‘Brexit has done more harm than good,’ Burnham told the Labour conference. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockView image in fullscreen‘Brexit has done more harm than good,’ Burnham told the Labour conference. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockExplainerFrom Brexit to electoral reform: key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s conference speechEnding the pensions triple lock, creating a national care service and making changes to leaseholds were all announced by the PM in Liverpool UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham’s first speech to a Labour conference as prime minister was not only quite long, at over an hour, but unusually dense with policy. Here are some of the things he set out:1.
Ending the pensions triple lockOne of Burnham’s most concrete promises was to end the triple lock as we know it.For the last 15 years, the state pension has increased by whichever is the highest out of earnings, inflation or 2.5%. From 2030, if Burnham is still prime minister, it will instead rise by the highest out of inflation or 2.5%, meaning that for the first time since 2011, pensions will be allowed to increase by less than earnings.There is a backstop however – in years where earnings are higher than inflation or 2.5%, the government will guarantee that the state pension will be at least 30% of average earnings.This change to the earnings element of the policy sounds technical, but officials say it could save about £15bn a year by 2040.2. National care serviceBurnham repeated his promise to create a national care service, saying it would be a system to which everyone contributes and from which everyone can benefit, free at the point of use.The universal, NHS-style system will be funded in part by the change to the triple lock. But such an expansive system is likely to require more funding than that.
Burnham’s promise of a system where everyone contributes suggests Labour will go into the next election promising a tax rise to pay for it.3. Electoral reform“We will all have failed in our public duties if we carry on as we are and open the door of No 10 to a divisive government on less than 30% of the vote,” Burnham said as he argued passionately against the first-past-the-post electoral system.Under the prime minister’s proposed solution, however, there will be at least one more election under the old system. Burnham announced a national commission to report on voting options, with the recommendations to be included in Labour’s next manifesto.Whatever option Burnham picks, it will not be purely proportional – officials clarified on Tuesday that the PM sees the link between MPs and their constituencies as vital.4. Changes to BrexitBurnham’s rhetoric here was blunt. “Brexit has done more harm than good,” he told the conference, citing depressed economic growth and a lack of the promised control over immigration.What followed was vague, however, with the PM saying only that he would use an upcoming summit with the EU to “lay out to the country what I believe the different options are for Britain’s long-term relationship with our European partners” and to “see if we can find consensus around one”.Aides say Burnham is hoping to build a political consensus, but the chances of Labour and Reform agreeing a path on integration with the EU seem slim.5.
Changes to leasehold and new controls on landlordsReforms to the leasehold property system were promised under Keir Starmer but delayed. Burnham said a bill on the matter would come to parliament before Christmas.He also said there would be new powers so that landlords who rent out poor-quality homes would be ordered to improve them – and if they did not, it would be much easier for councils to compulsorily purchase the properties.6. Legislation on the public control of waterIn a plan that feels more symbolic than anything, Burnham said the environment secretary, Angela Eagle, would present a changed water bill to parliament, the “centrepiece” of which would be “the repeal of Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies”.Such a move, however, fails to tackle the main problem with taking public control of private companies – how to compensate existing shareholders. Ministers are talking about changing insolvency law to make it easier to take a company into administration, but this was not part of Burnham’s speech.7.
Measures on housingIn a speech that repeatedly referenced the houses in which his grandparents and parents lived, and the need for a secure family base, Burnham said the right to buy council properties would be removed for any new social homes built – but not for existing properties.He also set out an already-announced plan to help first-time buyers with a 20% equity loan to help them buy a new-build home, with an initial interest-free period.Explore more on these topicsAndy BurnhamLabour conference 2026Labour conferenceLabourBrexitPensionsSocial carekey takeawaysShareReuse this content
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