Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his first speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool city centre as PM on September 29, pledging to tackle issues politicians “usually avoid” and announcing a series of major policies including free social care in England and changes to the pensions triple lock to pay for it.
Burnham said he was “ready to deliver the honesty” that everyone has asked for from politicians, and set out a policy agenda he likened to the most transformative Labour Governments in the last 80 years. He vowed to “rewire” the country, and also committed his government to exploring ways to overhaul the electoral system and bolster public control of housing and the water industry.
National Care Service and triple lock changes
Burnham vowed to build a “National Care Service” (NCS) that will be “free at the point of use” and impose no charges on the basic state pension, describing it as a “landmark policy as significant as the creation of the NHS itself”. He added that it “will be fully funded, and not through borrowing”.
The Prime Minister explained it will be “a person-centred, high-quality” care service where “everyone contributes and everyone is covered” and care “is about people not profit”, does not erode savings and gives “proper recognition” to care workers. He said he is introducing the NCS in honour of his late father and the dedicated carers who looked after him, confirming that the Government will now start laying the ground for its introduction during the next Parliament.
He continued: “I accept I may pay a political price. But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off.”
Burnham announced the social care overhaul will be paid for by changes to the pensions triple lock, which currently guarantees that pensions will rise in line with inflation, 2.5% or average earnings, whichever is the largest increase. Labour will “adjust” the policy from 2030, removing the link to average earnings, he said.
The Prime Minister said he would honour the promise in the 2024 Labour manifesto to keep the triple lock unchanged throughout this Parliament, adding: “In April 2030 we will adjust it. The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5%. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation. But this change will generate significant savings which we will use to build up our National Care Service.”
Water, EU, energy and electoral reform
Burnham vowed to strengthen public control of the water system with a Bill that will repeal “Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies”. He said it will “start a 10-year journey to a very different water system”, giving local leaders new powers to hold water companies to account and closing loopholes used to pay big bonuses.
The Labour leader described the water industry as a “symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain” in which “shareholders never lose and the public never win, from which some have syphoned out easy money while the public picked up the bill for the sewage in our seas”.
The Prime Minister promised to set out options for a closer relationship with the European Union later this year, in a hint he could ditch the 2024 Labour manifesto’s red lines of not returning to the customs union or the single market. He said: “We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of the century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market. I cannot say to you that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good. So I will take the opportunity around the (UK-EU) summit to lay out to you, to lay out to the country, what I believe are the different options for Britain’s long-term relationship with our European partners. And there are different options. And I will see if we can find consensus around one which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in.”
The Prime Minister announced a new publicly-owned “Great British Grid” that will “challenge the private sector operators” to “increase competition, drive down costs and speed up delivery”. The new body being set up under the Great British Energy umbrella should make it easier to get connections to the energy grid in a bid to address one of the issues blamed for slowing the pace of economic growth and pushing up costs. It will be the first publicly-owned player in electricity networks since privatisation under Margaret Thatcher.
Burnham vowed to fight the next election with a manifesto pledge to overhaul the electoral system “so everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard”, as he announced a new national commission on electoral reform, and invited all political parties to take part in its work. He said: “We can’t succeed in the eyes of the world if we continue with the levels of political turbulence we have seen in recent times. It is always in my mind that I’m the seventh Prime Minister in 10 years. It is why I want to underpin our plan for Britain with a new politics. We will all have failed in our public duties if we carry on as we are and open the door of No 10 to a divisive government on 30% of the vote or less.”
Housing and investment in young people
Burnham confirmed plans to open up home ownership “to those not backed by the bank of mum and dad” by reducing the size of the deposit needed. He also pledged to introduce a Bill before Christmas for “long overdue” leasehold reform, telling leaseholders that “the days of you being squeezed for every penny are coming to an end”.
According to those plans, councils will be given the power to take over poor quality homes if landlords refuse to improve them, he said, adding: “We don’t let people sell food which damages health, so why allow it with homes? From now on, we won’t.”
Burnham said he wanted to “invest” in young people rather than “pay for failure through the benefits system”. Too many young people are “drifting” towards the benefits system, he said, and pointed to Alan Milburn’s review into the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training which is due this autumn.
He reiterated Labour’s plans to change the education system with academic and technical pathways from 14 and offer work placements and apprenticeships, as well as reducing waiting times for young people needing mental health support. “We will need a fundamental rethink of the welfare system to find the money for these opportunities upfront, and we will require young people to take up the help presented to them, guaranteeing in-work support and not leaving those out of work losing confidence and connection.”
