Burnham to promise 'distinctly Labour' premiership in first speech after becoming leader
The incoming Prime Minister will pledge a left-wing tilt as he prepares to enter Downing Street on Monday
Andy Burnham is set to promise a 'distinctly Labour' future after he becomes leader of his party on Friday.
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The MP for Makerfield is preparing to take the reins of Labour at a special party conference, ahead of becoming Prime Minister on Monday.
In his acceptance speech after winning the Labour leadership unopposed, he is set to promise a renewal of the Labour government, as well as setting out his vision for Britain.
Mr Burnham is understood to want to "drive growth in every postcode" and to devolve power to communities across the UK.
He will pledge his leadership to "fix the big things that politics has neglected" - as well as promising "conviction to argue for our plans".
The central tenet of the speech will include a slamming of Margaret Thatcher's government from 1979 to 1991.
He will declare that under Thatcher's premiership, "Britain took a series of wrong turns in the 1980s" with power centralised and economic power privatised.
The former Greater Manchester mayor will promise "a new path to the one we’ve been on for the last 40 years".
As part of the theme of devolution, Mr Burnham will also say he intends to be a leader "for the North and the South, for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland, and for every town and every city in every nation and region of this great country".
As part of the speech, he will then pay tribute to outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, crediting him with taking the party "from its worst electoral defeat in a century to one of the largest election victories in our history".
He will also praise the achievements of Sir Keir's premiership, including stronger workers' rights, NHS improvements, investment in public services and the passing of the Hillsborough Law earlier this week.