Andy Burnham's premiership now hangs on the bold pledges he made in his Labour Party conference speech. The new Prime Minister vowed to be bold in his address, and he delivered, with proposals ranging from scrapping the pensions triple lock to fighting the next election on a platform of proportional representation.
Going Out on a Limb
Not all of his promises will be popular, but the speech's content alone proves he is no Keir Starmer tribute act. Labour's flagging polling numbers before Burnham took over made it clear that a continuity candidate would not suffice. Many of his proposed policies sound good on paper.
For instance, most people would support more help for first-time buyers, and the country desperately needs social care reform. Yet these are big swings from the King of the North, especially the pension reforms, and they will inevitably make or break Burnham's premiership.
Electronic Tagging Crisis
Separately, the justice system remains in tatters. Courts face a backlog that would make Dostoevsky wince, and prison capacity is full to bursting, with the early release scheme an embarrassment. Now, electronic monitoring of criminal offenders is also in disarray.
Almost half of offender tags are not fitted in a timely manner, and it can take up to five months to reach the front of the queue. This leads to repeated breaches of court and prison orders. These are convicted criminals who often pose a risk to the public, and the tags are meant to mitigate that risk. There must be no more excuses over their implementation.
