Burnham to say his government will be ‘unashamedly Labour’ in first speech as party leader – UK politics live

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>‘Special conference’ to take place at noon where Burnham will be formally announced as Labour leader</p><p>Here is a Guardian interactive exploring what some of the options are for Andy Burnham as he forms his cabinet on Monday.</p><p>Anyone who thinks that Andy Burnham as PM will be just like Keir Starmer only with better communication skills is “absolutely deluded”, <strong>Steve Rotheram</strong> told the Today programme this morning.</p><p><strong>Rotheram said that a Burnham government would “shake things up” and be significantly different from Keir Starmer’s. </strong>He was not asked about Zack Polanski’s comments this morning (see<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jul/17/andy-burnham-labour-leader-speech-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-6a59da4c8f08d07635040026#block-6a59da4c8f08d07635040026"> 8.43am</a>), but he could have been referring to Polanski when he said:</p><p>If people believe that Andy Burnham is being made the prime minister so that he can communicate the same message just in a better way or a better form, then they’re absolutely deluded. Andy wants to go in there and he wants to shake things up.</p><p>People will start to see what Andy Burnham wants to do. But he’s not just there to be a better communicator than Keir Starmer was. There’s going to be people who are into a very rude awakening if that’s what they believe.</p><p><strong>Rotheram rejected claims that Burnham does not have a plan for government. </strong>He said:</p><p>Of course there’s a plan. And there’s been a plan being worked on for many weeks and months now. As soon as it could look likely that there was going to be a byelection, then those gears started to click into motion.</p><p><strong>Rotheram implied that Burnham might favour small tax rises.</strong> He said he and Burnham had both raised taxes as mayors, saying the “small increase” in Manchester has improved public transport. He added:</p><p>Nobody really complains about a small increase that allows you to do something that’s popular.</p><p><strong>Rotheram rejected criticism of Burnham from the Labour MP Graham Stringer. </strong>In a separate interview, <strong>Stringer</strong>, MP for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackley_and_Middleton_South" title="Blackley and Middleton South">Blackley and Middleton South</a> in Greater Manchester, complained about Burnham not having a plan. He said:</p><p>Andy hasn’t told us what he’s going to do. He’s not explained any plan, or any details, about policy on immigration, the economy, energy, a whole series of major policies are still a mystery in terms of what he will do about them.</p><p>Effectively nominating him would have been giving a blank cheque. He owes it both to the parliamentary Labour party and the country to be more explicit.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jul/17/andy-burnham-labour-leader-speech-latest-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.