The long wait for the ten year plan

When he arrived in Downing Street in July, Burnham promised a bold new plan for Britain, setting out his vision for the next decade and the biggest changes to the country in 40 years. It was supposed to arrive before the end of 2026 and provide the blueprint for his Government’s ambitions.

Fast forward a few months, and that grand national plan is reportedly being watered down to a speech, a slimmed-down document and a lengthy consultation. At this rate, perhaps the next iteration will be a TikTok video.

According to reporting in the New Statesman, what was expected to be a comprehensive policy document may instead mark the beginning of a six-to-nine-month consultation with the public, think tanks and other stakeholders. That process would then inform next year’s Spending Review, pushing some of the Government’s biggest decisions even further into the future.

And now, even the timetable is slipping. In an interview with The Economist yesterday, Burnham admitted the plan could be delayed until January, with no firm date yet agreed. He strongly rejected suggestions that its ambitions had been diluted, insisting it would still set out a substantial vision for Britain. But the latest developments raise questions about just how much of that vision is ready to be delivered.

For now, Burnham's approach of delivering everyday fixes while promising bigger changes further down the line may be working. But voters are unlikely to wait indefinitely. The longer it takes for this elusive plan to arrive, and the less detail it contains, the harder it becomes to escape the suspicion that this Government is simply delaying the difficult decisions it was elected to make.