In his first address to the party conference as prime minister, Andy Burnham used his Burnham Labour conference speech to argue that the country has been headed the wrong way for years and to set out plans for tighter public control of essential services, an expanded council housebuilding programme and a 10-year blueprint to “make this country work for you again.”
Burnham Labour conference speech highlights public control of water
Turning to water services, Burnham said the sector exemplified what had gone wrong, accusing companies of extracting easy profits while the public paid for pollution costs. He announced that Angela Eagle will introduce a strengthened water bill in parliament aimed at reversing Margaret Thatcher’s ban on public ownership of water, according to his remarks.
Burnham said the legislation would tighten public oversight, hand mayors new powers to hold companies to account and shut loopholes that allow excessive bonuses. He added that private firms that serve the public interest would be supported, but those that do not could face consequences, including a return to public control or ownership.
Housing: restoring council building and tackling empties
Burnham said he wants young people starting out to be able to buy a home as earlier generations did. He restated his pledge to end rough sleeping and said Angela Rayner will lead the biggest council housebuilding programme since the late 1970s.
He pledged to build on unused public land, reform Right to Buy by removing it from newly built council homes while maintaining it for existing tenants, and give local authorities powers to take control of long-term empty properties and return them to the public housing stock.
Everyone should have a home
Arguing for a larger role for council housing, Burnham said a secure home is the foundation for opportunity and good health. He cited more than a million people on housing waiting lists, roughly the number of homes lost through Right to Buy in the 1980s, and vowed to work until everyone has a roof over their head and no one is forced to sleep on the streets.
Brexit and the loss of control
Setting out how control had been eroded, Burnham said economic control diminished with the sale of essential services and political control with the hollowing out of councils. He added that Brexit had weakened immigration control.
He said a comprehensive plan for Britain will be published later this year, detailing how over a decade the government intends to deliver change.
‘Britain has been on the wrong path’
Calling for honesty before hope, Burnham said deindustrialisation, deregulation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit had left the country run in the interests of the few, with power concentrated and many places allowed to drift. He said the right spoke of taking back control but had given it away by selling off homes, water, energy and transport.
Applause for Starmer and a call for unity
Burnham thanked Keir Starmer for leading Labour to victory, drawing applause in the hall. He said the country does not feel as if it is pulling together, but argued that if people work together the UK can be “unstoppable.”
He walked on stage to All Together Now, which he described as his anthem, and noted he is 10 weeks into the job, a milestone not all predecessors managed.
Rayner sets out measures on housing and fees
Earlier, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told delegates the government will cap permission and administrative fees charged by landlords and freeholders, with a public consultation to determine scope and amounts. She also promised to remove barriers that prevent councils from tackling homelessness, allow referrals of local homeless households to other social housing providers to reduce reliance on temporary accommodation, make it easier for councils to buy homes that providers seek to sell so they are not lost from the social stock, and introduce a duty on public services to work together to prevent homelessness.
Triple lock debate and social care
Rayner said Burnham was right to start a difficult conversation about the future of the state pension triple lock in the context of funding social care reform, describing his stance as brave. Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham reiterated her opposition to removing the triple lock, calling it morally wrong and warning it would send the wrong message to working-class voters.
Northern Ireland and ECHR
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant warned that proposals by Reform UK and the Conservatives to leave the European convention on human rights would put the Good Friday agreement at risk without complex renegotiation. He urged compromise over tensions at Drumcree and said he would travel to Belfast for talks.
Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern cautioned parties against stoking sectarianism ahead of Stormont elections and said failure to resolve the Drumcree stand-off quickly would be a disaster, according to separate comments.
Electoral reform and PR debate
Burnham is expected to confirm he will proceed with plans for electoral reform, with interest growing in how different proportional representation systems might have altered the 2024 general election outcome. Analysis circulated by campaigners suggested first past the post delivered a highly disproportional result.
While some in Labour favour PR, others warned that re-opening constitutional questions could create uncertainty for business.
Energy grid investment welcomed, with caveats
Environmental groups gave a guarded welcome to plans for a government-backed GB Grid to invest in the electricity network, saying public leadership was essential to connect renewables but warning that around £4 billion would not be transformative against regulator estimates that tens of billions are needed over five years. They also cautioned that spending must not crowd out support for emerging technologies.
Some analysts noted parallels with the pressure on infrastructure seen as the UK food and drink trade deficit widened in recent years, arguing that long-term investment will be critical. Others pointed to the role of regulators such as Ofgem in determining how far the GB Grid plan can reshape the market.