Tears, tissues, standing ovations. The auditorium at the Labour Party Conference felt at times more like the inside of a cinema at the premiere of a Hollywood blockbuster. But look up, and instead of Matt Damon battling his way across the seven seas on screen - it was Prime Minister Andy Burnham fighting back tears.
It’s clear Mr Burnham’s words landed well among the Labour faithful.
Emotional reaction from attendees
“It’s the most powerful speech of any Labour leader I’ve seen,” Sam Pallis, a former Hackney councillor told the LDRS, with barely-contained excitement outside the conference hall. “It was up there with Obama 2008. The segment about his father - I’ve not seen a politician be that candid. I couldn’t stop crying.”
Mr Burnham paused during his speech as he held back tears.
Wide-ranging policy pledges
Burnham’s speech was wide-ranging: it promised to increase the council housing stock and reform the private rental sector, revoke Margaret Thatcher’s ban on the public ownership of water companies, lift VAT on electricity bills, create a ‘Great British Grid’ for the energy, and solve the NEET unemployment crisis - to name but a breathless few. It brought up Brexit; the Israel-Palestine conflict; the triple lock - all the subjects usually sure to turn you into a political pariah of modern mainstream politics.
It also touched on his personal loss - the recent death of his father, Roy.
Support from Labour figures
“It was definitely bold,” said one viewer, who went by just Matthew, “It does feel like he’s done what he said he’d do. Take a look at the problems facing this country, and look for a way forward.”
“I’m coming out a bit stunned,” said Elizabeth Stanley, a long-term Labour supporter. Stanley admitted she’d also teared up during the viewing. She went on: “There were so many good things, I think everyone is ecstatic. I do think he’s very much building on Keir’s foundations. He’s bringing into fruition things that were in the last Labour manifesto.”
Stand-out for Mrs Stanley: Burnham’s take on the triple lock. She was relieved to hear he’s kept the system, which makes sure pensions rise in line with inflation, in place until the next election - but isn’t opposed to the changes he’s set out, either.
“I think whoever listens to that speech will think it’s fair,” she said, adding the social care reforms would go a long way to lifting the anxiety pensioners are feeling about their futures.
After a day of nervous anticipation, the speech was equally heartening for Labour’s elected politicians. Bolton South and Walkden MP Yasmin Qureshi said: “It was a really human speech and I think it’s clear what direction the Prime Minister wants to take the country in. I was really touched by the comments he made about his grandma and his dad, having experienced something similar when I was a carer for my mum and my brother at the end of their lives.”
She added it was important for her constituents to hear the government will build more council houses and remove VAT from electric bills.
Others added off-the-record that the new Labour leader had already shown 'promising signs'. Internal comms teams have reportedly reached out to all MPs asking for their specialisms and input - a sign the new PM is 'willing to listen, unlike Starmer'. But that didn't stop worries Mr Burnham wouldn't follow through, a fear that has now been quashed in many corners.
Bolton councillor Sean Fielding said the speech had made him ‘excited again to be a Labour member’.
Coun Fielding said: “The speech today has been honest about working class peoples’ loss of control over their lives because of centralisation, privatisation and Brexit. But it also offers a hopeful vision of how to retake that control.”
And Kensington and Chelsea councillor Kasim Ali, who just stepped down as leader, described the speech as ‘hard-hitting’, and felt Labour politicians would rally around the new PM all the more. “Burnham left ten years ago and then came back because he felt a call to action. It shows he’s not there for the power, he’s there for the country,” he pronounced.
The speech prompted 11 standing ovations, even in the overflow auditorium, where members were initially shy to stand. But not too shy to provide an enthusiastic commentary throughout the speech-making that consisted mostly of the word ‘Yes!’.
Criticism from political rivals
Of course, the PM is not without his critics.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch lambasted Mr Burnham’s plans as ‘taking Britain back to the 1970s’.
“Nothing Burnham announced today will do anything to fix Britain’s long-term problems,” she said. “He had no plan to fix our stagnant economy. No plan to fund defence. No plan to sort out the spiralling welfare bill beyond more government schemes.”
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage also weighed in, saying: “By potentially scrapping the triple lock, Andy Burnham will abdicate his responsibility to British pensioners.
“Instead of cutting our bloated benefits bill, stopping migrants from accessing benefits, or slashing foreign aid, he’s considering launching an offensive against our elderly.”
But it’s clear that on his home turf at least, Mr Burnham has found a captive audience.
