Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivered his keynote speech on day three of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, setting out a clear political vision and making 11 key announcements.
Mr Burnham took to the stage to the tune of All Together Now, telling the audience the nation needs to pull together. He detailed plans on Brexit, the State Pension triple lock, and council housing, among other topics.
Brexit and Economic Control
Mr Burnham said Brexit weakened control over immigration. He said: "Economic control diminished by selling off essentials and political control corroded by the hollowing out of councils. Immigration control weakened by Brexit."
He added: "It sets out how, over ten years, we will make this country work for you again. Change will be difficult. It always is. But I know we can do it because we have done it before."
Council Housing and Home Ownership
The Prime Minister said he wants more council housing, because for his family having a home "unlocked the aspiration in my mum and dad for a better life for us all, and has taken us to places we could never have imagined."
He said: "With a good home, everything is possible. Without, it feels like nothing is. Kids can’t have a good start in life. Families can’t have good health, physical and mental health."
Mr Burnham noted that over a million people are on housing waiting lists, almost exactly the same number as the homes lost through Right to Buy in the 1980s. He pledged: "I will not rest until we live in a Britain where everyone has a roof over their head every night, and no one is forced to sleep on the streets."
Water Bill and Energy Reform
Mr Burnham announced that Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will introduce a "strengthened Water Bill" to address water companies, which have faced criticism over sewage dumping, failing infrastructure, high prices, and financial instability.
He said: "Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain. A service where the 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. It stinks. I will not allow it to continue like this."
The centrepiece of the bill will be the repeal of Margaret Thatcher's ideological ban on public ownership of water companies.
On energy, Mr Burnham pledged to reform the broken energy market, saying: "I have asked Miatta [Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary] to speed up the breaking of the link between what we pay for power at home and the international gas market to get bills down."
Fiscal Rules and Triple Lock Changes
Mr Burnham confirmed he will stick to the government's fiscal rules, saying: "I will stick to our fiscal rules to get borrowing and debt down. The approach I am outlining today is the responsible one."
He vowed to "adjust" the state pension triple lock from 2030. From then, the state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5% and will hold its value relative to earnings over time. The change will generate significant savings, which will be used to build up a National Care Service.
The PM said he "may pay a political price" for this announcement, but "someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off."
Social Care and Welfare Reform
Mr Burnham said his generation of politicians have been "too cowardly to fix something as basic as the care we give to each other." Speaking about his dad, who died earlier this month, he said: "I watched closely the people who looked after my dad. Caring for other people's parents on poverty pay, but doing it with huge skill, humour and humanity."
He confirmed low-income pensioners won't have to pay income tax in this parliament, and vowed to tackle the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET). He said: "We await the final report from Alan Miliband's review [into NEETs]. But I can say now we will change the education system and the welfare system."
Electoral Reform and Union
Mr Burnham announced Labour's next manifesto will contain a "commitment to change the electoral system" and that he is creating a "new national commission on electoral reform." He said: "We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard."
On the union, he said it may not be perfect, "but it still stands for something worth saving, worth fighting for."
