It was clear upon arriving at the Liverpool Experience Campus that Labour was no longer scrabbling for purpose and direction as it seemed to be this time last year. Unlike “Change” in 2024 and “Renew Britain” in 2025, the party seemed genuinely to have internalised its “Hope Again” slogan plastered on billboards throughout the conference zone, and nowhere was this optimism clearer than in the main hall for Andy Burnham’s speech.
The Prime Minister made several major announcements after a policy-light few days of fringe events, most notably his commitment to reforming the triple lock on pensions and funding a National Care Service with the savings. Welcomed by IfG Chief Economist Thomas Pope, Burnham’s action on a particularly thorny subject has been framed as an example of his “political sales skills” and ability to be honest with the public about what is and isn’t affordable.
Just as significant, however, was the Prime Minister’s oratory itself. Conservative peer Lord Finkelstein set out his aversion to Burnham’s “truly vast new public commitment” in a recent Times column, but he couldn’t deny that the speech was “deeply serious”, “brave”, and “empathetic throughout”. While Sir Keir Starmer struggled throughout his premiership to be viewed as authentic, Burnham has received close to universal praise for seeming to know “the direction in which he wishes to take the country”; hence YouGov polling indicates early support for his approach to the social care system.
Nor was triple lock reform Burnham’s only major policy intervention: he also remarked that Brexit “has done more harm than good” and that he plans to “seek clarity” on how the UK-EU relationship will develop at the upcoming summit. His comments met criticism from Reform UK Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick, who questioned why he’d “vow to rejoin the ailing EU despite all the years of Brexit wars that we thought we’d put behind us”. Yet Burnham seems undeterred, telling the Commons in his first speech after conference recess that turning down a closer relationship with the EU would be a “dereliction of duty” for him as Prime Minister.
Indeed, there seems to be consensus among ministers that Burnham has the conviction and strength of vision Starmer lacked as Labour leader. Health secretary Yvette Cooper, for example, told The Guardian she thought Starmer’s “bring me solutions, not problems” mentality “doesn’t necessarily work in politics”, but that Burnham was more open to hearing about the problems and “[working] together in solving them.”
Speakers at Labour fringe events generally shared Cooper’s feeling of optimism. Burnham’s place-based growth agenda was framed repeatedly as a “call to arms” through which to tackle the challenges facing business and workers, even if questions remain over net zero, unemployment, and other intractable policy matters. Unlike at other conferences attended by DeHavilland, where questions were asked primarily by local councillors and enthusiastic party members, the atmosphere at Labour buzzed with corporate delegates seeking to learn what would come next for their sector.
It remains to be seen whether the Burnham bounce will translate into continued public support come the Budget and difficult choices on defence and welfare spending. The Financial Times predicts John Healey will focus on creating “breathing space” rather than fundamental economic reforms, but Burnham’s handling of conference and his comments in the weeks since indicate he won’t shy away from these decisions further down the line.
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