For businesses wondering what the Andy Burnham ministry will mean for corporate compliance, the answer currently appears to be a definite shrug emoji.
Mr Burnham enters Number 10 having spent years outside Westminster, with his last cabinet position dating back to his time as Gordon Brown’s Health Secretary. He has not arrived through a general election, nor has he published a fresh manifesto setting out a detailed programme for government. His rapid and largely uncontested route to the Labour leadership offered businesses little opportunity to work out which parts of the Starmer agenda he intends to retain or quietly abandon by the side of a skip like so many discarded election leaflets.
In theory, the answer should be found in Labour’s 2024 manifesto. Burnham has indicated that he will continue to govern under that mandate. In practice, many of its business and compliance commitments already come with a shrug of their own: consultations without legislation, bills without commencement dates, and promised reforms that disappeared from the May 2026 King’s Speech.
So how did the Keir Starmer ministry actually perform?
Across 20 compliance-related commitments from the 2024 manifesto and election campaign, Labour has thus far achieved 58 points out of a possible 100, equivalent to an average score of 2.9 out of 5. That earns the ministry of Sir Keir Starmer a B− grade.
What happens next?
The new government has an unusually flexible inheritance. Burnham can claim continuity where reforms are popular, blame the previous ministry where they have stalled, and rewrite the timetable without technically abandoning the manifesto. For compliance teams attempting to plan ahead, this is less helpful. The immediate question is whether the new prime minister will complete Starmer’s unfinished regulatory programme or use the leadership change as permission to start again.
Starmer’s May 2026 King’s Speech announced 37 bills and draft bills, including a number of measures central to the compliance agenda, yet barely two months later the government responsible for that programme is gone.
A change of prime minister does not automatically kill legislation already before Parliament, although Burnham’s new cabinet can amend it, delay it, withdraw it or quietly devote parliamentary time to something else. Bills that have only been announced are more vulnerable still.
Burnham could also seek a political reset through prorogation and a fresh King’s Speech, or eventually call a general election, although he has indicated that an immediate election is not his plan. A new parliamentary session could cause unfinished bills to fall unless they are formally carried over, while dissolution for an election would wipe out every bill that had not received Royal Assent. In other words, just as compliance teams were beginning to turn May’s legislative programme into an implementation plan, much of it has suddenly been written in pencil.
Labour’s compliance commitments: At-a-glance scorecard
| Commitment | Score |
| Whistleblowing reform | 2/5 |
| Clamping down on corruption and fraud | 2/5 |
| Failure to prevent sexual harassment | 4/5 |
| Dual discrimination rights | 1/5 |
| Menopause leave and action plans | 4/5 |
| Expanded equal pay claims | 3/5 |
| Tax evasion and money laundering | 3/5 |
| Public sector equality and diversity tracking | 2/5 |
| Employment Rights Bill | 5/5 |
| More health and safety protections for workers | 2/5 |
| Data protection | 5/5 |
| AI protections | 2/5 |
| Tax and business rates | 4/5 |
| Mergers and acquisitions | 2/5 |
| Procurement and late payments | 4/5 |
| Changes to corporate governance | 2/5 |
| Financial services reform | 5/5 |
| Freedom of Information Act reforms | 1/5 |
| Expansion of the Equality Act 2010 | 2/5 |
| Modern slavery and supply chains | 3/5 |
Whistleblowing reform
July 2024 commitment
Labour have pledged to give financial rewards to whistleblowers who expose stolen assets, sanctions breaches and recover misappropriated funds. The policy widely used in the US can see whistleblowers rewarded with 10-30% of fines if they provide evidence that leads to an enforcement action. Nearly 70% of the $72bn recovered by the US Department of Justice came from whistleblower tip offs.
July 2026 situation
The government has not created a broad UK-wide US-style whistleblower bounty regime for stolen assets and sanctions breaches. There has, however, been movement in adjacent areas: HMRC launched a Strengthened Reward Scheme paying 15% to 30% for high-value tax tips, OFSI created a confidential sanctions reporting channel, and the SFO has publicly said it is exploring a whistleblower incentive scheme.
Overall score: 2/5
Clamping down on corruption and fraud
July 2024 commitment
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she will “wage a war against fraud, waste and inefficiency.” A new Covid Corruption Commissioner will be appointed, alongside investigators, to track down the missing £7.2bn handed out during the pandemic. The law will be changed to make it easier to convict corporate fraudsters.
July 2026 situation
Labour did appoint a Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner, Tom Hayhoe, in December 2024. He issued an interim PPE report in June 2025 and a final report in December 2025, followed by a government response in June 2026. Separately, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 received Royal Assent and the government says it will start implementation from 2026.
Overall score: 2/5
Failure to prevent sexual harassment
July 2024 commitment
Despite being pledged for years, Labour have committed to amending the Equality Act to introduce a legal duty for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, likely backed up by a failure to prevent offence if appropriate policies, training and reporting mechanisms are not in place. Deputy Leader Angela Raynor also committed to making misogyny a hate crime.
July 2026 situation
Labour has gone well beyond press release territory here. The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens the existing preventative duty so employers must take “all reasonable steps”, and creates a duty not to permit third-party harassment. Those changes are scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2026. Workers also gained whistleblowing protection for disclosures about workplace sexual harassment from 6 April 2026. Although misogyny has not been made a hate crime, the government did commence the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 from 1 April 2026
Overall score: 4/5
Dual discrimination rights
July 2024 commitment
Labour have committed to expanding the Equality Act 2010 to enact protections against dual discrimination. This is where a person faces discrimination because of a combination of protected characteristics, such as a Muslim woman abused for wearing a headscarf, a person who is gay and disabled, or a woman experiencing discrimination during menopause. The new rules would allow a person to bring one discrimination claim for multiple instances of discrimination, and potentially free up more tribunal resources.
July 2026 situation
This reform has stalled. The 2025 equality-law call for evidence considered whether to bring the Equality Act 2010 provisions on combined discrimination into force, with the findings intended to inform the proposed Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. Although Labour promised the legislation in its manifesto, the Bill was omitted from the May 2026 King’s Speech and no revised legislative timetable has been confirmed. Dual discrimination protections therefore remain an unfulfilled pledge, but one we may see the Burnham Ministry resurrect.
Overall score: 1/5
Menopause leave
July 2024 commitment
Angela Rayner also committed Labour to introducing a statutory right for menopause leave for women who are suffering from symptoms of menopause. Some firms have already started offering such a thing, with 60% of women in the UK having to take time off work due to symptoms, and up to 900,000 women having left work because of menopause.
Labour will require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce menopause action plans. They will publish guidance for employers on uniform and workplace temperature issues, as well as flexible working and menopause leave and absence.
July 2026 situation
The Employment Rights Act 2025 has now established the statutory framework for equality action plans, and from April 2026 employers with 250 or more employees have been able to publish voluntary plans alongside their gender pay gap reports. Government guidance says these plans should include practical steps to support employees experiencing menopause. Mandatory publication is planned for spring 2027, although the duty still depends on secondary legislation. There is no separate statutory entitlement to menopause leave, so the commitment has been substantially advanced rather than fully delivered. It may also be something that is returned to if there are additional worker protections to be introduced under Andy Burnham.
Overall score: 4/5
Expanded equal pay claims
July 2024 commitment
Labour have pledged to expand the rights that women have to make equal pay claims to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic workers, alongside disabled workers. This will mean equal pay claims on the basis of ethnicity and disability will be treated the same as those made by women. Equal pay claims have seen Birmingham City Council go bankrupt trying to pay back compensation, with Trade Unions taking cases against a number of public and private sector employers, including Asda and Glasgow City Council.
July 2026 situation
This is now in a genuine reform pipeline. In March 2026 the government published its response on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, and on 14 July 2026 launched an equal pay and pay discrimination consultation covering disabled people, ethnic minority workers and outsourced workers. However what happens next will depend on Andy Burnham. However given his support from the left-wing of Labour, this is likely to turn into legislation in the near future.
Overall score: 3/5
Tax evasion and money laundering
July 2024 commitment
Although not announced at Conference, senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Anti-Corruption has demanded more action against legal tax avoidance and loopholes. She wants criminal prosecutions of aggressive tax avoidance, and is likely to push for more corporate criminal sanctions against tax avoiders.
July 2026 situation
Labour has acted through stronger HMRC compliance measures rather than the full criminalisation rhetoric associated with aggressive avoidance. Budget 2025 launched the Strengthened Reward Scheme for high-value tax informants, promised new powers against promoters of marketed avoidance, and legislated further on construction-sector fraud and tax-compliance controls. The government also mandated that tax advisors register with HMRC. While there is progress towards their commitment, it falls short of a wholesale new criminal regime for aggressive avoidance.
Overall score: 3/5
Public sector equality and diversity tracking requirements
July 2024 commitment
Labour would require public service employers, including the NHS, schools, councils and the police, to collect equality and diversity data and report on staffing, pay, as well as different outcomes by ethnicity. Given the commitment to enabling equal pay claims based on ethnicity, it will be important for public sector employers to understand their pay gaps based on ethnicity and disability, as well as gender. Labour are hoping the reforms result in an extra £26bn for ethnic minority workers.
July 2026 situation
Labour has not introduced the promised general requirement for public service employers to collect and report equality and diversity data on staffing, pay and outcomes by ethnicity. The government consulted on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay-gap reporting and, in March 2026, published its response, an impact assessment and draft legislative clauses. The proposed framework would cover large public sector bodies in England and certain public authorities operating across Great Britain, requiring them to report pay gaps, workforce composition data and equality action plans. However, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was omitted from the May 2026 King’s Speech, leaving no confirmed legislative vehicle or implementation timetable. A further equal-pay consultation launched in July 2026 keeps elements of the wider equality agenda alive, although the original public-sector tracking commitment remains largely undelivered.
Overall score: 2/5
Employment Rights Bill
July 2024 commitment
This is pledged for the first 100 days of a Labour government, which will introduce rights for day one for all workers, implement work-life balance rules, increase and strengthen statutory sick pay and remove the waiting limit and lower earnings threshold, move towards a single status for workers and employees, and crack down on the gig economy, Self-employed people and contractors will have new rights to a written contract, late payments and be covered by health and safety protections. Zero hours contracts will be banned, more notice for changes to shifts or rotas, more action on the gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps, including a requirement for larger firms to develop, publish and implement action plans. There will be more rights to collective bargaining and redundancy rights, and the time limit for an employment claim will be increased from three to six months. Employment tribunals will be reformed to provide quicker and more effective resolutions.
July 2026 situation
This is probably the singular achievement of the Keir Starmer ministry. The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Some provisions are already in force, including day-one SSP from April 2026, the establishment of the Fair Work Agency from 7 April 2026, stronger whistleblowing protection and other changes. Other major pieces, including unfair dismissal reform and the zero-hours package, are still being implemented through consultation and staged commencement. Despite the last minute climb down on day one unfair dismissal, the pledges have been largely implemented.
Overall score: 5/5
More health and safety protections workers
July 2024 commitment
Labour have discussed increased statutory protections for workers at high risk of breathing in polluted air, and plan to pass a Clean Air Act and write standards for safer air developed by the WHO. Labour have also pledged to bring in new rights for workers, protections and access to training, alongside going after wage theft. Employees will have legal health and safety protections against extreme temperatures, and there will be a single enforcement body for workers.
July 2026 situation
Labour has delivered the promised single enforcement body piece through the Fair Work Agency, which launched in April 2026. On temperature and heat, there has been stronger HSE enforcement messaging and fresh guidance, though there is still no legal maximum workplace temperature. But there has been no progress on a new Clean Air Act or a new statutory temperature threshold.
Overall score: 2/5
Data protection
July 2024 commitment
Labour have said it is a priority to maintain Britain’s data adequacy status to ensure the UK’s GDPR is deemed equivalent to the EU. This likely means little to no change in GDPR rules.
July 2026 situation
These commitments have been delivered/ The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, with staged commencement through 2025 and early 2026, and the European Commission renewed the UK’s adequacy decisions in December 2025 after reviewing the new UK framework.
Overall score: 5/5
AI protections
July 2024 commitment
The party plans to legislate a framework to ensure AI can be used to deliver better public services and improve quality of life, but also to ensure public trust and that AI will be used to uphold the privacy and security rights of people, especially in the workplace. Labour has pledged to build the world’s most competent regulatory environment for AI and automation, while ensuring that the regulatory environment appropriately and proportionally mitigates the potential harms that AI could cause by taking a principles-based approach to tech and AI.
July 2026 situation
The government have been active on AI policy, infrastructure and regulatory experimentation through the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Regulatory Innovation Office, AI Growth Labs, copyright and AI reporting under the Data Act, and sectoral sandboxes. What it has not yet done is pass a single cross-economy AI framework statute of the kind implied by the original pledge. There is no timeline of when that might be brought forward into legislation.
Overall score: 2/5
Tax and business rates
July 2024 commitment
Labour have committed to implementing the OECD global minimum rate of corporate taxation and back an international agreement on the fairer taxation of large multinationals. They also plan to Scrap and replace the current system of business rates in England and Wales with a fully costed and funded system of business property taxation, end private equity taxes, and end non-domiciled tax loophole.
July 2026 situation
This is one of the more advanced delivery areas. The UK has kept and updated OECD Pillar Two implementation, the non-dom regime ended from 6 April 2025, carried interest moved into a new income-tax regime from 6 April 2026, and from 1 April 2026 England introduced permanently lower business-rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. That said, this is still reform rather than a full clean-sheet replacement of business rates.
Overall score: 4/5
Mergers and acquisitions
July 2024 commitment
Labour wants to review the regulatory structure around foreign investment and acquisition, and strengthen the public interest test on takeovers.
July 2026 situation
The government have consulted on reforms to merger control and announced a Competition Reform Bill, while also refining the National Security and Investment Act screening regime. However, these measures focus on competition procedure and national security. The government has not yet strengthened the broader public-interest test for takeovers or introduced a confirmed timetable for doing so.
Overall score: 2/5
Procurement and late payments
July 2024 commitment
Labour have committed to legislating to tighten the rules on late payments, particularly for small business and ensuring that firms have equal access to public procurement. This will likely include a statutory time limit for payments.
July 2026 situation
The Procurement Act 2023, inherited by Labour and brought into force on 24 February 2025, strengthened transparency and access to public contracts. It also implies 30-day payment terms into public contracts and qualifying subcontracts throughout the supply chain. The government then consulted on wider business-to-business late payment reforms in 2025 and published its response in March 2026. The Commercial Payments Bill, introduced in May 2026, would impose maximum 60-day payment terms, require statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, and give the Small Business Commissioner new investigation, adjudication and enforcement powers. As of 19 July 2026, the Bill had completed its Lords second reading and was awaiting committee stage. Public procurement reform is therefore operating in law, while the wider late-payment package remains before Parliament.
Overall score: 4/5
Changes to corporate governance
July 2024 commitment
The details are not yet clear, but Labour have pledged to review the competition regime to promote innovation and protect consumers. ESG is set to be embedded into corporate governance, along with a commitment to greater transparency and ensure businesses work in the interests of their workers, customers, communities and the environment.
July 2026 situation
There has been some progress, particularly on competition reform. The May 2026 King’s Speech announced a Competition Reform Bill covering CMA decision-making, merger control, market investigations and remedies. The government has also backed a voluntary FRC oversight regime for sustainability assurance, with legislation promised when parliamentary time allows. However, the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill was omitted from the King’s Speech, leaving ARGA and the wider audit and governance reforms without a confirmed legislative timetable. However it will be up to Andy Burnham’s cabinet to decide on the pace and progress of these long-awaited reforms.
Overall score: 2/5
Financial services reform
July 2024 commitment
More consumer protection and regulation in the payday loan and buy now, pay later consumer credit market. Private finance will be required to align investments with the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change, more backing for credit unions, and a pledge to maintain high international financial standards.
July 2026 situation
Financial services reform is one of Labour’s stronger delivery areas. BNPL regulation came into force on 15 July 2026, introducing FCA supervision, affordability checks, refund rights and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Wider reforms include the first phase of SMCR changes, new safeguarding requirements for payments and e-money firms, and FCA rules on non-financial misconduct due from 1 September 2026. The May 2026 King’s Speech also announced further SMCR and credit union reforms, although the climate-alignment element of Labour’s commitment remains less developed in binding regulation.
Overall score: 5/5
Freedom of Information Act reforms
July 2024 commitment
Labour will extend the Freedom of Information Act to private companies that hold contracts to provide public services, and extend FOI rules to publicly funded bodies and public services which have been outsourced.
July 2026 situation
This commitment appears to have been all but forgotten by the government. There has been no government bill or consultation extending the Freedom of Information Act to private contractors or outsourced public services. Existing FOI rules can cover information that a contractor holds on behalf of a public authority, although contractors are not generally subject to the Act themselves. In June 2026, the government introduced a Public Interest Test and insourcing guidance for major central government service contracts, requiring departments to consider whether services should be delivered in-house and to publish their reasoning. This is supposed to improve transparency around outsourcing decisions, though it does not deliver the promised extension of FOI.
Overall score: 1/5
Expand the Equality Act 2010
July 2024 commitment
Labour will implement the socioeconomic protected characteristic of the Equality Act, also the socioeconomic duty under Section 1 of the Equality Act and ensure equality impact assessments of government policy are conducted. Labour will also introduce a new Race Equality Act which will introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers, including requiring comprehensive action plans to tackle structural inequalities faced by Black, Asian and ethnic minority people at work.
July 2026 situation
The 2025 equality-law call for evidence considered commencing the socio-economic duty in England and strengthening equality impact assessments, although no commencement order or wider statutory assessment requirement has followed. In March 2026, the government published deta
iled proposals and draft clauses for mandatory ethnicity and disability pay-gap reporting, workforce data and employer action plans. However, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was omitted from the May 2026 King’s Speech, leaving the reforms without a confirmed legislative timetable. A July 2026 equal-pay consultation continues part of the programme, although the original package remains largely undelivered.
Overall score: 2/5
Modern slavery and supply chains
July 2024 commitment
Labour will commit to embedding modern slavery protections and tackling human rights and labour abuses in both public and private supply chains with CSRD-style due diligence rules. They will mandate the use of human rights protection clauses to tackle modern slavery in supply chains.
July 2026 situation
Labour initially took targeted action through public procurement and proposed NHS supply-chain rules. On 30 June 2026, Shabana Mahmood, as Home Secretary, introduced the Immigration and Asylum Bill. It would require mandatory content in modern slavery statements, compulsory submission to the government registry, fixed reporting deadlines, reporting by qualifying public authorities and penalties of up to the higher of £1 million or 1% of turnover or public-sector budget. The Bill passed its Commons second reading on 13 July and had entered committee stage by 19 July 2026.
This represents significant progress, although it does not create a general UK-wide human rights or modern slavery due-diligence duty. Its future is also less certain during the change of government leadership: the reforms were introduced under Mahmood, and a new Home Secretary could amend or deprioritise the Bill before enactment.
Overall score: 3/5
