The removal vans had barely arrived at No10 when Andy Burnham, the new Labour leader, stood before a special conference and declared it a “last chance to change” for a broken politics. In his first speech since being confirmed as successor to Keir Starmer, Burnham promised to “fix the big things that politics has neglected”, including social care, and urged his party to take a “problem-solving rather than a point-scoring approach”.
Burnham, who will take over as prime minister from Starmer on Monday, thanked his predecessor and said the country was “crying out for” a new politics. “We might enjoy the point-scoring against others. The public don’t,” he said. “How can politicians point fingers when living standards are falling?” The speech marked a sharp break from the in-fighting that has dogged Labour, with Burnham insisting: “Let’s have the courage to fix the big things.”
“Andy Burnham declares 'last chance to change' politics in first speech as Labour leader, promising to fix social care and give hope back.”
His path to the leadership was not straightforward. When Burnham first tried to return to the Commons by applying to be Labour’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, the party’s national executive committee blocked him – partly over fears it would be hard to hold the Greater Manchester mayoralty in the resulting contest. But after Labour’s disastrous results in the May elections, the NEC no longer felt able to say no when he applied for the Makerfield seat. “The case for having Burnham in parliament became overwhelming,” he noted.
In his speech, Burnham argued that Britain took a series of wrong turns in the 1980s, when power was centralised in Westminster and economic control handed to private companies. He called for an “authentically Labour” programme of economic renewal, reindustrialisation and returning power to local communities. He did not spell out specific policies, but sources said his Downing Street team would oversee announcements next week on energy, water and the cost of living.
Burnham has the overwhelming backing of Labour MPs, but there is already intense jostling for cabinet positions, which have been kept closely guarded. Many of Starmer’s aides, including national security adviser Jonathan Powell and No10 business adviser Varun Chandra, have been asked to stay on. Graeme Cooke is being promoted to run the policy unit. The new cabinet is expected to be confirmed on Monday, when Burnham formally enters No10.
“This is a last chance to change,” Burnham told the conference. “And we must take it together. Unite. Tell people what we will do rather than always going on about others.” The question now is whether his promise of a new path can restore hope to a country weary of politics as usual.
