Burnham Endorses 65p Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol
Andy Burnham, the newly elected Labour Party leader and soon-to-be Prime Minister, has backed a proposal for a 65p minimum unit price on alcohol across all pubs in England. Burnham, who became the MP for Makerfield on Friday and will succeed Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, has previously championed this policy as part of a broader strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm.
Greater Manchester's Alcohol Harms Strategy
As former Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham oversaw the region's “alcohol harms strategy 2025-2030,” which included not only the minimum unit pricing but also higher duty rates, reduced availability, a “minimum non-alcohol spend” in shops, and restrictions on alcohol sales hours. These measures are now being scrutinized as he prepares to enter Number 10 Downing Street.
Industry and Political Reactions
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, criticized the approach, stating: “Public health measures should be targeted at problem drinkers if they are to be truly effective and not used as a sledgehammer tactic against the whole population, the vast majority of whom drink responsibly. This is especially true for a policy like minimum unit pricing, which evidence shows has had little effect on drinking patterns where it has been applied before.”
Lee Anderson, chairman of Reform UK, added: “This is the real Andy Burnham showing his true colours. Hospitality is already on a cliff edge thanks to successive governments’ policies, yet Burnham’s answer is to demand more of the same, just because some unelected WHO bureaucrats in another country said so. If the Burnham agenda means hiking taxes on alcohol and copying the SNP’s nonsensical minimum pricing policy, then Britain’s pubs are in real trouble, thanks to Labour – every pub is a parliament and they need protecting from this incoming government.”
Criticism from WHO Opponents
David Roach, co-founder of Action on World Health, which campaigns for the replacement of the WHO alongside Nigel Farage, said: “Maybe Andy Burnham and his friends in Geneva won’t feel the price of a pint going up, but working people in Britain will.” Roach, also president and CEO of the group, continued: “As mayor, he took his lead on alcohol policy from the WHO, but the WHO is not the neutral, all-knowing health agency many people think it is. It’s become a Left-wing campaign group, lobbying politicians for whatever the latest woke fad is, from net zero to gender ideology. Now, it’s coming after people who just want to have a drink, and Burnham fell in line without a second thought. Frankly, a prime minister needs better judgment than that.”
