Andy Burnham launched a scathing attack on a "climate of fear" within the Labour Party as he called for a "debate on our direction" at the party's conference in Liverpool. The Greater Manchester mayor received multiple rounds of applause as he criticised the leadership's handling of dissent.
Burnham highlighted specific examples where party members were "suspended for liking a tweet by another political party" or where "a Member of Parliament loses the whip for trying to protect disability benefits". He warned that such actions were stifling open debate within the party.
He said: "One thing I am worried about, and I think we do need to debate at this conference in my view, is how can you have an open debate about all of those things if there's too much of a climate of fear within our party and the way the party is being run."
Leadership speculation addressed
The build-up to Labour's annual conference has been dominated by questions about Sir Keir Starmer's future and whether Burnham could seek to topple him as party leader. Speaking at a conference fringe event on electoral reform, Burnham insisted he was there "to support the Government" and wanted the Prime Minister to succeed.
Burnham defended his recent comments, saying: "I've been accused of all things in the last week, as you can probably see. I've done nothing more than launch a debate." He said he was speaking for the "thousands of councillors at this conference who are worried about going to those doorsteps next May", along with members of the Senedd and Scottish Parliament.
Warning about future elections
The Greater Manchester mayor warned about the direction of British politics ahead of the next election. He said: "I feel very strongly that the next election, whenever it comes, is in many ways not going to be the traditional line-up of the parties, and which one do you want? I feel we're heading towards an election that is a choice of two world views: our view, the progressive view, the values that have shaped the country that we've always known and always lived in, or something much darker and very divisive."
Burnham spoke out against demands for "simplistic statements of loyalty", adding: "If that closes down the debate we need, I think it's at risk of underestimating the peril the party is in as we get to the polls next May." He also called for greater focus on council housing, saying money allocated to housebuilding should be entirely devoted to social and council homes.
Bond markets defence
Burnham hit back at those who had criticised him over comments saying the country should be "less in hock to the bond markets". He argued that a more consensual approach to politics would provide long-term stability and "reassure" those markets.
Party unity defended
Former leader Ed Miliband described Burnham as a "talented guy" but insisted he was fully behind Starmer's leadership. The Energy Secretary said: "I am very, very clear with you about this. Keir is my friend, my long-standing friend, and I'm Keir's guy, right? I'm for Keir. So if you ask me a leadership question, I'm not interested."
Miliband added: "We are best when we're a broad church, and we use talent from right across the Labour Party. And, you know, Andy's a really talented guy." He said "definitely not" when asked about planning his own comeback as leader.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for openness to challenge within the government. He told a conference fringe event: "We've got to be self-confident enough as ministers to be open to challenge, and openly debate different ideas, because it makes you stronger as a Government." Streeting argued Labour must have "the humility to listen", adding: "We would have avoided some of the mistakes of the past year if we'd listened to our MPs."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
