trust said: “We don’t understand it but we would really like the sapling back.”
Seaside Break
5 min read
Sycamore Gap tree targeted again
The original Sycamore Gap tree had stood for at least 100 years before it was cut down in the night by two men using a chainsaw. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 33, were jailed for four years and three months last year. They have never said why they felled it.
Caption: Undated handout photos issued by Northumbria Police of Daniel Daniel Graham, 39, (left) and Adam Carruthers, 32, who are due to be sentenced on Tuesday after they were found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree – valued at ?622,000 and ?1,114 damage to Hadrian’s Wall. Issue date: Tuesday July 15, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Northumbria Police/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Northumbria Police
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NEWS
3 min read
Caption: File photo dated 07/03/16 of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, shining over the Sycamore Gap at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. A section of the Sycamore Gap tree which was illegally felled is to go on public display, with visitors encouraged to touch or even hug its trunk. Artist Charlie Whinney has been commissioned to create an artwork in tribute to the much-loved tree which stood beside Hadrian’s Wall and was a symbol of Northumberland, a place for family memories and a beautiful link to the natural world. Issue date: Thursday July 10, 2025. PA Photo. A 6ft section of the trunk was preserved after it was chopped down in the middle of the night in September 2023, and almost two years later it has been made into a striking installation. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
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UK news
Appeal for tree’s return
This tree symbolised resilience and renewal, and its loss will be deeply felt.
Laura Lee, from Wray Castle, urged those who stole the sapling to return it as the “tree belongs to everyone”.
Caption: Undated handout photo issued by Vertical Aerospace of Valo, its new commercial eVTOL aircraft that will enter into service following regulatory approval. Issue date: Wednesday December 10, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Vertical Aerospace/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Vertical Aerospace
Provider: Vertical Aerospace/PA Wire
Source: PA
SCIENCE
Are flying taxis the future of urban air travel?
Electric flying taxis could be above the streets of London by 2028, a manufacturer has claimed. Here’s what you need to know.
What you need to know
Vertical Aerospace have developed an electric aircraft called ‘Valo’
It takes off vertically, then the propellers tilt
It is powered by battery packs and can carry up to four people
It can travel up to 150mph, covering the trip from Canary Wharf to Heathrow in 12 minutes
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
What happens next?
Vertical Aerospace is still testing the aircraft and it will need to be approved by both the approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). But the company says the aim is for air taxis to become as cheap and convenient as ordering an Uber to the airport.
Caption: Undated computer generated image (CGI) issued by by Vertical Aerospace of Valo, its new commercial eVTOL aircraft that will enter into service following regulatory approval. Issue date: Wednesday December 10, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Vertical Aerospace/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Vertical Aerospace
Provider: Vertical Aerospace/PA Wire
Source: PA
Dispatch
5 min read
Unused or unwanted subscriptions cost consumers £1.6bn.
Writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan looked into her own forgotten subscriptions when she became a first-time buyer, and realised how much she was wasting on things she wasn’t using.
Are you good at managing money (Photo:
Peter Dazeley/Getty/The Image Bank RF)
The hidden spends that go unnoticed
I’d long considered myself to be quite a reasonable spender.
But the hidden costs across her bank accounts, like free trials that hadn’t been cancelled and memberships for abandoned services, proved otherwise.
It was full of small amounts, £2.99 here, £4.50 there. These small amounts added up.
The ghost subscriptions
Sadhbh isn’t alone.
19%
According to a Nationwide survey almost one in five Brits don’t use every platform they pay for.
The bank suggests they could save as much as £400 a year by ditching them.
4.7 million
National Trading Standards’ 2025 research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they didn’t know they’d signed up for.
In 2024, a government report found unused and unwanted subscriptions cost consumers up to £1.6bn a year.
How to deal with the subscriptions
Hunt them down
Banking apps usually list your ‘subscriptions’ separately from direct debits and standing orders so you can easily spot what you’re shelling out on.
Pensioners have some flexibility over the timing and payment of their state pension
(juststock/Getty Images/iStockphoto/ NIPITPHON)
Edge will give customers cashback on debit card and direct debit spending
Check everything
You can be debited through credit cards, E-payment services, your mobile phone bill, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
How to deal with subscriptions
Dating apps have failed the black community, says Amber (Photo: Morsa Images/Getty)
Be honest
Don’t vow to use a subscription you’re not going to, even if you
have good intentions.
Look over 13 months
Many businesses have changed from monthly to annual payments so look further back.
Changes are due to kick in on everything from inheritance tax to filling in self-assessment forms (Photo: Getty).
Customers struggling with debts are highly likely to be in vulnerable circumstances, regulators warn
(Photo: Martin Prescott/Getty)
Future proof
Make sure to track any subscriptions you have kept so you can cancel them, if need be, in future.
Don’t be afraid of phone calls
If companies don’t let you cancel online, don’t fear the customer service line.
With TV and broadband, call the new customer number as it’s often answered more quickly.
If you’re happy with the service, but not the price, speak to a real person that may offer a better deal.
Look for a phone number and press the ‘thinking of leaving us’ option. It’s usually a fast track to a team with authority to offer bigger discounts.
Donations to charity have increased dramatically
But staff say many people treat their shops like a tip.
Here they share the most useful donations they get, and the
ones that drive them mad.
A rail of clothes in a second hand vintage charity shop – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
People won’t buy the current donations
The quality of donations over the last year has diminished.
Claire Stockman, head of retail for St
Luke’s Hospice [pictured], says many donations include used items from fast fashion like Boohoo and Primark, which they cannot sell for more than £2, if at all.
What the workers see
60%
of what comes into St Luke’s Hospice is unsellable, Stockman says.
She adds its soiled, damaged beyond
repair or smelly.
Vinted
Harriet, a volunteer at Crisis in Dalston,
says people bring in clothes that are dirty and stained – things that they cannot sell
on Vinted.
She also sees dirty kitchenware and technology that no longer works.
It’s not all bad
Two young women shopping in a vintage charity shop – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Harriet says they still get their
fair share of designer items.
She’s seen a pair of Louboutins
sell for around £400.
People will buy high-end items
even if they’re a little worn.
First Person
6 min read
The best donations
There was a box donated after someone’s family had passed and in it were all these medals. I researched them and the whole collection ended up going for £2,340…
JANE THURNELL-READ, VOLUNTEER AT
THE OXFAM GENERAL SHOP IN EXETER
What is a good donation?
A young woman chooses clothes in a fashion store and reads the labels on things while shopping at the mall. A millennial shopaholic woman tries on clothes in a fashion boutique – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
A good donation is anything new with tags on, anything that hasn’t been opened, or higher quality items.
Items that have been well looked after are more likely to sell and generate a better price for charity too.
Harriet adds that knick-knacks and wine glasses are surprise hits in her branch.
The feeling of dread that the weekend is over is all too familiar.
Here, psychologists, career consultants and sleep experts give their best advice on how
to beat the gloom that the
work week is looming…
(Photo: Getty).
How to beat the Sunday scaries
Pave the way on Friday
Psychologist Maria-Teresa Daher-Cusack says to wrap up tasks and not to leave big or difficult things for Monday. And write a to-do list for the next week so you know what to expect when you return after the weekend.
Young man practicing meditation in nature at sunrise – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Working from home is being blamed by some councils for the rise in fraudulent ‘polygamous’ working (Photo: Moment RF/Getty)
Get outside early
Doctor Naheed Ali says getting out on a Sunday morning – not sleeping late – helps regulate the circadian rhythm that can become skewed over the weekend.
How to avoid Sunday scaries
On Sunday spend time away from technology to allow yourself a personal reset away from doom scrolling.
Relaxing with dog on sofa – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Rebrand your Sunday evenings from a daunting time to relaxing. Career consultant Victoria McLean goes out for dinner or reads something unrelated to work.
She also doesn’t check her inbox on a Sunday night as it can begin the dread.
How to beat the Sunday scaries
Sleep tourism in hotel. Exhausted woman sleeps sweetly in bed in the morning – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Sleep well
Put yourself in the best position to rest by avoiding large meals, screens and caffeine.
Structure your week
If possible don’t stack your Mondays with high-pressure tasks.
Caucasian mid adult patient writing a diary while recovering in the hospital ward – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Cheerful aged woman, senior intern waving, saying goodbye to her young colleagues while leaving office after first day at work – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Find the fun daily
Don’t just save joyful things for the weekend. On lunch breaks, try to do something you enjoy.
(Photo: Getty).
Sometimes, you
need to listen.
If the Sunday scaries are constant, listen to them. If every Sunday fills you with dread and nothing seems to quell it it’s worth asking if it’s the job, the culture or the career itself. No one should spend half their weekend bracing for impact… ” says Victoria McLean
The line was a near-verbatim echo of one used by Burnham in his speech in Manchester on Monday, when he also promised to “rewire” Britain and devolve power to the regions.
The overlap is too close to be accidental and comes as Burnham – now the clear frontrunner to succeed Sir Keir Starmer – puts the finishing touches to his cabinet line-up and prepares to build a government around the devolution agenda that has been called “Manchesterism”.
Rayner pitching for old job
Rayner is understood to be positioning herself for a return to her old job as housing secretary after hostile briefings earlier this week suggested the Burnham camp was freezing her out.
It comes amid ongoing speculation about what role, if any, she will play in a Burnham-led government.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that she has been left on the sidelines of Burnham’s march to No 10, while other reports suggest she has been advising Burnham’s team on his plans to give mayors more powers.
Although the former deputy prime minister is not a member of Burnham’s inner circle, which includes former transport secretary Louise Haigh and Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley, she is still expected to be given a job in his first cabinet.
Sources close to Rayner insist that no offer has been made by Burnham yet, although her allies claim she would welcome a return to her old job as housing secretary.
It comes less than a year after Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after admitting she had underpaid stamp duty on a second home. Rayner said she took “full responsibility” for the error despite insisting it had been unintentional.
She was cleared by the HMRC in May following an investigation.
One Rayner ally said: “There have been reports that Rayner is being frozen out and there have been reports that she is advising Andy on devolution. The truth is somewhere in the middle.”
Burnham is understood to be weighing up several machinery of government changes, which could see the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rayner’s old department, broken up.
Sources familiar with his thinking believe he could create a Ministry of Housing to underline his commitment to the “biggest council house building programme since the post-war” period. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport would be turned into a new super-department that would also take on responsibility for communities.
Vision for mayoral power
Rayner used a speech marking the New Economics Foundation’s 40th anniversary to set out an expansive vision for mayoral power, which some have interpreted as a pitch for her old job.
Much of the agenda echoed policies Burnham has been advancing in recent weeks.
Like the former Greater Manchester mayor, Rayner argued that economic growth depended on handing substantially more power to England’s regions, with metro mayors given greater control over transport, regeneration and public services.
Both have framed devolution not as an administrative reform but as the central mission of a future government.
Rayner said: “We have the worst combination of micro-management and control from the centre, without the resource or focus to make it effective. Whitehall empires hoard their own power.
“And layers of governance and bureaucracy, developed with the best of intentions, too often end with the triumph of process over purpose.
“I want to see that purpose restored. To truly get growth in every corner of the country and put more money into people’s pockets, we must rewire England by devolving power and money to the country as a whole.”
Rayner hails trams and buses
Rayner hailed Burnham’s Greater Manchester Bee Network as devolution’s “biggest success story outside London” and said the Government should commit to backing every mayor who wants a franchised bus network by the end of this Parliament, with fares payable through a system modelled on London’s Oyster card.
“We should put a line in the sand and be clear that government will back every mayor who wants a franchised bus network to have one by the end of this Parliament,” she said.
Rayner also waded into the row over Whitehall’s refusal to approve funding for a Leeds tram scheme backed by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin. She argued that if every secretary of state agrees a project should go ahead, officials should not be able to override the decision.
“Centralisation isn’t dead; it is alive and well – holding our economy back and creating politics that hoards power,” she said.
“Everyone can dodge responsibility and hide behind process. But people elect governments to make decisions and improve their lives.
“The Government can and must clear the bureaucratic barriers to the Leeds tram and back Tracy to deliver it as quickly as possible.”
Call for mayors to be able to buy derelict buildngs
Rayner also proposed giving metro mayors the power to compulsorily sell or lease derelict buildings left to rot by absentee owners, citing Sheffield’s Old Town Hall and Manchester’s Theatre Royal as examples.
She said: “When buildings have been left to rack and ruin by distant investors, mayors should be given the power to put them up for compulsory sale or lease, so someone else can have a shot – whether that’s the council, a local business or a community group.
“Building on the work we’ve already done to strengthen the powers available to communities to take control of assets of community value – and the introduction of a Community Right to Buy – we can take greater steps to put power in people’s hands.”
The former housing secretary also called for a Regional Care Cooperative in every part of England by the end of the Parliament to reduce the role of private equity in children’s social care, alongside a cap on care providers’ profits, pointing to research from the New Economics Foundation which found that most of the UK’s largest private-equity-backed care home operators are ultimately owned through tax havens.