Prime Minister Andy Burnham has delivered a cheeky dig at British "flag waving" Brits, contrasting it with what he termed his father's "quiet patriotism" during a recent speech. The Prime Minister made the comments while honouring his late father Roy Burnham at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
'Sticking together from the bottom up'
Burnham explained his father's patriotism wasn't about "flag waving", but rather concerned people "sticking together from the bottom up". He stated: "He was all about that. That's how he brought us up." Mr Burnham was addressing Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram's fringe reception, where he also pondered his Liverpool heritage and his family's impact on his political beliefs.
The remarks followed just one day after Mr Burnham delivered his maiden Labour conference address as a senior figure to announce a significant reassessment of Britain's ties with the European Union.
Brexit 'done more harm than good'
Burnham informed Labour representatives that Brexit had "done more harm than good" and argued Britain needed to examine its long-term connections with its European allies, reports the Express. He stated the UK had forfeited "some of the control we had over our economy" due to a decade of sluggish growth, while also contending that immigration oversight had been undermined by departing the EU.
Mr Burnham said Britain required collaboration with European partners on immigration and pledged to outline various options for the nation's future association with the bloc surrounding a proposed UK-EU summit. He also stated the Government would pursue benefits for sectors he claimed had been damaged by Brexit.
'The patriot in me'
His remarks on patriotism emerged as he attempted to position himself as a politician willing to depart from Westminster convention while emphasising his faith in Britain. During his conference address, Mr Burnham branded himself a "patriot" and argued the nation required a fresh sense of assurance. He told Labour: "The patriot in me tells me something very different is needed." He also proclaimed that Britain should become "confident of our place in the world".
Mr Burnham utilised the speech to contend that the country had been on the "wrong path" for decades, citing deindustrialisation, deregulation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit amongst the developments he claimed had contributed to Britain's current situation.
National Care Service funding
The development comes as Andy Burnham has vowed to "be honest" about any shortfall in his plan to fund a National Care Service. The premier promised to "say where that money is coming from" for the free-at-the-point-of-use service, leaving the door open to tax rises. He said a plan will be put before the next general election that will say "this is how we will fund it".
Mr Burnham added that with a care service, "the NHS truly will be able to make savings, cashable savings, from a better social care system". The Prime Minister also rejected the suggestion that he was picking on pensioners with the pensions triple lock change as "completely wrong". Mr Burnham's speech confirmed plans to scrap the pension triple lock in its current form from 2030 to help fund the new national care service for England.
