Prime Minister Andy Burnham will deliver his keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool this afternoon at 2pm. He is expected to use the address to set out a "clear direction" for the country, unveiling a raft of policies on social care, youth unemployment and public control of utilities.
Social care and energy reform at the centre
Social care will be a key theme, with Mr Burnham suggesting he will set out more detail of his plans to fund reform of the system. At the opening of the conference on Sunday, he said he was prepared to make unpopular decisions.
However, major change is unlikely to come before the next election. Baroness Louise Casey has still to publish the findings of her review of social care, and Mr Burnham has suggested he would put his proposals to the public in Labour's next manifesto.
In his speech, the Prime Minister is expected to say: "We have a cost crisis. We all know it. The price of energy is crippling for businesses, and British billpayers pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe."
"We have an energy system where prices are dictated in markets miles away, while families and businesses here shoulder the costs. Once again, the British public has lost control.
"Within 10 years, I want our energy costs to be in line with other nations in Europe. That means we must reform a broken energy market so it serves the public interest."
Honest conversation and the triple lock question
On X this morning, the Prime Minister said: "We can't carry on as we are. Politics as usual has taken Britain backwards, and more of the same won't get us where we need to be."
"Today, I'll set out a different path for our country. That means having an honest conversation about the things we've ignored for too long, from fixing social care and tackling youth unemployment to giving people more control over energy, water and housing. Hope comes from honesty."
Mr Burnham added: "It comes from saying the things politicians usually avoid, being straight about the challenges we face, and having the courage to fix them. That's exactly what I will do."
It is expected that the state pension triple lock will come up in the speech, with reports indicating the Labour government is considering scrapping the measure to fund its ambitious plan for social care. Ministers have refused to confirm Labour's commitment to the triple lock, which guarantees that pensions will rise each year in line with inflation, 2.5% or average earnings, whichever is the largest increase, and whether it will be in the party's next manifesto.
