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Andy Burnham is facing a stormy Labour conference today with ministers clashing on migration and the Left accusing him of 'ghosting' them.
The PM is in Liverpool kicking off his first gathering since ousting Keir Starmer - but with mounting evidence that the same bitter infighting will blight his leadership.
Tensions have flared after Angela Rayner doubled down on her criticism of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's 'un-British' plans to make it harder for migrants to gain permanent residence in the UK.
asserted
migrants → see → UK
The Housing Secretary's intervention was described by MPs as a 'drive-by shooting', reopening a dangerous fault line.
Meanwhile, Left-wingers have been openly sniping at Mr Burnham's approach.
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wingers → describe → approach
Clive Lewis - once such a fervent ally suggested he could stand down so the former Manchester mayor could re-enter the Commons - said the PM had 'left his allies behind' on entering No10 and behaved 'terribly'.
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PM → suggest → No10
Veteran campaigner Neal Lawson, previously tipped to advise Mr Burnham in No10, accused him of 'jettisoning' plans for wealth taxes and rent controls, and downgrading a nationalisation push.
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Lawson → tip → push
The internal warring comes against an increasingly bleak backdrop for the Government, with the Middle East crisis wreaking havoc on the public finances.
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crisis → come → finances
Chancellor John Healey admitted in an interview today that he might need to act on fuel duty, which is scheduled to rise at a time when drivers are facing rocketing prices at the pumps.
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drivers → admit → pumps
However, with markets alarmed at UK borrowing levels that would require him to find billions of pounds more from other tax rises or spending cuts - the latter of which would meet stern resistance from Labour MPs.
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latter → alarm → MPs
Ahead of his first Budget on October 28, Mr Healey also signalled he understands concerns about an exodus of rich individuals from the UK, saying he wanted people to stay to create jobs and wealth.
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people → signal → jobs
In other developments at Labour conference today:
- Ms Rayner has announced local leaders will get stronger powers to seize empty and derelict homes so they can be brought back into use;
- Mr Burnham insisted he “won’t leave office' without having 'grasped this nettle' of social care reform, after the death of his Alzheimer's-hit father Roy;
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he → announce → father
- Tories have warned that a new help to buy scheme offering state loans to first-time purchasers will heap more pressure on the country's finances and only push up house prices;
- Speculation continues to swirl about a snap election despite Mr Burnham declaring the idea 'dead';
Andy Burnham (pictured with Chancellor John Healey yesterday) is facing a stormy Labour conference today with ministers clashing on migration and the Left accusing him of 'ghosting' them
Tensions have flared after Angela Rayner doubled down on her criticism of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's 'un-British' plans to make it harder for migrants to gain permanent residence in the UK
Mr Burnham has made 'hope again' the slogan of his first Labour conference
Ms Rayner fired the first shots of the civil war yesterday by insisting the proposed visa clampdown effectively 'changed the goalposts' for migrants already living in Britain, particularly those working in social care.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy then sided with the Home Secretary on Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday.
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Nandy → warn → Saturday
She said Ms Mahmood was 'taking great care... and she has the support of the Cabinet in doing so'.
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she → say → Cabinet
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'If Andy Burnham's Cabinet are already at war with each other over small changes to the immigration system, how can they ever be trusted to stop the boats?'
In an interview with the Guardian ahead of conference, Mr Burnham insisted he could bring forward a radical reform agenda while maintaining the public finances.
He suggested the public would have 'more respect for us if we go and grab something difficult … and say, 'right, we're going to do something here', rather than constantly playing the political game before fixing the problems'.
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we → say → problems
He added: 'It's challenging, definitely, but there are still things that you can do.
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you → add → that
Always in politics, there are things that you can do.
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you → be → that
The question is sometimes, are you prepared to do them?
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you → do → them
Yeah, I am prepared to do them.
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I → do → them
In what could be the latest step to help households with the cost-of-living crisis, Mr Healey told the Sunday Times he was mulling over whether a planned fuel duty rise should go ahead.
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rise → help → Times
'I'm conscious of these pressures and I will take them into account when I make my Budget decisions,' he said.
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he → take → decisions
The Chancellor also gave a veiled hint that capital gains tax could rise at the Budget, saying it was currently the lowest of 'any European G7 nation'.
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it → give → nation
Cabinet colleagues Louise Haigh and Wes Streeting have backed such a move, but economists have warned it could backfire by driving out wealth creation.
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it → back → creation
Speaking on the Labour Left Podcast, Mr Lewis was asked whether Labour was on track for a 'reset'.
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Labour → speak → reset
The Norwich South MP replied: 'I would say where we are at the moment: no.'
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we → reply → moment
Mr Lewis said Mr Burnham's admininstration was an 'improvement' but not 'a government of all wings of the party'.
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admininstration → say → party
'The Left were firmly kept outside of it,' he said.
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he → keep → it
He suggested Mr Burnham had been swept to the door of No10 by the Left, but then done a deal to take power without them.
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Burnham → suggest → them
'We're kind of at the door banging: 'Andy, are you coming back out?' he said.
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he → bang → door
He's ghosted us.
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He → ghost → us
But at the end of the day, mission achieved.
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mission → achieve → day
Starmer has gone.'
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Starmer → go → ?
He added: 'I might be crying into my soup in a couple of years' time, bemoaning the fact of what we did, but at the moment there are options on the table for us.'
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we → add → us
Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Lawson said: 'Of course, it's only been two months, but there are grounds for concern.
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it → write → concern
Ideas talked up on the summer's march south, such as wealth taxes, rent control and the end of the MP whipping system, have been jettisoned.
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Ideas → talk → system
Ms Mahmood has been building Labour support for the crackdown on residency rules
'
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Mahmood → build → rules
Suddenly, instead of the public ownership of water, it looks like he might settle for another failed version of regulated public control we already have.
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we → look → control
'And the opportunity has already been missed for Burnham to put his personal stamp on perhaps the biggest circuit breaker of all, the shift to proportional representation.
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Burnham → miss → representation
'When it was debated in parliament earlier this month, he let the moment pass.'
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moment → debate → parliament
The Aporia
