'My dad’s Britain is the Britain I’ll fight for': Andy Burnham's emotional tribute as he reveals father's funeral is this week
The Prime Minister paid tribute to his father as he pledged reform to the social-care system
Andy Burnham revealed his father’s funeral will take place on Friday as he gave an emotional tribute to the man who shaped his beliefs.
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The Prime Minister announced on 14 September that his dad had died following a long battle with Alzheimer's.
Speaking to Nick Ferrari after his maiden conference speech as PM yesterday, Burnham was asked what his dad would have made of his son’s performance.
The Prime Minister appeared to struggle for words before saying: “That’s a hard question.”
He added: “His funeral is on Friday.”
Ferrari told him: “I’ve walked a similar path. It’s not easy.”
Mr Burnham said his father, Roy, had brought up his family with a “quiet patriotism” and a faith in people working together.
“He was a son of this city - a very proud one,” he said.
Mr Burnham said Roy believed in “a Britain of trade unions, a union of countries, a country that fought fascism in the last century”.
“That is me, that’s the Britain I believe in, it’s the Britain I will fight for,” he added.
The emotional exchange came after Mr Burnham used his conference speech to unveil plans to overhaul housing, energy, water and social care, alongside the scrapping of the triple lock in a bid to restore “hope” to Britain.
Mr Burnham said he had not raised his father’s death “to seek sympathy”, but because he had faced a choice over whether to address it in his conference speech.
“I had a choice to make with the speech,” he said.
“Do I just compartmentalise all of that away or do I talk about it? He was a son of this city.”
The Prime Minister also explained why he had referenced comments reportedly made by Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who said Mr Burnham could be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during a summit with leaders from Wales and Northern Ireland.
Mr Burnham told Ferrari: “I didn’t quote that to criticise him […] it just gave me that theme that I wanted to talk about - the patriotism, the quiet patriotism that my dad had.”
He said he wanted to prove Mr Swinney wrong, telling conference: “On the day my dad died, the Scottish First Minister said I would be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
“I quote that not to seek sympathy, nor to criticise John Swinney. I don’t think he knew the news at the time. And anyway my dad Roy would have been the first to defend his right to say it.
“I relay it because I want you to know how it made me feel - utterly determined to prove him wrong.”
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Roy - a former BT telephone engineer who spent time in a care home before his death - as he pledged reform to the social-care system.
Mr Burnham has previously spoken about his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, revealing Roy did not know his son had become Prime Minister.
He previously said: “That’s a sadness because he would be proud […] The way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well.”