Andy Burnham will pledge to confront the subjects politicians "usually avoid" and warn that “hope means honesty” as he sets out his agenda as Labour prime minister at the party conference in Liverpool.
Delivering his inaugural address to the Labour Party conference as leader on Tuesday, the prime minister will use the speech to establish a "clear direction" for the country, promising "less drift and more direction".
But with ministers briefing to The Independent that he is planning a major rethink on Brexit after a decade of “drift and division” and reports that he plans to ditch the triple lock guarantee on minimum state pension rises to help fund his social care reform, Mr Burnham appears to be gearing up to face some of the UK’s most difficult issues.
He will also introduce a series of measures addressing social care, youth unemployment, and public control over utility companies, committing to an "honest conversation" regarding difficult matters.
Reflecting the conference theme of "Hope again", Mr Burnham will tell delegates that "hope comes from honesty and from saying the things politicians usually avoid".
In his address, he will state: "We can’t carry on as we are. Politics-as-usual has taken Britain backwards. More of the same isn’t good enough and isn’t going to get us where we need to be."
Returning to themes from his initial addresses after taking office, he will attack the centralisation of power held by "vested interests" while pledging a departure from the "flawed thinking of the last 40 years".
Social care funding is set to feature prominently, following the Prime Minister’s indication on Monday that he would outline further details regarding his strategy to finance structural reform.
Mr Burnham previously stated his intention to spend his remaining "political capital" on fixing social care, an issue he previously championed as health secretary in Gordon Brown’s administration. Those earlier measures, funded via a levy on estates, were attacked by critics as a "death tax" before being shelved following Labour’s general election defeat in 2010.
Meanwhile, ministers have refused to confirm Labour’s commitment to the triple lock – which guarantees that pensions will rise in line with inflation, 2.5 per cent or average earnings, whichever is the largest increase – will be Labour’s next manifesto.
That has fuelled speculation that a change in the way pensions are increased to a less generous system could be used to partly fund the cost of free social care for adults in England.
Speaking at the start of the conference on Sunday, Mr Burnham maintained he was ready to make tough choices, including raising taxes, to fund social care, while accusing former political leaders of "cowardice" for failing to "grasp the nettle" of reform.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake argued that hope was "not a strategy".
Mr Hollinrake remarked: "If Andy Burnham wants to be honest with the British people, he must admit that Labour’s tax rises have crushed businesses, killed jobs and hammered family finances — all so Labour can give more handouts to benefits street.
"Andy Burnham has the chance to show whether he’s got the backbone to bring the welfare bill down and stand up to his welfare obsessed MPs. Failure to do so will prove he’s just a people pleaser who can’t take decisions in the national interest, and that Labour really are the welfare party."
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