Burnham sets out EU options and care overhaul in first conference speech as Labour leader
September 30, 2026 at 06:59 AM · Updated 16d ago
Coverage
10 reports · over 22 hours
The Burnham bounce: Is Labour gaining ground against Farage’s Reform?
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Macron says ‘welcome back’ to Burnham suggestion UK could rejoin EU
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‘Oozing everyman charm’: what the papers say about Andy Burnham’s speech
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Andy Burnham: UK could ‘go all the way’ by rejoining EU
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Tories would keep the triple lock as it is, says party chairman
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Watch: Burnham says UK could go 'all the way' towards rejoining EU
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Wednesday briefing: Can Andy Burnham live up to the party’s faith in him?
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Move to rejoin EU among options for UK, says Andy Burnham
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Newspaper headlines: 'Burnham's triple shock' and 'City face expulsion'
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Could changing the pension triple lock pay for Burnham's big social care plan?
(opens the publisher’s site)In his first Labour conference speech as leader, Andy Burnham proposed reshaping UK-EU ties with rejoining among options and pledged to scrap the pension triple lock.
- Burnham said the Brexit settlement caused "more harm than good" and left rejoining the EU among options for a delayed summit.
- He vowed to end the pension triple lock by 2030 to help fund a national care service.
- LabourList polling found 92% of members believe Burnham is governing well and 80% say the party is heading in the right direction.
- Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart accused Labour of "dragging" the UK into the EU "via the back door."
- The IFS and the OBR doubted the triple-lock change would fund a national care service costing £18.5bn a year by 2036.
- Burnham also called for more government support for households facing rising energy costs this winter.
- Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Burnham said the UK could go 'all the way' towards rejoining the EU.
- The Conservative Party chairman said a Conservative government would keep the state pension triple lock unchanged.
- At a Madrid press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said “welcome back” to Burnham’s rejoin suggestion, calling Brexit “the biggest lie of the last 30 years.”
- A Survation poll taken after the speech gave Labour 29 percent, up two points, while Reform UK fell to 23 percent.
- A separate YouGov poll showed Reform UK slightly ahead, while analysts said the bounce may be short-lived.
- Burnham also outlined plans to give the public more control over housing, water and energy amid the cost-of-living crisis.