Burnham announces end of Triple Lock and to create a Britain 'worth fighting for' - conference speech as it happened
Review of Andy Burnham's speech to Labour members in his first conference speech as the Prime Minister
Andy Burnham pledged to create a "Britain worth fighting for" as he vowed to scrap the Triple Lock during his first Labour Party Conference speech as Prime Minister.
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The PM told members in Liverpool that he will scrap the triple lock in 2030 to pay for his plans for free social care for the elderly.
It follows his deputy Lucy Powell telling LBC that he would not remove the pension scheme.
He also vowed to overhaul the housing, energy and water sectors, targeting Thatcher-era cornerstones including the Right to Buy scheme and an "ideological ban" on the public ownership of water companies.
Mr Burnham said: “I won’t pretend some of this won’t be difficult. I accept I may pay a political price. But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off. It’s the leadership I promised you when I asked to be your leader.
“I’ll be honest, we promised in our manifesto to keep the triple lock unchanged throughout this Parliament. I will honour that promise."
Mr Burnham was on LBC on Monday and told callers that he would chair a Cobra meeting into developments at RAF Fairford following arrests made at the site.
He also said that his NHS-style social care system will be for "older people but not for children" and has voiced his hopes for a separate deal with Donald Trump if US bans diesel exports.
Here is Andy Burnham's speech to Labour members as it happened.
- Andy Burnham has finished his conference speech to members at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool,
- The Prime Minister made several announcements, including that the pensions Triple Lock will not be continued past 2030,
Despite pledging to honour the triple lock until April 2030, the Prime Minister unveiled plans to overhaul the system beyond that date, in what will effectively be a tweak to a double lock.
- An emotional Mr Burnham tearfully paid tribute to his late father Roy, and said he wanted to build a country worth fighting for
- The Prime Minister's speech was the final action from this week's Labour Party Conference.
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Thank you for joining us for Andy Burnham's keynote speech at the Labour conference.
Read our round-ups here:
'We will hope again'
The PM closed off his conference speech with a message of hope. Regardless of political affiliation, he encourages people to support each other.
"You may disagree with some, or all, of what I've said today but I have given you what you often say is missing from politics: honesty, ideas, and a clear direction for the country we all love.
"I now want to make a direct appeal to you.
"If you agree with enough of what I've said, get behind this plan and get behind each other. It's time to draw a line, to move beyond a decade of drift, to bring a spirit of unity and positivity to our country.
"To unlock the working class aspiration that is still there in this great land.
"We can do it, we will believe again, we will hope again."
'We must decide on a long-term relationship with Europe'
"Brexit has done more harm than good," he said.
"We need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity."
He said Britain needs to figure out what our options are for long-term relationships with our European neighbours.
Mahmood 'restored our grip on the asylum system'
Small boats are down 40% over the last year and net migration down 80% since the peek Boris Johnson era, Burnham said.
'"But we will always be grateful to those coming here and contributing to our country" he said.
Burnham takes a shot at consequences of Brexit
"Brexit hasn't given us control," he told the conference.
"We have lost some of the control we had over our economy, as a decade of low growth has put us in a weaker position."
'The first Prime Minister to rewire Britain'
Burnham vowed to "rewire" Britain, get power out of Whitehall and into Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
'The first Prime Minister to take a break from politics as usual'
"Britiain is not perfect, it can be better, and we will make it so, but it still stands for something worth saving, worth fighting for.
"We will always be stronger facing a changing world together rather than separating.
"I am going to use this job to build the kind of Britain my dad wanted to see."
'The son of a man who failed his 11+ becoming Prime Minister'
On the day Burnham's father passed away, SNP leader John Swinney vowed he would be the "last Prime Minister of a United Kingdom" in a bid for independence for the nations
"I became utterly determined to prove him wrong," Burnham in defence to Swinney.
His father Roy, passed away two weeks ago.
Roy Burnham voted "religiously" for the Labour Party, the PM said.
'We need to be bigger'
"I appreciate some of it is difficult, I accept people will not agree with every part of it," Andy Burnham has said.
"But I believe this is what we need. Small things will not get us through difficult times. We need to be bigger and have the courage of our convictions.
"I believe we can turn Britain around but it requires us to think bigger about what we need to do."
'Electoral reform' commission to be launched
Labour will fight the next election on a promise to introduce a form of proportional representation, Andy Burnham said as he announced a national commission on electoral reform.
"We can't succeed in the eyes of the world if we continue at the levels of political turbulence that we have had in recent times.
"We will all have failed in our duties if we carry on as we are and open the door of No.10 to a divisive government on less than 30 per cent of the vote.
"I invite all political parties to be part of the commission's work.
"We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone's vote counts and everyone's vote is heard."