Burnham not doing enough to boost growth, says former business secretary

A cabinet minister under Sir Keir Starmer has said Andy Burnham's government is not focused enough on boosting economic growth and needs to act with "more urgency".

Speaking to the BBC two months after being sacked in Burnham's cabinet reshuffle upon entering office, Peter Kyle said he wasn't making a "criticism" but "pointing to the potential that we have as a country and as a government".

"If the destination means prosperity, it means freedom for people to do new things, and it means security for people and families, then why wouldn't we put our foot down and get there quicker," the former business secretary said.

It comes as Labour prepares to gather in Liverpool for its annual conference.

Burnham will address the conference on Tuesday and has said his speech would leave nobody in any doubt about "what I'm trying to do in this role."

He has previously said his time as Greater Manchester mayor had given him "a clear theory of growth" stressing his belief in the importance of devolving powers to local areas.

Giving regions and nations more control would, he has argued, create the conditions for "good growth in every postcode".

Kyle served as science secretary and later business secretary in the Starmer government, but has now returned to the backbenches as the MP for Hove and Portslade.

In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he said the government should be willing to take decisions that involve "short-term" pain in order to deliver economic growth, suggesting a delay to expanding workers' rights.

"We might need to look and have honest conversations with unions about how we sequence some of the rights going forward in order to make sure that we get growth into the economy in the shorter term," he said.

The government's Employment Rights Act was passed in December 2025 but some of the changes are not due to come into force until next year.

The former minister also suggested introducing a "tax growth test" which would measure the impact of each tax on the economy and asking government experts to review "obstacles" to growth.

Asked if there was enough focus on growth in the government, Kyle replied: "I don't think there is and that isn't a criticism - it is pointing to the potential that we have as a country and as a government.

"I think we need to up our ambition, I think that we need to act with more urgency when it comes to economic growth."

Chancellor John Healey is due to give his first Budget on 28 October, but faces rising debt costs and warnings of slower economic growth.

According to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK economy is expected to grow by 1%, slightly less than the 1.1% previously forecast.