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Andy Burnham’s speech to the Labour Party Conference has been hailed by many British commentators as one of the most consequential in a generation, with his ambitious plans to reform social care and pensions, tackle festering deficiencies in Britain’s housing stock, energy supply and infrastructure, improve education and opportunity for young people, and launch national debates on reforming the UK’s electoral system, and restoring a better relationship with the EU.
He promised he was going to deliver a “real speech” and say the things “politicians usually avoid” and there was almost no sacred cow he was not willing to address. He became the first major political leader to state openly that Britain was not “anywhere where we want it to be” and has “been on the wrong path for a long time.” He became the first to openly state that Thatcher’s privatisation of public utilities such as water in the 1980s was a mistake – “a service where shareholders never lose and the public never wins….It stinks.”
He was also the first to openly acknowledge that Brexit did not allow the country to “take back control” but actually has caused “more harm than good” whilst explicitly thanking immigrants for their contributions to the country. Perhaps most importantly, because of the implications for his own party’s future, he also became the first major party leader to express openness to reforming Britain’s electoral system, with the explicit aim of preventing handing the keys of No 10 to “divisive elements” (code for Reform) with less than 30% of the national vote.
Burnham made clear that he was not interested in presiding over Britain’s decline, but in leading it back to strength at home and influence abroad. “We led the world’s first industrial revolution…so why can’t we lead the next? We can, Conference, and we will… As Gordon Brown has said, we can be the world’s innovation nation, and he’s right, we can.”
His remarks throughout were tinged with patriotism, belief, and confidence in the country. “Britain is not perfect; it can be better; and we will make it so; but it still stands for something worth saving, worth fighting for.” His plan was “not just to hold us together, but allow Britain to rise again and be confident of our place in the world.”
In a particularly poignant moment, he described how it made him feel when the Scottish leader, John Swinney, said that Burnham would be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Burnham, who was at his father’s deathbed at the time, said the remark made him “utterly determined to prove him wrong.”
Above all, he repeatedly emphasised his determination to deliver on his promises, no matter what the political pain. “It’s the leadership I promised you…and I will do it.” “I know it’s hard…I know not everyone will agree…but I will fight hard for what I believe is in the best interests of our country.”
This speech establishes Burnham as not just the most serious politician in Britain in years, but also potentially the most consequential British politician to be reckoned with on the world stage. In terms of public profile, it easily puts him on a level footing with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, who has shown himself to be equally courageous in saying the unsayable. Just as Carney has won global respect by being frank about the need for Canada to reduce its reliance on America, so Burnham’s remarks are sure to make other countries sit up and take notice that he means business.
To underscore the message, Burnham explicitly drew the link between the state of the UK at home, and its influence and standing abroad. “A country which invests in people’s success, rather than abandoning them and paying for failure, will be much more resilient to the shocks we will undoubtedly face in the rest of this century… This leadership we are showing at home will be matched on the international stage.” The UK…