Andy Burnham has not ruled out restoring the 50p top rate of income tax to fund tax cuts for pensioners and lower earners.
Speaking to reporters after taking over as Prime Minister on Monday, Burnham said he was “looking at” raising the frozen personal tax allowance at which people start paying income tax.
Asked directly whether he would look at reintroducing the 50p rate to pay for such a move, he failed to deny it twice.
He said that all options would be examined ahead of the Budget, which sources close to the new PM claim could happen as early as October. Last year, outgoing Chancellor Rachel Reeves carried out the Budget in late November to allow more time for the public finances to improve.
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NEWS
The European countries where pensioners are the wealthiest
Rising life expectancy mean people can spend significantly longer in retirement (Photo: Johner/Getty)
The European Central Bank (ECB) has revealed the countries where pensioners are the wealthiest, in its annual report on household finances from across 22 EU member states.
Highest net wealth
The latest figures show that pensioners aged 65 to 74 in Luxembourg have the highest average net wealth, with a staggering €1.19m.
In second place is Ireland, where pensioners are worth an average of €415,700.
In third is Malta with the average net wealth of €408,300.
Followed by Belgium at €274,500.
Then France at €270,800 on average.
Spain at €221,900.
Cyprus at €212,900.
Germany at €211,600.
Portugal at €202,100.
Austria at €197,400.
Italy at €193,500.
Netherlands at €192,000.
Where does the UK sit?
Although the UK was not included in the EU roundup, its pensioners may be among the wealthiest in Europe, figures suggest.
The 2025 data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 65-74-year-olds in the UK held an average household wealth of £502,500 – or €590,686. That tops the ECB’s figures for Ireland (second place) by nearly €175,000.
Caption: Portrait of elderly woman solving sudoku puzzles at home, sitting in living room. Sudoku as popular game for aging people, logical thinking, problem solving.
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POLITICS
4 min read
28-times less than counterparts
In final place with the least amount of household wealth among pensioners was Latvia, with just €42,100 in the bank on average.
That means Latvian pensioners have roughly 28 times less than their counterparts in Luxemborg.
ARTS
2 min read
OPINION
3 min read
Why one-bed flat owners are struggling to sell their homes
Dan Bermingham-Shaw has had his studio flat up for sale for 90 days now and has had no viewings. The 32-year-old living in South London bought his flat in 2022 for £225,000 and put it up for sale in April this year for £230,000.
Land Registry figures suggest average property prices have grown about 7 per cent over the past four years, but Dan found that even his 2 per cent increase was proving too much for prospective buyers.
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
‘Zero viewings and zero offers’
Dan had to drop his price by £6,000 last month – to £224,000 – but still has had no luck and is now considering pausing the listing and relisting at a later date. His case is not isolated.
Dan Bermingham-Shaw says his plans to upsize have to be put on hold until he can sell his flat
Caption: ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – MAY 30: City view from the rooftops as visitors walk from roof to roof, exploring 12 interconnected rooftops via stairs and bridges and enjoying views of the city in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on May 30, 2026. The Rotterdam Rooftop Days Foundation has organized the 11th edition of the ??Rotterdam Rooftop Days???? event. The flat rooftops of 42 buildings in the city center were opened to the public. (Photo by Abdullah Asiran/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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He said: “I’ve had zero viewings and zero offers, and despite the advert apparently having thousands of hits on Rightmove and Zoopla, not a single person has ‘saved’ or ‘liked’ the property to indicate they’re considering it.”
Demand far lower than supply
Matt Dawson, director of Westwood Property Services, based in Sidcup, south-east London, told The i Paper that demand for these properties was far lower than supply, and he had had some potential buyers view close to 20 homes that match their criteria.
As a result of increased stock in the market, Dawson said prices have taken a fair hit.
PROPERTY AND MORTGAGES
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PROPERTY AND MORTGAGES
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First-time buyers struggling
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Sizing up
According to Zoopla, 72 per cent of one-bedroom flats for sale this year remain unsold nationally.
Stagnant market
Some 44 per cent of UK homes listed in the past three years failed to sell, citing overambitious pricing, Zoopla found.
Mortgage rate falls are good news for buyers (Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty)
Woman saving money inserting coin in piggy bank – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Affordability crisis
Zoopla’s Richard Donnell said affordability concerns among first-time buyers mean many were unable to offer what sellers wanted.
news
What we know about Holly Willoughby’s new YouTube channel
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 27: Holly Willoughby attends the “Better Man” European Premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on November 27, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
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TV presenter Holly Willoughby has teased a new YouTube channel to host an upcoming lifestyle series.
The former This Morning presenter, 45, hinted at the “exciting new project” in a post to social media last week, which also revealed its pink and red branding.
‘Inspiring’ guests and cooking segments
Willoughby’s lifestyle series is set to cover topics such as practical advice, fashion, beauty and health.
The TV personality will chat to celebrity guests like Stanley Tucci, Emma Bunton and Katherine Ryan.
Other “inspiring” guests will include a tech safety campaigner, chefs, a florist and a make-up artist.
The channel will also feature This Morning-style cooking segments, a focus on fashion, and will provide practical health guidance.
TENNIS
2 min read
First project since 2023
Caption: Holly Willoughby
‘This Morning’ TV show, London, UK – 21 Sep 2022
Two episodes will be released per week, after its premier on 28 July.
It will be available on YouTube and across social media.
It marks Willoughby’s first project since stepping down from This Morning in 2023 after 14 years.
TELEVISION
2 min read
Inside ITV’s This Morning scandal
Willoughby’s departure followed co-host Phillip Schofield’s sudden decision to leave ITV after admitting to an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a young male colleague on the show.
After taking a break from the show, Willoughby returned to This Morning in June 2023, issuing a live on-air statement expressing that she felt “let down”. She added that the team had given love and support to someone who had been untruthful.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (centre) is shown an ITV birthday cake as she meets This Morning host Philip Schofield (second left) and co-presenter Holly Willoughby, during a visit to the ITV studios to mark the broadcaster’s 60th anniversary on September 9, 2015 in London England. . Camilla toured the newly refurbished ITV riverside studios at Waterloo, meeting presenters and staff from This Morning, Good Morning Britain and Loose Women to mark the anniversary. An ITV birthday cake took her fancy, and she warned the host of presenters: “What I would really like to do is stick my finger in it, but I shall resist.” (Photo by Emma Clark – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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Virgin Media subscribers could be saying goodbye to even more prime programming this weekend (Photo: Shutterstock)
news
All the areas affected by South East Water hosepipe ban
The prolonged hot, dry conditions have had a significant impact on reservoir levels across the UK (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty)
South East Water has imposed a hosepipe ban on its customers after a sustained period of hot weather, high demand and lower than average rainfall.
The temporary ban begins at midnight on Saturday, but customers are being urged to abide by it “immediately”.
Hosepipe ban hits 2.4 million
South East Water had already imposed a hosepipe ban in Kent, but has now extended it to other counties – affecting a total of 2.4 million people.
The ban was extended to protect the Thames river, which had low levels of water following successive heatwaves. Another reason for the ban is because underground aquifers are under “severe stress”.
“The area has only received 64 per cent of average rainfall since March, and we’ve also faced three heatwaves,” the provider explained.
Here are all the areas impacted:
Kent
Sussex
Surrey
Hampshire
Berkshire
‘We have not taken decision lightly’
Sussex and Kent have had restrictions in four of the last five years, while Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire have not had one in place for 14 years.
The company said it had “not taken this decision lightly”, but that water was being drawn from its storage tanks faster than it could be treated and refilled.
Low water levels at Baitings Reservoir as a heatwave in August 2022 brought widespread drought conditions (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)
LIFESTYLE
2 min read
What you cannot do during a hosepipe ban
Water a garden or plants using a hosepipe.
Clean any type of vehicle, as well as houses, walls, windows, paths, patios and ‘artifical outdoor surfaces’ with a hosepipe.
Fill or maintain a swimming pool, paddling pool, pond or ornamental fountain with a hosepipe.
Draw water, using a hosepipe, for recreational use such as hot tubs.
Analysis
2 min read
Pressed again on whether reintroducing the 50p top rate of income tax is “one of the things” under consideration, the new PM replied: “I think that’d be just premature to say that. I’ve barely got my feet under.”
Nevertheless, his failure to rule it out will fuel speculation over how he will fund his pledge to help lower earners and pensioners with the cost of living. It would also risk breaking Labour’s 2024 manifesto committment not to raise taxes on “working people”.
The 50p additional rate – or top rate – was introduced under Gordon Brown’s government in 2010, before it was cut to 45p under the Tory-Liberal Democrat Coalition government in 2013.
If it were brought back, people earning above a specific high-income threshold would pay 50p in tax on every extra £1 they earn over that level. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates it would bring in about £400 million, but this figure is uncertain because it would depend on how high earners would respond.
Burnham has previously argued that there is “definitely a case” for restoring the rate for the highest earners. Separately, he has also floated a 10p starting rate for lower earners, rather than the 20p paid on the first slice of income above the tax-free personal allowance of £12,570.
When asked whether he was committed to looking at increasing the threshold at which earners begin paying tax, Burnham said: “Well, certainly. I heard issues related to the personal allowance more than anything on doorsteps in Makerfield. I think it’s been frozen now for a number of years, so it has dragged more people in.”
He cited the freeze on income tax thresholds, which have been frozen since April 2022, as a “growing issue” for pensioners and people on the lowest incomes.
“All of this will be looked at, though, at the Budget, and obviously it’s difficult given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves,” Burnham added.
He stressed that changing the threshold for the personal allowance “is not without significant consequences”.
The freeze of the personal allowance at £12,570, which was extended to 2031 by Reeves at the last Budget, gradually increases the number of people paying income tax through an effect known as fiscal drag.
It also means people are essentially paying tax sooner than they would otherwise have been, had it risen in line with inflation.
As incomes and pensions rise, while thresholds remain unchanged, more individuals are dragged into the tax system or pushed into higher tax bands as their wages grow with inflation.
Pensioners can be particularly affected. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that up to one million more pensioners could pay income tax by 2030–31 as the state pension rises under the triple lock and approaches the frozen personal allowance threshold.
If it remains frozen, state pensioners are likely to be paying tax on their pension from the next financial year, as the pension is currently £12,547.60 annually.
More broadly, frozen tax thresholds are expected to bring 780,000 people into income tax for the first time, while pushing 920,000 into the higher-rate band (40 per cent on earnings above £50,270) and 4,000 into the additional-rate band (45 per cent on earnings above £125,140).
Asked whether any tax changes would mean higher borrowing, Burnham insisted he would stick to the existing fiscal rules set out by Reeves. “None of this is about taking risks with the economy,” he said. “I’ve never done that in any role that I’ve had. I’ve always taken a very prudent approach.”
Burnham is expected to set out further announcements on cost of living measures on Tuesday, with the new PM saying that the package was intended to make a difference people would “feel quite quickly” this year.