Andy Burnham was not even in the audience for the prime minister’s speech at the Labour party conference this time last year. As Keir Starmer made the case for continuity to his restive party, Burnham was spotted slipping out over the bridge towards Liverpool’s Albert Dock. The Manchester mayor had been vying for the spotlight throughout the party’s annual gathering, presenting the argument for change.
But even he could not have envisaged the schism that would take place in the ensuing 12 months and would put him on the main stage as prime minister at this year’s conference, beginning in Merseyside on Sunday. At the time, Starmer retained a tentative grip on the party, while Burnham was mocked for leaving Liverpool with his tail between his legs, awkward and abashed, especially over his controversial comments about being too “in hock” to the bond markets. But below the surface, disquiet was starting to take shape.
Several cabinet ministers confided privately in Liverpool last year that they believed Burnham would ultimately be seen as the party’s Cassandra: comically ham-fisted, but nonetheless telling hard truths about the party’s problems. After he succeeded Starmer in the top job in July, Burnham has made “Hope Again” his conference slogan, with No 10 strategists pitching this year’s event as a definitive break with the past. Burnham has been promising to defy the political and economic consensus of the last 40 years since he was elected as MP for Makerfield, in a byelection that proved to be the final domino for Starmer’s faltering leadership, and will use this conference to set out how he aims to do this.
It will also attempt to break old habits in the Labour party’s way of doing business which has often been hindered by pessimism, fear and factionalism. Cynics in the party will wonder if this effort can withstand current economic pressures, given soaring borrowing costs. Hayden Munro, Burnham’s new political director, has told cabinet ministers and special advisers they must defy such cynics, and every message they send must be about how there is renewed faith in Britain.
Munro, a former strategist for Jacinda Ardern, who colleagues say is the “in-house hype man”, told them the theme of conference would be how help was coming for ordinary working people. Burnham’s government would put care of people as the first consideration, he told them, restoring “the right values” – a nod to the widespread fears in Labour about the rise of overt racism across the political sphere. Ministers have been tasked with announcing policies that deliver immediate breathing room for families, but also long-term plans and investment to make everyday life easier and more affordable, with a particular focus on public control of essential services.
Burnham will emphasise again that he intends to deliver the biggest change to Britain in 40 years. But the other theme of the conference will be courage, that this will finally be a government which will fix problems long been thought to be intractable, rough sleeping, social care, and youth inactivity. We will get stuff done,” Munro wrote in his note to advisers.
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