Politics
Burnham opens Labour conference with October budget pressure ahead
September 26, 2026 at 01:26 PM · Updated 20d ago
Coverage
4 reports · over 12 hours
TGThe Guardian
‘I can deliver’: Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conference
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BNBBC News
How long can Labour's feel-good factor last?
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BNBBC News
Burnham not doing enough to boost growth, says Starmer ally
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TGThe Guardian
The tricky tests awaiting Andy Burnham after Labour conference
(opens the publisher’s site)Andy Burnham heads into Labour's Liverpool conference buoyed by improved polls, with economic pressures looming over the chancellor's 28 October budget.
- Burnham will make his first conference speech as Labour leader in Liverpool on Tuesday.
- Peter Kyle, the former business secretary, told the BBC Labour must treat economic growth with the urgency it gives social issues.
- Chancellor John Healey faces the 28 October budget with headroom shrinking as debt interest rises and Iran-war energy prices push up inflation.
- Labour defends the Holborn and St Pancras seat in an 8 October byelection against Green leader Zack Polanski.
- Kyle, dismissed in Burnham's reshuffle, proposed a 'tax growth test' and delaying workers' rights expansion.
- The OECD forecast UK economic growth of 1% this year.
- In a Guardian interview, Burnham ruled out a snap election before 2029 and denied internal discussions on an early election.