PRIME Minister Andy Burnham was urged to keep his vow to tackle 40 years of neoliberalism yesterday after announcing his latest “everyday fix” to ease the cost of living.

Mr Burnham was told to nationalise energy, introduce a wealth tax and massively invest in public services after he pledged to give councils more powers to block new bookmakers and vape shops.

He said that he intends to scrap the so-called “aim to permit” rule, which limits the ability of local authorities to prevent betting shops and 24-hour slot machine venues opening in their area in a bid to save Britain’s “hollowed-out high streets.”

Planning permission will also be required for outlets selling e-cigarettes as part of efforts to give local communities a greater say under the proposals.

The formal definition of a vape shop will be tightened to stop businesses side-stepping the new rules by claiming to be a “convenience store or a retailer,” officials said.

Adult gaming centres offering up to 24 hours of access to slot and fruit machines will also require planning permission under the shake-up, expected to come into effect at the start of next year.

A spokesman for Momentum said: “The government must go further and faster in tackling the climate and cost-of-living crises.

“Nationalising energy, taxing extreme wealth and massively investing in our public services could reduce the scourge of poverty affecting millions of households.”

Under proposals first announced by Sir Keir Starmer’s government, police will also be able to shut down “dodgy” barbers, vape shops and nail salons for up to a year.

The maximum length of so-called “closure orders” will be extended from six months to 12, to give officers more time to investigate premises linked to organised crime.

The Centre for Social Justice think tank, which has conducted analysis finding that Britain has lost nearly 1,800 pubs and bars while vape and tobacco shops have increased in number to almost 2,200 since 2016, welcomed the plans.

Mr Burnham has also announced plans to tackle “subscription traps” by requiring companies to make it easier to cancel subscriptions and provide more information about costs up-front rather than quietly auto-renewing them at a higher price.

We own it director Cat Hobbs said: “Andy Burnham promised to bring forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years. Now he must bite the bullet on the cost of living by ending privatisation. If he’s in ‘listening mode’ the British public will tell him: every household in the country is paying for the failure of this ideological experiment every single day.

“Our energy bills are sky high and a third of every water bill leaks out in shareholder dividends and wildly expensive debt payments. We’re losing pride as a country because vital assets like our 500 year old Royal Mail have been sold off.”

A Green Party spokesperson said: “The scale of the cost of living crisis demands bold action, not tinkering - one in four families are struggling to cope. While Andy Burnham recycles Keir Starmer’s announcements, we are the only party calling for policies which will actually make a difference to family finances, like rent controls, full nationalisation of water companies and a wealth tax.”