A mixed-message Burnham ‘draws a line’ under Starmer

In an hour-long speech to the Labour faithful, a tieless Prime Minister struck a stark contrast with his robotic predecessor

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Proposals included introducing a national care service after the next general election as well as fighting that poll on a commitment to electoral reform.

However, he also announced that the triple-lock protecting pensioners would go — again, after the next election — and sought to reopen the Brexit debate.

In an hour-long and sometimes highly emotional speech, a tieless Prime Minister struck a stark contrast with his listless and robotic predecessor.

He had to pause while his eyes welled with tears when he mentioned his late father, who died recently, and at other moments seemed to flare with anger.

He raced past passages on foreign affairs and climate change to focus on his drive to restore “hope” in politics.

The Prime Minister pledged to “draw a line, to bring a spirit of unity and positivity back to our country, to unlock the working-class aspiration that is still there in every postcode in this great land.”

He told delegates that he had inherited a country ruled “for vested interests not in the public interest, with power held in too few hands.”

Spelling out what he called the government’s “landmark policy” on social care, the Prime Minister pledged “a person-centred, high-quality care service that starts in the home.

“A system in the best traditions of this party where everyone contributes and everyone is covered. Free at the point of use, and no care charges paid out of your basic state pension.”

“It is about people, not profit,” he added, committing to fully recognising the contribution of care workers.

It would seem that this will be funded, at least partially, by the end of the pensions triple-lock after the next election, expected in 2029.

After that, “in April 2030, we will adjust it. The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5 per cent. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation,” Mr Burnham said.

This effectively breaks the link between the pension and the rise in average earnings, a move Reform and the Tories will likely try to exploit.

Calling this package “a new social contract for the 21st century,” Mr Burnham placed it in a context of renewed commitment to Treasury rules and fiscal discipline.

“I have to be honest about what the country can afford. I will stick to our fiscal rules to get borrowing and debt down,” he said.

Extending another theme of his premiership, he spelt out new measures of public control over water, electricity and housing.

“Water is a symbol of what’s gone wrong with Britain. A service where the shareholders never lose and the public never win, from which some have siphoned out easy money while the public picked up the bill for the sewage in our seas. It stinks.”

He announced legislation to “repeal Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies” as part of “a 10-year journey to a very different water system.

“Where private companies serve the public interest, we will support them, but the consequences will be clear for those who do not, including taking back control or public ownership,” Mr Burnham said.

On electricity, a publicly owned GB Grid will be launched with GB Energy funds to compete with private operators.

And on housing, Mr Burnham renewed pledges to end rough sleeping, introduce reforms to protect leaseholders and end right to buy for new-build council homes while “helping councils build again.”

His promise on electoral reform, including a commitment that Labour would fight the next election seeking change, was warmly received by delegates.

He appealed to other parties to join a national commission to review options, adding “we will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard.”

Mr Burnham further said he would try to seek consensus on Brexit, which he claimed “has done more harm than good.”

He said he would lay out what the “different options are for Britain’s long-term relationship with our European partners.

“And I will see if we can find consensus around one,” he added optimistically.

Axing the triple lock was strongly opposed by union leaders and left MPs. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called the plan “morally wrong.

“It’s important that Labour make sure that working-class people know that they’re on their side, and this would say the opposite to that.”

And Your Party’s Jeremy Corbyn said: “I strongly oppose the removal of the pensions triple lock.

“This isn’t about old versus young. This is about the super-rich versus the rest. That’s why we should be taxing wealth to fund social care for all,” he added.

And a more radical plan for change was set out by the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, which today launched a pamphlet written by its members titled The Socialist Policies We Need.

It includes arguments for bringing public services back into public hands; tax reforms to raise billions for social and economic investment; strengthening workers’ rights, tackling climate change and many other reforms.

SCG secretary Richard Burgon MP said: “Andy Burnham has rightly identified 40 years of neoliberalism as the cause of so many of the problems facing our communities.

“This pamphlet is our contribution to the debate we need across the Labour Party about how we rebuild after the failings of the Starmer era.”