52 contractors told us what they think of Andy Burnham. Basically: not much, yet.

Fifty two contractors, freelancers and small business owners gave us their verdict on the new PM in a survey carried out with our partners at The Accounting Crew, and the overall mood sits somewhere between shrug and scowl. Twenty five of them rated Burnham's impact on their business as negative so far, against nine who said positive. Ten said it's too early to say, which is probably the most honest answer of the lot, because frankly, it is.

What struck me more than the negativity itself was how little his early moves have actually registered. The capped bus fares, the VAT cut on electricity, the scrapped interest on Loan Charge cases: 38 of the 52 respondents said none of it has made any noticeable difference to their business at all. That's not necessarily damning, cost of living measures were never really aimed at limited company directors, but it does tell you something about the gap between what gets announced in Westminster and what actually lands on a contractor's kitchen table.

IR35 is still the thing nobody wants to touch

Ask contractors what they'd prioritise and the answer isn't subtle. Reducing tax rates came out top, unsurprisingly, but reforming or simplifying IR35 wasn't far behind, named by 13 of the 52 as their top ask. I put this to Darryl Keyte, director and co-founder of The Accounting Crew, and his read matched what most of us already suspected.

"Successive governments have shown little appetite for reducing the compliance burden on either freelancers or the organisations that engage them, despite ongoing criticism of the rules," he told me. If he had to bet on Burnham reviewing IR35, leaving it alone, or tightening it further, Darryl's money is on a review rather than a tightening, "I would expect Burnham to review the area rather than tighten it further, but I would be surprised to see any significant reform without a clear political commitment. The sector is looking for certainty as much as change, and until there is meaningful intervention, confidence among freelancers and engagers is likely to remain subdued."

That tracks with the numbers too. Sixty three per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that government policy gives them greater certainty about running their business. This isn't a sector asking for special favours. It's a sector that's tired of guessing.

"Business-friendly socialism": slogan or substance?

Burnham coined a phrase for his whole approach, and I wanted to know whether it means anything to the people actually running limited companies, or whether it's just better branding for the instincts Labour's always had.

"For a limited company director, I'm not convinced that 'business-friendly socialism' means very much unless it is backed up by policy," Darryl said. "At the moment, it feels more like a slogan than a clearly defined economic programme." He pointed out that freelancers and small business owners would rightly point to the continued expansion of compliance requirements and off-payroll rules as evidence that governments of every colour have struggled to actually balance growth against regulation, whatever they call their approach.

The data backs this up rather bluntly. Eighty three per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the current tax and regulatory approach is likely to support small businesses. And when we asked people to rate the overall policy environment for their business out of five, the mode was 2. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, and not one that's likely to change on branding alone.

“Ultimately, business owners are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for clear rules, proportionate regulation and a tax system that supports investment and growth. Until they see tangible action, many will view "business-friendly socialism" as clever branding rather than meaningful change,” says Darryl.

What would actually make a difference

If Burnham genuinely wanted to win over contractors before the next election, I asked Darryl what single move in his first hundred days would do it. "Simple. Address IR35," he said.

"If Burnham wanted to shift sentiment among contractors in his first hundred days, the single most effective step would be to bring greater certainty and simplicity to the off-payroll working rules. Most freelancers are not looking to avoid tax, they simply want clear rules that allow them to operate their businesses with confidence."

His suggestion isn't a repeal, it's a commitment to simplify the rules, provide clearer status guidance, and reduce the administrative burden that currently falls on compliant contractors just as heavily as non-compliant ones. "Let HMRC focus on genuine non-compliance, while allowing compliant contractors to get on with what they do best."

But looking at the survey responses, IR35 and employment status rules were named as a top challenge by 18 of the 52 respondents, close behind client retention on 19, but tax administration more broadly topped the list at 28. Darryl's point isn't really that IR35 is the single biggest issue on its own. It's that the compliance burden around it bleeds into that wider tax administration problem, which is what most contractors are actually naming as their number one headache.

More regulation isn't automatically the enemy

Burnham's instincts lean interventionist, and I half expected Darryl to bristle at that. He didn't. "There is a strong case for tougher action against non-compliant umbrella schemes and other operators who undermine confidence in the sector," he said. "We have seen first-hand clients come to us after becoming involved with questionable arrangements, and the consequences can be costly and stressful."

His caveat, and it's an important one, is proportionality. "Good regulation should target abuse and deliberate non-compliance, while making life easier for those who are trying to do the right thing. Too often, new rules end up increasing uncertainty and administrative burdens for compliant contractors and businesses as well." His verdict on what Burnham should actually aim for: "not less regulation or more regulation. It's better regulation."

Where does that leave us for now?

Put the survey and Darryl's answers side by side and we have a fairly coherent picture. Contractors aren't reflexively hostile to a more interventionist PM. What they're hostile to is vagueness, and right now that's exactly what they're getting. A slogan without a policy. Cost of living measures that don't touch their actual business. An IR35 review that's been promised in spirit but not in writing.

Fifteen respondents believe that Burnham's appointment will have a significantly negative effect on their business. Just four said the same in the opposite direction. Most of them have been running their businesses for years, some for decades, and know the difference between a genuine policy shift and a headline that doesn't survive contact with reality.

Burnham has time to change that. Whether he uses it is, as ten of the respondents rightly said, still too early to tell.