Burnham targets subscription traps and false discounts in cost-of-living push

Subscription traps and deceptive discounts

Andy Burnham, who became prime minister in July after succeeding Sir Keir Starmer, announced on Sunday that rules forcing companies to make subscriptions easier to cancel will come into force in January, months earlier than the spring 2027 date previously set. The measures, first announced under Starmer's government in April, target companies that auto-renew subscriptions at higher prices or make cancellation difficult. A Whitehall analysis estimates the changes will save consumers an average of £14 per month for every unwanted subscription cancelled. The government forecasts that Britons spend approximately £1.6bn annually on such unwanted contracts across 155 million active subscriptions.

A separate consultation will launch this autumn on adding deceptive discount practices to the Competition and Markets Authority's list of banned practices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The move targets retailers who artificially inflate prices before offering a "discount" to create a false sense of value. Downing Street said the prime minister was responding to shopper complaints about stores using "pretend prices and deceptive deals" to trick consumers. Some charitable memberships for cultural and heritage organisations will be exempt from the new subscription rules.

Burnham's response

Burnham said Westminster had grown accustomed to telling people that everyday hassles are just part of life, something he rejected with the cost of living weighing on households.

I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps. Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life. I don't think that's right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people's lives.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, welcomed the proposals, calling subscription traps and deceptive discounts "a widespread problem." Citizens Advice has found that 26% of UK adults accidentally took out a subscription in a single year.

Summer tour and 10-year plan

Burnham will begin a nationwide tour on Monday, travelling through August to ask the public how the government can improve their lives. Officials said the PM will be in "listening mode," with further announcements expected over the summer. The tour is expected to inform his 10-year plan for the country and will also focus on improving high streets. A spokesperson said Burnham would be "getting out of Westminster and meeting people where they are." He described Monday's proposals as "just the start."

Opposition backlash

Conservative MP Mel Stride accused the prime minister of "blatant hypocrisy" and of harming local businesses through "excessive bureaucracy" that results in company closures. He also criticised the government over plans to release around 5,000 criminals, including murderers, from prisons due to lack of space.

Reform UK Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick called for cuts to energy consumption taxes, arguing it was "past time" for Labour to cut "exorbitant welfare spending" to relieve pressure on working people. Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper echoed Stride's criticism of bureaucracy, calling the tour a "vanity tour." UK inflation stood at 2.6% in July compared with the same month last year.

EU reset talks

Hamish Falconer, Burnham's new Europe minister and chief post-Brexit negotiator, told The Guardian he wanted a more ambitious relationship with the EU within Labour's red lines, which exclude reopening the single market and customs union.

I would want a deeper relationship, a more ambitious relationship with the EU.

Falconer, a former Middle East minister and diplomat, pointed to services as the next area for progress, potentially including visa-free travel for British workers in the EU or mutual recognition of qualifications. The long-awaited EU-UK reset summit, originally slated for July, was postponed after Starmer resigned in June. No new summit date has been set. Falconer said he wanted "a sense of renewed pace" and has already spoken with EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.