By now you’ll have seen the news: Andy Burnham took office as Prime Minister on 20 July, becoming the UK’s seventh PM in a decade. A change like this always brings a wave of questions from clients, so this month’s newsletter is dedicated to cutting through the headlines and focusing on what actually affects your mortgage, your remortgage timing and your protection cover.

~ A Quick Introduction ~

For anyone who hasn’t followed his career closely, Burnham is not a new face in Westminster. First elected as an MP in 2001, he held several Cabinet posts under the last Labour government, including Culture Secretary and Health Secretary [1]. He then spent nine years as Mayor of Greater Manchester, where he built a reputation for regional devolution and for bringing local bus services back under public control through the “Bee Network” [2]. He returned to Parliament in June and was confirmed as Labour leader within weeks, having secured near-unanimous backing from Labour MPs [3][4].

~ Housing: The Shortage Hasn’t Gone Anywhere ~

Burnham has spoken about Britain being stuck in a “housing trap” of undersupply, pushing rents and prices out of reach, and is expected to champion a new wave of council and affordable housing [5]. For our clients, the key point is this: a change of Prime Minister rarely changes market fundamentals overnight. The structural shortage of homes and steady rental demand are unchanged [6].

What is genuinely new is the package of homebuying reforms that took effect in June, digital sales packs, digital property logbooks, and earlier binding agreements designed to stop sales falling through. These have cross-party support, so we’re not expecting the new government to reverse them [6].

~ Economy: Keep an Eye on the Autumn Budget, Not No. 10 ~

Growth has been sluggish, and mortgage approvals for house purchases were down 11% year-on-year as of May, partly reflecting buyers pausing during the leadership transition [7]. If that’s been you, it’s an understandable instinct, but political uncertainty often creates a quieter market with less competition for well-priced homes [6].

The date that matters most for your planning isn’t a date in July, it’s the Autumn Budget. A cross-party committee has recommended the government consult on stamp duty reform before year-end, but this remains at the consultation stage only, with nothing decided [6].

Our Advice This Month

  • Get ahead of any remortgage. If your deal ends in the next six months, lock in a rate now rather than waiting for policy clarity that may take time to arrive.
  • Don’t try to time the political cycle. The market has absorbed six PM changes in the past decade, it will absorb this one too.
  • Revisit your protection cover. Periods of uncertainty are exactly when a gap in income protection or life cover tends to be most costly.

As always, get in touch if you’d like to talk through your own numbers. That’s a far better use of your time than watching Westminster.