Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spoken emotionally about the death of his father, Kenneth Roy Burnham, known as Roy, who died aged 86 in September after living in a care home with Alzheimer's disease. In a video for the social media series A Mug of Life, the Labour leader recounted how his dad kept him grounded and told him to help people.
A Mug of Life and Sunday Morning Teas
Mr Burnham appeared in the series, hosted by Will Shears, which offers a cup of tea to strangers to combat loneliness. He recalled memorable Sunday morning cups of tea with his mum as they tried to navigate his dad's illness. The PM said with a laugh that he has "too many" cups of tea a day, between 10 and 14.
Asked about a memorable cup of tea, Mr Burnham said: "Goodness, I've never really thought about that. I think it would be well, probably with my mum, actually. When things were a little tough with my dad, and yeah, that would be (it). We used to spend a Sunday morning just trying to work it all out in our heads and go through all of the things around it and remind ourselves that we've been actually quite blessed, really."
Starting as Prime Minister While His Dad Was Dying
Mr Burnham spoke about starting his journey as Prime Minister in July, while knowing his dad was coming to the end of his journey, describing it as different "overwhelming things happening at the same time." His dad's condition was so advanced that he didn't know his son was becoming Prime Minister.
He said: "It was hard coming into office because I knew, as I was starting my journey as Prime Minister, he was ending his journey. I knew that, and it did make it quite hard. There was a moment in Downing Street on the day and I was holding my mum, and it was yeah, it was hard because overwhelming things happening at the same time, and yeah, I kept just thinking about that in those big moments."
Celebrating His Father and a National Care Service
Mr Burnham said he feels he can now celebrate his father, saying his family were lucky "we had so long together." He added: "My dad would be very like: 'Just help people. Don't overthink it. Just do what you can every day to do something.'"
In his landmark speech at the Labour conference, the tearful Prime Minister nearly broke down as he spoke of the influence of his dad Roy on his politics and was given a standing ovation by delegates. He paid tribute to the carers who looked after his dad and set out plans to build a National Care Service that is free at the point of use.
