Andy Burnham, Britain's Prime Minister, announced at the Labour conference that he intends to scrap the first-past-the-post voting system for Westminster elections and introduce proportional representation. He promised to include this in the next general election manifesto scheduled for 2029 and established a national commission for electoral reform, inviting all political parties to participate. Burnham argued that changing the voting system would ensure more equitable representation and could help stabilize Britain's politics after years of leadership turnover.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Andy Burnham, newly elected leader of the Labour Party, delivered his first speech as leader at the party's conference in Liverpool on Wednesday. The speech was emotional and covered bold policies such as reforming social care and electoral systems, drawing mixed reactions from attendees and media outlets.
Burnham choked up while discussing his father who recently passed away, a moment that resonated deeply with the audience. He admitted to wanting to move faster on cost-of-living measures but stressed fiscal honesty about what Britain can afford. The speech was seen by some as one of the most memorable in recent years, with former BBC political editor Andrew Marr comparing it favorably to Tony Blair's speeches.
Critics like Mail Online’s Quentin Letts were less impressed, describing the emotional tone and policy promises as overly sentimental and sugar-coated. Meanwhile, supporters praised Burnham for his relatability and commitment to addressing working-class concerns, potentially appealing to voters who had drifted away from Labour under Keir Starmer.
The speech also touched on plans for electoral reform, aiming to introduce proportional representation in Westminster elections, a significant change since 1918. This move is seen as part of Burnham's strategy to transform the UK’s political system fundamentally, though some within the party are wary about such dramatic changes given current fiscal constraints and public opinion.
Written for “Andy Burnham Labour Speeches” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.
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Andy Burnham today set out his intent to scrap Britain's first-past-the-post voting system for Westminster elections.
In his first Labour conference speech as Prime Minister, Mr Burnham promised to introduce a 'new politics' through electoral reform.
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Burnham → see → reform
He confirmed he would fight the next general election, scheduled for 2029, with a Labour manifesto commitment to alter the system for choosing UK governments.
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he → confirm → governments
The PM, a long-time supporter of proportional representation, said a change would ensure 'everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard'.
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voice → say → representation
Mr Burnham announced the creation of a new 'national commission' for electoral reform and invited rival political parties to be part of its work.
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Burnham → announce → work
Changing the first-past-the-post system to proportional representation could allow smaller parties - such as the Greens - to form part of a Westminster government.
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parties → change → government
Mr Burnham's plans are likely to revive warnings of a 'coalition of chaos' - made up of a variety of Left-wing or nationalist parties - taking charge of Britain.
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plans → revive → Britain
But, in his conference speech, the PM suggested it was the current first-past-the-post system that was to blame for the country's recent churn of premiers.
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that → suggest → premiers
Andy Burnham today set out his intent to scrap Britain's first-past-the-post voting system for Westminster elections
Mr Burnham argued that Britain should not be governed by a 'divisive' administration elected with '30 per cent of the vote or less'.
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Britain → set → vote
Just 10 weeks on from his brutal ousting of Keir Starmer from Downing Street, Mr Burnham told Labour members there was a need to change the country's politics.
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Burnham → tell → politics
'Westminster prizes point-scoring over problem-solving.
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Westminster → prize → solving
And that is why so many things go unfixed for so long,' he said.
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he → go → ?
'If we want to change Britain, we need to change ourselves.
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we → want → ourselves
I will work as hard as I can to get as much cross-party support for our plan for Britain as I can.
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I → work → Britain
'If we can secure that, it will project a message of confidence and stability to the markets and the world about Britain's future direction.'
The PM has so far refused to call a snap general election in order to win his own mandate from the country.
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PM → secure → country
This is despite him having called for the Tories to do exactly that when they changed leaders while in power.
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they → call → power
But he used his first Labour conference speech as PM to demand a 'new politics', as he bowed to calls from his party's MPs for a national commission on electoral reform.
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he → use → reform
'We can't succeed in the eyes of the world if we continue with the levels of political turbulence we have seen in recent times,' he added.
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he → succeed → times
It is why I want to underpin our plan for Britain with a new politics.
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I → want → politics
We will all have failed in our public duties if we carry on as we are and open the door of No10 to a divisive government on 30 per cent of the vote or less.
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we → fail → vote
'Conference, in past years you have voted twice to support electoral reform.
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you → vote → reform
I hear you, I agree with you and today I am announcing a new national commission on electoral reform.
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I → hear → reform
I invite all political parties to be a part of its work.
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I → invite → work
We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard.'
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voice → contest → system
Labour's party conference voted to support moving towards a proportional representation voting system in 2022.
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conference → vote → 2022
But the party's 2024 manifesto instead focused its electoral and constitutional changes on extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds and House of Lords reform.
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manifesto → focus → Lords
Mr Burnham has previously spoken of how his late father Roy - who died earlier this month after suffering with Alzheimer's - was unaware that his son had swung behind one of his political passions, a change in the voting system to proportional representation.
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son → speak → representation
'I don't think he's ever realised, because of his condition, that I've come round to PR, which is one of his missions - to get me to accept that,' the PM told The Times in July.
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PM → think → July
The Aporia
