Following the resignation of Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham MP is set to take over as prime minister in July, heralding a new era of devolution, with local leaders given greater control of transport powers and devolved funding.

Citing his work in Greater Manchester when he was mayor of the city region as a ‘model', Mr Burnham seems intent on rolling out integrated devolved transport powers to city areas, largely following the London template.

This would include bus franchising powers, which Mr Burnham formally approved for Greater Manchester in 2021 and rolled out under the Bee Network integrated transport programme, with the final local bus services coming under local public control last year.

His general approach to roads is focused on reducing congestion through public transport investment and active travel provision. He has already pledged to cut transport fares in London ‘to lower the cost of living for millions'.

Last year, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority reported that it had reached 161km of ‘completed Bee Network standard segregated walking, wheeling and cycling routes across Greater Manchester'.

There is one area where Mr Burnham has deviated dramatically from the London model – road pricing. He has consistently ruled out congestion charging, having abandoned a proposed vehicle-charging Clean Air Zone for Greater Manchester following opposition in 2022–23.

Over the years, he has consistently argued that ‘until we have delivered major improvements to other modes of transport, and given [people] a genuine alternative to the car, you cannot hit them with an unavoidable tax simply for going to work'.

In an interview with the Urban Transport Group in 2023, Mr Burnham said he took ‘inspiration from the Dutch approach to transport and place making' and the multi-modal integrated approach to transport planning to ‘regenerate and create strong communities'.

After winning the Makerfield byelection in June, Mr Burnham called for greater public control of essential services including transport, but also  water, housing and energy: ‘We will set out 10-year plans to bring down the cost of these essentials to individuals, families and businesses.'