ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-09-29 · by Mazoe Ford and Riley Stuart
Andy Burnham, the new UK prime minister who took office in July following Sir Keir Starmer, delivered a speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool where he criticized Brexit, stating it has caused more harm than good. Emphasizing domestic unity amid growing calls for independence from some UK regions, Burnham pledged to work towards keeping the United Kingdom together and explored potential changes to the country’s relationship with the European Union during an upcoming summit. His speech also touched briefly on foreign policy and highlighted plans to regulate AI during the UK's G20 presidency in 2027.
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, recently appointed as Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, pledged to set the UK on a "new course" a decade after the Brexit vote. At the Labour conference in Liverpool, he emphasized the need to draw a line under the last 10 years marked by drift and division, aiming to foster hope for improvement. Burnham said his vision would leave people with renewed confidence that life will get better. He also acknowledged the impact of social issues like child poverty and promised progress on these fronts. Despite challenges, including potential disputes over Israel policy, Labour's feel-good factor has improved significantly since last year. The conference, along with upcoming government initiatives, aims to set out Burnham’s vision for a more stable Britain.
Written for “UK Labour Party Conference” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 26 other(s) covering the same event.
Andy Burnham said Brexit "had done more harm than good" and promised to keep the United Kingdom together in his biggest speech since taking over as the country's prime minister.
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Brexit → say → minister
Burnham, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer as PM in July, made the comments during a fiery and at times emotional address at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, local time.
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who → replace → Tuesday
In a stark contrast to his predecessor, Burnham's hour-long oration focused largely on domestic issues and left-wing policies.
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oration → focus → issues
Brexit changes flagged
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changes → flag → ?
Burnham promised to use a summit between the UK and European Union later this year to table several options about what the relationship could be in the future.
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relationship → promise → future
It's been just over a decade since Brits voted to leave the EU, and on Tuesday, Burnham stopped short of saying his country should rejoin the bloc, however, he did not rule it out either, and was deeply critical of Brexit.
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he → vote → Brexit
"I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough.
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are → say → you
Brexit has done more harm than good," the PM said, adding the EU was his country's largest trading partner.
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EU → do → good
Burnham did not speculate on what his options might include.
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options → speculate → what
The PM became emotional when he spoke about the prospect of some of the UK nations seeking independence, adding that his own opposition to the idea had been shaped by the influence of his father, who died earlier this month.
Burnham's speech came a little over two weeks after the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed a memorandum demanding their countries be allowed a path to independence and reunification with the Republic of Ireland respectively.
"I'm going to use this job to build the kind of Britain my dad wanted to see and fight with everything I've got to keep it together," the PM said, as his voice cracked.
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voice → become → it
Foreign issues not PM's focus
Apart from speaking about closer ties with the European Union, Burnham didn't devote much time to foreign policy — less than a minute, in fact.
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Burnham → speak → fact
He spoke about a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, said he would be "steadfast" in his support for Ukraine and "stand up to threats wherever they come from, whether Russia, Iran or anywhere".
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they → speak → wherever
Burnham did not mention AUKUS in his address.
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Burnham → mention → address
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband later told the ABC people should not read anything into his boss's brevity.
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people → tell → brevity
"I would say to our Australian and international audiences that the values that Andy talked about today in his speech are the values that we will apply in our foreign policy," he said.
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he → say → policy
Global AI regulation
Burnham said the UK would use its presidency of the G20 in 2027 to "develop a new global code" to regulate AI.
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UK → say → AI
On Tuesday, Britain's PM said on AI, he wanted to "capture its benefits, whilst being clear-eyed about its risks".
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he → say → risks
Signature policy: National Care Service
The PM's signature policy announcement during the speech was the creation of a National Care Service that would help vulnerable people inside their homes and, in turn, ease pressure on the National Health Service (the UK's equivalent of Australia's Medicare).
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that → help → Medicare
He described it as "a landmark policy as significant as the creation of the NHS itself".
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He → describe → NHS
"I won't pretend some of this won't be difficult," Burnham told the crowd, adding his proposal would go before voters at the next general election in 2029.
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proposal → pretend → 2029
"I accept I may pay a political price."
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I → accept → price
One of his more controversial policy announcements was an adjustment to the state pension entitlement, which prompted audible tut tuts from some of the elderly people in the audience.
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which → prompt → audience
Cost-of-living relief
The PM re-announced multiple policies designed to bring down the UK's soaring cost of living.
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PM → re → living
These included bus fares being capped at £2 ($3.80), some tax being taken off electricity bills, and plans to renationalise essential public services.
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These → include → services
He also spoke at length about housing, including the need to help rough sleepers, a new plan to allow first homebuyers 2.5 per cent deposits in some circumstances, and changes to the country's antiquated "leasehold" system, which means many home owners actually lease their land from aristocrats.
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owners → speak → aristocrats
The Aporia
