John Rentoul, chief political commentator – ‘We haven't seen anything like it since Blair’
I was knocked sideways by the oratorical power of that speech. I've known Andy Burnham for a very long time and he has never been much of a speaker. The section after the long pause before he recalled the death of his father was one of the best pieces of conference rhetoric I have ever heard. Until that point, I was ticking off the cliches, starting with the reference to John Lennon's "Imagine" in the introductory video. I liked the theme of building a "better Britain for everyone". That is my kind of Blairite talk, but it was rather outweighed by the three references to "working-class aspiration", which is all very well but not everyone.
The plan to "adjust" the triple lock for uprating the state pension is absolutely right, brave and very badly explained. As I understand it, it is to link pensions to earnings over time, which will bring to an end the random upward ratchet.
Most of the rest of the content of the speech was dreadful backward-looking rubbish, applauding madly by delegates for whom public ownership has acquired cult-like status.
But the delivery was a revelation. We haven't seen anything like it since Blair. The weird 2012 Olympic-ceremony-style mash-up of Andy Burnham's dad's Britain, which fought fascism, venerated trade unions and gave the co-operative movement to the world, was powerfully moving. He is a prime minister to be reckoned with, after all.
Ayesha Hazarika, political commentator – ‘The battle lines for the next general election were drawn in this speech’
The stand out idea was of a National Care Service. This is something we know Burnham is heavily invested in from his own experience with his late father and his time as Health Secretary back in the day. There is no doubt that there is a clear policy need for improving care for the future but he painted a story rich in heritage and history which is smart and counterintuitive for the left. The nostalgia about the post war Britain era is often owned by the right, yet he spoke of how Clem Attlee built houses and the National Health Service. Many romanticise that period where patriots rebuilt a war torn country so why shouldn’t the Labour Party of 2026 seek to recreate the ambition of that much admired Labour government of 1945? He wants to frame the creation of the National Care Service as historic, hard and dramatic as Nye Bevin’s battle to create the NHS.
The announcement of the plan to scrap the pensions triple lock makes a great deal of sense on paper and is often acknowledged by thinkers across the political spectrum but this is will be controversial and there will be a big fight. But that is what many people in the hall have craved for a long time. Politics is a battle of ideas. Yes you try to build consensus where you can, but it is about ideological differences in terms of how you think the economy, services and society should operate. It felt like the Labour Party has lacked the intellectual and political confidence to make and take on those big arguments. The battle lines for the next general election were drawn in this speech. There were also some interesting developments on our relationship with Europe and electoral reform appeal to the soft Left but which are also pretty ruthless transactional politics – if you want some kind of PR and some kind of rejoin the EU, vote for me.
David Maddox, political editor – ‘The PM has torn up the playbook of the consensus of 40 years’
In two decades as a political journalist this was the most revolutionary conference speech I have witnessed from a major party leader, let alone a sitting prime minister. Whether it is nationalisation of housing, water and energy, electoral reform, ending the triple lock on pensions, or a national social care service. Andy Burnham has torn up the playbook of the consensus of 40 years and bet his future on the next election manifesto which will be completely different to the one Keir Starmer put to the nation in 2024.
He meant what he said about reversing Thatcherism and it is clear he will go after Brexit as well. He is also the first PM to offer electoral reform for Westminster. But this was a brave speech too. Not just the tears for his father but willing to tackle thorny issues like ending the pension triple lock. The prime minister has laid out a truly radical agenda for the next election. The real fight for him starts now but it is clear from the reaction of the people in the room that his party is behind him.
Amelia Jacobs, writer – ‘For the first time in my life, I feel excited about a prime minister’
I want to start by saying that there is no annual salary that could ever persuade me to become prime minister of the United Kingdom. I’ve spent a lot of time mildly frustrated but weirdly empathetic for those in Number 10. Internecine governments seem to have defined a lot of my voting life, and I think a lot of young people feel they have seen a PM who genuinely put their needs at the forefront of their policy. So, following his speech at the Labour conference, the excitement I feel about Burnham’s tenure is a very new feeling. A country that invests in people’s success rather than paying for their failures highlights a readiness to champion young people which I am fully behind. Burnham’s tears as he spoke of the Britain he loves is the type of nationalism we need, hope for and pride in our country that isn’t rooted xenophobia and hatred.
However, there is an elephant stood in the corner of the conference room which I’m not sure was addressed with the detail and urgency required. An elephant pushed into the room by tech oligarchs in an AI arms race, with a burgeoning penchant for going rogue. Burnham’s approach to care, water, housing, and youth mobility is well deserving of the standing ovations. But as the job market flattens, the environment is jeopardised and a super intelligence is cooking bioweapons like banana bread, I worry that my generation won’t be able to enjoy it.
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That was a big, brave speech from Andy Burnham – with one problem
