Burnham's idea for Gen Z tax breaks should give hope

Finally, we may be seeing the real Andy Burnham — and it may provide hope for those who want him to be prepared to reverse Brexit. The Independent's revelation that he is looking at a tax break for younger people as part of a wider package to help bridge the generational wealth gap has sent an important signal about his priorities. It tells us two things about Mr Burnham. Firstly, he is willing to think the unthinkable to solve what have appeared to be intractable problems.

Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, he might be the first prime minister to seriously prioritise the younger generations. As we at The Independent continue our Europe: The Way Back campaign on Brexit, both these indications over how Mr Burnham will govern should be grounds for optimism. He may be the PM who is eventually willing to look again at the whole issue. The constant knock on Mr Burnham has been the claim that nobody knows what he actually stands for. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and others have suggested that, in reality, he is basically Keir Starmer with a black T-shirt and a smile.

But his various U-turns and clarifications on issues — not least on Brexit where he went from a rejoiner last September to silent when contesting the pro-Leave Makerfield seat last month — have fed into an image of a man who is all presentation but lacking in policy ideas and conviction. Funnily enough, it is a similar criticism levelled at Nigel Farage — all personality, no substance. Both men would probably not appreciate the comparison. But we are now learning something about Mr Burnham in terms of his philosophy - which goes beyond specific details of policy and his clear hope that he would be the party leader most people would want a pint with.

The revelations about him discussing a Gen Z tax break to help young people save a deposit to buy their own home, and thereby be able to get a mortgage, have revealed that what drives Mr Burnham is that he is not just willing to try different things but is focussed on doing that.

Kemi Badenoch arrives for a meeting. File photo

For years, British politics has been mired in a sense of fatalism that looks at intractable problems — like young people not being able to get on the housing market — and essentially gives up on doing anything significant with a shrug of the shoulders. At best we get tinkering — like Sir Keir Starmer's timid Brexit reset with the EU. But more often than not, people double down on what is already not working — like continuing with the triple lock on the state pension at the expense of everything else. Mr Burnham was rather candid on Thursday night when he told Andrew Marr on LBC that his generation of politicians have failed people — and he included himself in that. He was talking about his belief that the last 40 years of liberal economic consensus and its reliance on "trickle down" theory is at the heart of this problem.

But it goes beyond that. Nobody is asking what really radical measures are required to fix the big problems. This is especially true with Brexit — a historic mistake which is costing this country £100bn a year in trade and £40bn in tax revenue. The idea of exemption from income tax for three years of employment to allow young people to build a deposit for a mortgage may be fanciful and impractical. The tax expert Dan Neidle can certainly see problems with it.

But what we are seeing is a man about to take over the leadership of our country who is willing to think outside the box – as the old cliche goes — and more than that, think the unthinkable. He is also prioritising younger voters, even if he has recommitted to the triple lock on the state pension. It is young people — Gen Z in particular — who have missed out as a result of Brexit, particularly the loss of free movement. As Sir John Major noted, it is they who will drive the UK rejoining. But thinking the unthinkable has its limits. After all, thinking the unthinkable was the instruction Tony Blair famously gave to welfare minister Frank Field in 1997 to look at reform of benefits. Unfortunately Sir Tony, despite being one of our braver politicians, gave up on that idea when the late Mr Field presented him with ideas which would have triggered a massive rebellion.

Nevertheless, we now know that Mr Burnham is willing to be bold and go into uncharted territory. Let us hope that this includes taking a less timid approach to undoing Brexit. But what remains to be seen is whether he is willing to make the tough decisions which come when you want to increase one pot at the expense of another. The relationship with the EU splits generations in the UK and requires a bold approach in favour of the pro-EU younger voters.