Andy Burnham has unveiled a plan to tackle the cost of living with a crackdown on dodgy business practices, including a ban on fake discounts and making it easier to escape unwanted subscriptions. The measures are expected to save consumers £400m a year and are the first in a series of 'everyday fixes' to be rolled out in the coming months.

Writing for the Guardian, the prime minister said his government would step in wherever it could, while subtly acknowledging that fixing the entire economy overnight might be a stretch. 'We won't be able to solve every frustration overnight,' he wrote, which we assume is his way of managing expectations before the inevitable round of complaints.

The government will ban misleading pricing practices, such as fake 'was' prices, invented reductions, and misleading recommended retail prices. Because apparently, in 2025, we still need to be told that a '50% off' sign should mean the thing is actually half price. Burnham put it more eloquently: 'If something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price.' Revolutionary stuff.

Ministers will consult in the autumn on the specifics, then introduce changes via secondary legislation, which is a fancy way of saying they'll do it without a lengthy parliamentary drama. Downing Street hopes to implement this as soon as possible, presumably before the next wave of 'deals' hits.

The government is also speeding up protections against subscription traps, moving the start date from next spring to January. The new rules will force businesses to be clearer at sign-up, remind customers about their subscriptions regularly, and make cancellation easier. Plus, a 14-day cooling-off period after trials or renewals. Because we've all been there: signed up for a 'free trial', forgot about it, and ended up funding a subscription for a service we never use.

According to government figures, the average person has about three subscriptions and spends about £500 a year on them. There are about 155m active subscriptions in the UK, with about £1.6bn a year spent on unwanted ones. So, yeah, this is a real problem. Ministers estimate consumers will save an average of £14 a month for each unwanted subscription they can ditch early.

Burnham wrote: 'Too many companies want you to sign up in seconds but then make it feel impossible to leave. It's exhausting.' We feel you, Andy. We've all been trapped in a gym membership we never use.

The challenge, of course, is whether these small consumer victories will actually make a noticeable dent in household budgets, especially when the cost of living crisis is still very much a thing. Burnham promises 'bigger plans' for the long term, but Downing Street hasn't revealed what those are yet. We'll hold our breath.

Burnham also pledged to spend the rest of his summer traveling around Britain, asking people what they want on the cost of living. Because nothing says 'listening to the people' like a politician on a summer tour. Citizens Advice welcomed the changes but noted they 'can't be the end of the story.' We suspect they're right.

So, there you have it: fake discounts and subscription traps are on notice. Now, if only someone could do something about the price of eggs.