A defiant Andy Burnham has hit back at those who have demanded he make “simplistic statements of loyalty” to Sir Keir Starmer, saying they are “underestimating some of the peril” Labour is in.
The Manchester mayor warned of the difficult elections the party faces in Scotland and Wales, which it is on course to lose next year.
As speculation continues to grow over a challenge to Starmer’s leadership, Mr Burnham told a fringe at the Labour conference,: “I would say those out there making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty… are underestimating some of the peril that the party is in in those elections next year.”
Sir Keir has tried to rally Labour MPs at the start of party’s annual conference in Liverpool on Sunday, but is still facing questions from within Labour over his leadership.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley acknowledged it had been “quite a challenging couple of weeks” for the party.
However, Starmer dismissed the idea that he is in political trouble, telling the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Keunssberg: “In politics, there always can be comments about leaders and leadership, particularly at times like conference”.
Eluned Morgan warns of Reform UK threat
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said her nation had “seen this play before”, as she warned of the threat of Reform UK at the Senedd elections.
“We’ve seen this play before in Wales.
“Nigel Farage’s Ukip party elected seven members in 2016 and by the end of the term, six of them had left, drawn by infighting, broken promises and internal chaos.
“And just this week, their former Welsh leader admitted taking Russian bribes.
“And right now they’re attacking our support for Ukrainian refugees.
“This lot are… not putting Wales first. They’re putting Putin first.”
Pro-Palestine and Digital ID protestors come face to face outside conference
There are two protests currently happening outside of the Labour conference currently.
Pro-Palestine and people against Labour’s introduction of mandatory digital ID came face to face in Liverpool.
Defiant Burnham hits out at Labour politicians urging him to make ‘simplistic statements of loyalty’
The Independent’s Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:
A defiant Andy Burnham has hit back at those who have demanded he make “simplistic statements of loyalty” to Keir Starmer saying they are “underestimating some of the peril” Labour is in.
He warned of the difficult elections the party faces in Scotland and Wales, which it is on course to lose next year.
He told a fringe at the Labour conference: “I would say those out there making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty… are underestimating some of the peril that the party is in in those elections next year.”
He also said that Whitehall and Westminster “don’t like being answered back” after a week of intense speculation after he said Labour MPs had urged him to challenge for the leadership.
In response, Sir Keir compared him to Liz Truss and her disastrous mini Budget, after the mayor of Greater Manchester said the UK should no longer be in hock to the bond markets.
People protest Palestine Action ban outside conference
Pro-Palestine protesters have gathered outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Several people held signs with the words “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Police across the country have made hundreds of arrests over similar signs in recent weeks, after the government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
Australia’s PM addresses conference
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that “every single day counts” for a Labour Government because change “takes time” but the challenges faced “never wait”.
Sir Keir Starmer introduced the premier by his nickname, Albo, to deliver a special address to Labour’s party conference in Liverpool, calling the Australian Labor Party leader “a friend of mine, a real inspiration to those of us on the left, someone who is leading his country in the politics of renewal”.
Mr Albanese said: “For Labour governments, every single day counts because it takes time to turn promises into progress.
“It takes time for plans to work and be seen to work. For inflation to fall, wages to rise, new homes to be finished, new energy connected, new hospitals to open, new investments in education to flow into results.
“It takes time to tackle problems that have been created over decades. It takes time to repay trust by delivering on commitments, and in doing so, build trust for future action.
“It takes time to make change with people and make change work for people, and none of that means we can expect or ask for patience.”
Armed forces families get ‘first dibs’ on homes under Labour housebuilding plans
Armed forces families and veterans will be given “first dibs” on new homes built on surplus Ministry of Defence land, John Healey has pledged.
Military personnel will receive priority access to housing under the plans after the Government struck a deal to buy back more than 36,000 properties from the private sector at a cost of almost £6 billion.
Confirming the “Forces First” scheme at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Defence Secretary said the UK Government is determined to “stop the rot” of poor quality homes for servicemen and women.
Labour said the move would involve a “presumption” for personnel and veterans to receive priority access to developments on surplus MoD land “through ‘first dibs’ on new homes built”.
Live: Labour Party conference 2025 kicks off in Liverpool
Signs of movement on a ceasefire in Gaza, minister says
A government minister has said there have been positive signs of movement within ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer told a fringe at the Labour conference: “There are some signs from New York that there is movement towards more serious negotiations” on a ceasefire in recent days.
However, he added a note of caution, saying that in his time in the job “there have been moments where it has felt closer”.
Earlier on Sunday the foreign secretary Yvette Cooper suggested the world was on the brink of securing a peace deal for Gaza that could finally bring an end to two years of conflict.
She said the a “moment” had been reached “where the world wants to end this war” after US president Donald Trump indicated a peace deal could be done.
Housing secretary accuses Conservatives of ‘blocking the homes that people need’
The Conservatives “crushed the dreams of families” who struggled to access housing, Steve Reed has claimed.
The housing secretary told the Labour conference: “The Tories spent 14 years blocking the homes that people need.
“They didn’t just hold back the economy, they crushed the dreams of families who couldn’t afford a decent home.
“Well conference, no more. We will fight the Tory blockers and give working people the key to a decent home they can afford to live in.”
Referring to plans for a tranche of new towns in at least 12 locations, Mr Reed later added: “I will do whatever it takes to get Britain building again, and we won’t just build homes, we’ll build communities.
“And not just communities but entire towns.”
Unite general secretary warns Budget is ‘critical point’ for whether members choose to abandon Labour
The upcoming Budget is a “critical point” for whether Unite members choose to disaffiliate from Labour, the union’s leader has said.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned last month that workers could turn their backs on the party if they do not change course.
As Labour’s party conference began in Liverpool, she said it was getting “harder and harder to justify” affiliation with Labour and that the “time is getting close” to make a choice.
“My members are scratching their heads and they’re asking, ‘how does a Labour Government allow two oil refineries to shut with absolutely no plan? How have we got a net zero plan that has workers at the end of the queue? Where is the plan for workers? Where is the transition? Where is the money?’,” she told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News.
“And so for my members, whether it’s public sector workers all the way through to defence, are asking ‘What is happening here?’
“Now when that question cannot be answered, when we’re effectively saying ‘look, actually we cannot answer why we’re still affiliated’, then absolutely I think our members will choose to disaffiliate, and that time is getting close. “
Ms Graham was asked how long Sir Keir Starmer has before Unite makes that decision.
“The Budget is an absolutely critical point of us knowing whether direction is going to change,” she said.
She called for a loosening of the fiscal rules Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to stick to.
“Those fiscal rules need to be changed. Other countries are doing it. We should stop dancing around our handbag and do that.”
