At Labour conference, Andy Burnham has nowhere to hide, writes Bethany Dawson

Kicking off this Sunday in Liverpool, a city full of Labour supporters and journalists may not, on the face of it, be a major hurdle. But having only been in parliament for two weeks of his two months as Prime Minister, there are still many questions he has to answer.

And at Labour conference, he’ll have nowhere to hide from them.

From questions on his plans for the ballooning welfare bill, to how his government will manage the tumultuous El Niño weather system or the looming threat of AI, he and his team will have to answer questions on every area of policy.

That will require a united team, with secretaries of state and ministers all singing from the same hymn sheet.

But some MPs, specifically those who served as ministers or secretaries of state under Keir Starmer, could pose a problem for Burnham.

Starmerite MPs have banded together to form a pressure group to challenge Andy Burnham, with former Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Darren Jones making sure to publicly challenge the new Prime Minister on his first announcement.

After clearing the hurdle of the UN General Assembly - plus the all-important sit-down with Donald Trump - he will now have to prove to any doubting MPs, and indeed doubting members, that he can really change course for the Labour Party.

Labour’s popularity has increased under Mr Burnham, a start to his premiership that No 10 will be thrilled about. But this weekend will be looking forward to the rest of Burnham’s term. What will he do to secure that polling, raise the popularity and make Labour’s thumping 2024 majority not just a thing of the past?

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Bethany Dawson is LBC's Political Correspondent.

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