Andy Burnham will make his first speech as Labour leader at the party's conference in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon. The prime minister will pledge to tackle the issues politicians “usually avoid” in his address, expected to be delivered at 2pm.
He is expected to use his speech to set out a new course for a “Britain where people feel the country has their back again”. The address comes amid mounting speculation that the pensions triple lock could be scrapped or altered as part of his plans to fund social care.
Social care and energy plans
Last week, Mr Burnham said he wants to introduce an NHS-style free social care system to everyone in England. The plans are yet to be fully outlined by the prime minister, and he has not revealed how he plans to fund them, though he has not ruled out raising taxes.
The prime minister is also expected to announce a new publicly-owned “Great British Grid” in a bid to bring UK energy costs down in line with European nations within a decade.
Rayner's earlier address
Earlier in the day, housing secretary Angela Rayner made a speech, telling the conference it was "so good to be back" as she appeared emotional on stage. She told the conference of plans to give local leaders “more powers” to tackle homelessness, reduce reliance on temporary accommodation and bring empty homes back into use.
"When we say that we stand for more public control of housing, this is what we mean: giving power to those who know their areas and local people best, and who ultimately are accountable when families are left without a secure home," she said.
Triple lock speculation
There is widespread speculation Mr Burnham is eyeing changes to the triple-lock, which guarantees the state pension rises in line with inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest, as a way of funding an NHS-style social care service in England.
Ms Rayner praised the Prime Minister for being willing to stake his political reputation on fixing a social care system in England which leaves people facing a “lottery” at the end of their lives. She said Mr Burnham was prepared to be “brave” in order to fix a system which left people with conditions such as dementia at risk of losing their home while people with cancer or other diseases get free NHS care.
"He’s saying that this lottery at the moment of ‘which way would you like to die’ is not OK. He’s making it really clear that people are paying at the moment, and it is a system that we’ve got to ask ourselves: Is this what we want for our loved ones? And is this value for money, is this fair on individuals? Is it fair on the taxpayers?" she said.
Speech themes
The Prime Minister will say: "We can’t carry on as we are. Politics-as-usual has taken Britain backwards. More of the same isn’t good enough and isn’t going to get us where we need to be."
He will revisit the themes of his first speeches in office, criticising the centralisation of power in the hands of “vested interests” and promising a break from the “flawed thinking of the last 40 years”. He said he wants a UK with “more control of the basics so that we can make it more functional again”.
Mr Burnham will flesh out his plans for free social care in England, promise measures on youth unemployment and public control of utilities – with a pledge to hold an “honest conversation” about tough issues. Echoing the Liverpool conference’s slogan of “Hope again”, he will tell party members that “hope comes from honesty and from saying the things politicians usually avoid”.
