What Andy Burnham's Vision Means for Businesses, Communities and Social Value
Image credit: Andy Burnham © House of Commons
By Sarah Stone, Founder & Director
A change in Prime Minister. Not necessarily a change in direction.
Whenever there's a change in political leadership, organisations naturally ask what happens next.
Will priorities change? Will funding shift? Will procurement requirements evolve? Will social value continue to matter?
Looking at Andy Burnham's first speech as Labour leader, our view is that the answer is likely to be evolution rather than revolution.
In fact, many of the themes emerging from Burnham's vision reinforce trends that have been shaping social value, procurement and economic development for several years.
The language may change.
The emphasis may shift.
But the direction of travel feels remarkably familiar.
If Keir Starmer's government was focused on economic growth, Burnham's appears likely to focus on something slightly different: ensuring that growth reaches every community, every region and every postcode.
And that matters for anyone working in social value.
From growth to place
One of the most striking themes in Burnham's speech is the importance of place.
His focus on devolution, local leadership, regional investment and opportunity suggests a future where success is measured not simply by how much growth occurs, but by who benefits from it and where.
For social value professionals, that should sound familiar.
For years, the sector has argued that economic activity should create wider benefits for people, communities and places.
The question has never been simply:
"How much growth have we generated?"
It has increasingly become:
"How has this place benefited?"
That shift sits at the heart of modern social value practice.
Why This Matters for Businesses
For some organisations, talk of social value, community impact and place-based growth can sound like an additional responsibility.
Increasingly, it isn't.
It's becoming part of how organisations attract talent, strengthen supply chains, build stakeholder relationships and compete for opportunities.
The organisations that invest in local skills create a stronger future workforce.
Those that support local suppliers help build more resilient supply chains.
Those that understand local priorities often secure greater support from communities, partners and stakeholders.
And those that can clearly demonstrate their contribution to people and places are often better positioned in procurement, funding and partnership conversations.
In other words, creating social value isn't simply about doing good.
It's increasingly about building stronger, more resilient and more successful organisations.
That's one reason why the shift towards place-based thinking matters.
The organisations that understand the places in which they operate are often the organisations best placed to thrive within them.
What organisations should be preparing for
If this vision translates into policy, we believe organisations are likely to face a greater focus on place-based impact.
That means moving beyond activity counts alone.
Questions such as:
How many apprenticeships did you create?
How many suppliers did you engage?
How many work placements did you deliver?
will still matter.
But they may increasingly be accompanied by questions such as:
Did local people secure sustainable careers?
Did local businesses become stronger and more resilient?
Did communities influence decisions that affect them?
Did investment help create opportunity within a specific place?
In other words, the emphasis moves from outputs towards outcomes. From activity towards impact. From what was delivered to what changed.
Why local matters more than ever
Another likely consequence of a more devolved, place-led approach is the growing importance of local priorities.
Combined Authorities, Metro Mayors, local authorities, colleges, community organisations and skills providers may all play an increasingly significant role in shaping what good social value looks like within their areas.
For organisations delivering major programmes across multiple locations, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge.
The opportunity is clear.
Where organisations genuinely understand local needs, they can create greater impact.
The challenge is ensuring consistency while responding to different local circumstances.
At Samtaler, we believe the answer lies in establishing common outcomes while allowing delivery to be tailored locally.
The outcomes might be consistent nationally.
The routes to achieving them are often different.
What works in Aberdeen may not work in Newport.
What works in Sunderland may not work in Belfast.
But communities across the UK continue to seek many of the same things: opportunity, skills, good jobs, stronger local economies and a better quality of life.
Why this is good news for social value
When you break down Burnham's priorities, the alignment is clear.
His focus on local control and community influence reflects the growing importance of stakeholder engagement and community voice.
His commitment to rebuilding Britain's productive economy aligns with skills development, good jobs, local supply chains and SME growth.
His ambition to create opportunity in every postcode reinforces the importance of apprenticeships, technical education, work experience and social mobility.
And his emphasis on reducing geographic inequalities reflects the wider goals of inclusive growth and community resilience.
Put simply, many of the outcomes Burnham appears to be seeking are the same outcomes that social value programmes have been working towards for years.
The difference may be that these outcomes now move further into the mainstream.
Our prediction: social value becomes more central, not less
Some organisations will inevitably be asking whether a new Prime Minister means a change in approach to social value.
Our view is that social value is unlikely to become less important. In fact, many of the themes emerging from Burnham's speech suggest the opposite.
The focus on place, skills, local growth, community resilience and opportunity all reinforce the fundamental principles of social value.
The debate is no longer whether social value matters. The debate is increasingly about what good social value looks like, how it is measured, and how organisations can demonstrate meaningful impact.
That's a conversation we expect to gather pace over the coming months.
The takeaway
For us, the most important question emerging from Burnham's vision is not:
"How do we grow the economy?"
It's:
"How do we ensure every place has the power, opportunity and assets to shape its own future?"
That's a question social value professionals have been grappling with for years.
And it's why we believe the emerging direction of travel is likely to reinforce, rather than replace, many of the principles already shaping good social value practice.
We'll be watching developments closely as the new government's priorities take shape.
As more detail emerges, we'll continue sharing our insights, predictions and practical guidance on what it means for organisations delivering social value, skills, employment and community impact across the UK.
What’s Next?
At Samtaler, we understand the importance of social value to help businesses become better and stronger. To find out how we can help send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk or complete our contact form