UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Tuesday that Labour would rework Britain’s state pension triple lock from April 2030 if it wins the next general election, using the savings to help build a new National Care Service for England.
In his first Labour conference speech as prime minister, Burnham paired the politically risky pension change with plans for greater public control of water and energy, electoral reform and a reassessment of Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe.
Burnham, who became prime minister on July 20, presented the speech as a break with a period of political instability that has made him Britain’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
“Today we draw a line on a decade of division,” he told delegates.
His acknowledgment of Keir Starmer, the prime minister he replaced, was brief. Burnham thanked Starmer for Labour’s 2024 election victory before moving to the case for changing the country’s direction.
Paying for care
The triple lock, introduced in 2011, guarantees that the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest: inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5 percent.
Burnham said Labour would honor its 2024 manifesto commitment to retain the system for the rest of the current Parliament before changing it from April 2030, subject to winning the next election.
“The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5%. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time,” Burnham said.
The savings would help finance a National Care Service to be introduced in the next Parliament. Burnham described a service free at the point of use, with no care charges taken from the basic state pension. Louise Casey’s review will advise the government on its design.
Labour estimates that changing the triple lock would save about £15 billion a year by the end of the 2030s, rising to £50 billion by 2050. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said the initial savings are likely to be smaller and would not, on their own, be enough to finance universal social care.
The IFS said Burnham’s proposed pension formula would remove the “ratchet” created by the existing triple lock while still increasing pensions by at least inflation or 2.5 percent each year.
Burnham acknowledged the political risk.
“I won’t pretend some of this won’t be difficult,” he said. “I accept I may pay a political price.”
The plan drew criticism from both the left and right. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said she would prefer the government to raise money through a wealth tax, while the Conservatives and Reform UK said they would retain the existing triple lock.
Water, power and “taking back control”
Burnham coupled the care plan with a broader push for public control over essential services.
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will bring forward a strengthened Water Bill whose centerpiece will be the repeal of the legal barrier to public ownership of water companies. Burnham said mayors would receive stronger powers over water companies and that firms that repeatedly fail could ultimately face public ownership.
“Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain. A service where the shareholders never lose and the public never win,” he said.
On energy, Burnham announced Great British Grid, a new publicly owned body within Great British Energy that will be able to invest in electricity-grid infrastructure and accelerate connections for businesses and new power generation.
Burnham also set a 10-year goal of bringing British energy costs into line with those of neighboring European countries.
He turned the argument on his political opponents.
“The British Right talk about ‘taking back control.’ Never let them forget, they are the ones that gave it away in the first place,” he said.
But Burnham also stressed the limits imposed by the public finances.
“I would love to go quicker. But I have to be honest about what the country can afford. I will stick to our fiscal rules to get borrowing and debt down,” he said.
Some measures arrive sooner. VAT will be removed from household electricity bills on October 1, while single bus fares in England will be capped at £2 throughout 2027.
Europe and the ballot box
Burnham then turned to Britain’s relationship with Europe.
“I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good,” he said.
Burnham said an upcoming UK-EU summit would provide an opportunity to set out different options for Britain’s long-term relationship with its European partners and seek a broader national consensus.
“We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of the century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market,” he said.
He did not specify in the speech which long-term model he would ultimately favor. Burnham is seeking closer relations without currently proposing that Britain rejoin the EU, its single market or customs union.
Burnham also announced a national commission on electoral reform and invited other political parties to participate.
Labour, he said, would contest the next general election with a manifesto commitment to change the Westminster electoral system “so that everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard.” He did not specify the replacement system in Tuesday’s speech.
On housing, Burnham said a bill to reform England’s leasehold system would be introduced before Christmas.
A personal case for the union
The most personal section came near the end of the speech.
Burnham’s father, Roy, died earlier this month after living with dementia. Burnham became visibly emotional while discussing him and paused several times.
Burnham recalled that on the day his father died, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said Burnham would be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Burnham said he did not believe Swinney knew of his father’s death and added that his father would have defended the Scottish leader’s right to make the argument.
But he said the remark left him “utterly determined to prove him wrong.”
“Whatever its flaws, this country gave my dad a good life,” Burnham said.
He described his father as a man who failed the 11-plus and did not go to university, contrasting that experience with his own path to Downing Street.
“The son of a man who failed his 11-plus becoming Prime Minister,” he said.
Burnham used his father’s story to make his case for preserving the United Kingdom, describing a union built around institutions and traditions including the National Health Service, trade unions and opportunities for succeeding generations.
The road ahead
Much of Burnham’s program stretches beyond the current Parliament.
The National Care Service and pension changes would follow the next general election. The water reforms require legislation. The government has yet to settle the precise form of its long-term relationship with Europe or the electoral system it would propose to replace first past the post.
That leaves Burnham asking voters to consider a series of explicit trade-offs: slower long-term pension growth in exchange for greater protection against care costs, more public intervention in water and energy, and another debate over Britain’s economic relationship with Europe.
He acknowledged that not everyone, including members of his own party, would agree.
“I accept people, including in this hall, will not agree with every part of it,” Burnham said.
“But I believe this is what we need.”
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