ANALYSIS: The PM had plenty to say about his family… but said little on welfare reform or raising defence spending

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source He spent little over an hour on the main stage at the Labour conference, but alongside headline-grabbing pledges on the triple lock, social care, Brexit and electoral reform, Andy Burnham also talked about: Family. asserted

Mr Burnham honoured his grandparents and parents who he said had 'guided him' to becoming PM. asserted

He said Liverpool was where his 'story began' as he came before members at Labour's annual conference, adding: 'My grandad drove a lorry along these docks for Tate and Lyle. asserted

My gran, Kitty, inherited the drive of her Irish ancestors. asserted

She walked three miles out of the bombed-out city after the war to put a deposit down on a house without Jimmy's knowledge. asserted

'She put a deposit down on her house, the house where I was born. asserted

It changed the fortunes of my family. asserted

It was where my mum and dad started off, built a partnership, and went on to create our own family home, and filled it with life, love and laughter.' asserted

The PM also revealed his grandmother's experience in social care had inspired him to reform the care system. asserted

'When I was a new MP in the early 2000s I despaired at what I saw when Kitty went through the system,' he said. asserted

I winced at the pain it caused my mum. asserted

My gran's engagement ring ripped from her finger and stolen in a care home. asserted

Care not worthy of the name, and the modest savings she had built up through her life, starting with the house where I was born, all taken to pay for it. asserted

I vowed then to fight for something better for my parents' generation, and here we are, 25 years later.' asserted

Mr Burnham said his plans for a national care service would be 'in memory' of his father Roy, who passed away this month at 85 after a battle with Alzheimer's. asserted

He has previously said the illness meant he did not know his son had become prime minister. asserted

He said: 'If only he had been able to appreciate that moment of the family in Downing Street: The son of a man who failed his 11-plus becoming Prime Minister.' Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader Andy Burnham became emotional while delivering a speech during the Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday The PM pictured with his father Roy, who suffered with Alzheimer's, and mother Eileen in 2015 Mr Burnham embraced his mother Eileen and brother John after delivering his Labour conference speech Welfare Mr Burnham ruled out 'crude cuts' to Britain's spiralling welfare bill in a speech that largely glossed over the topic. The Prime Minister did not mention the soaring numbers of people on disability benefits or suggest any new reforms to personal independence payments, after Sir Keir Starmer's attempts at reform were defeated by Labour backbenchers. asserted

Instead, he claimed that 'investing' in people to get them into work would cost less than 'paying for failure' through the benefits system. asserted

Mr Burnham told the party conference: 'If we change the way we support people, we will get more people into work and the welfare bill down. asserted

'But by investing in people in their success, supporting them to get where they want to be, rather than paying for failure as the country does now.' asserted

He acknowledged there are now almost a million young people 'not working or learning', known as Neets. asserted

But he suggested his approach to tackling the problem, including requiring teenagers to take up the offer of 45-day work placements or apprenticeships, would cost more money. uncertain

'We will need a fundamental rethink of the welfare system to find the money for these opportunities upfront,' he said. asserted

In what is becoming a theme of his premiership, there was just one passing reference to defence spending. asserted

As he struggles to come up with a plan to reach 3 per cent of GDP spent on defence by 2030, all he could say was: 'A country which invests in people's success, rather than abandoning them and paying for failure, will be much more resilient to the shocks we will undoubtedly face in the rest of this century. And more able to meet its Nato obligations on defence.' uncertain

He vowed to stand up to threats from Russia or Iran but did not mention China at all. asserted

Artificial intelligence Britain will be a global leader on AI, Mr Burnham pledged. asserted

The Prime Minister said the UK would use its upcoming presidency of the G20 group of leading nations to develop a new international code amid growing fears over the risks that the technology poses. asserted

Mr Burnham told delegates: 'As Gordon Brown has said, we can be the world's innovation nation, and he's right, we can. asserted

'When Britain takes the presidency of the G20 next year, I will show our new-found confidence as a country, and I will show it to the world by putting AI centre stage and Britain will then work to develop a new global code to capture its benefits while being clear-eyed about its risks.' The Union asserted

The Prime Minister vowed that he would not let the United Kingdom be broken up. asserted

He said he was 'utterly determined' to disprove the prediction – made by SNP leader John Swinney – that he would be the last Prime Minister of the country. asserted

'On the day my dad died, the Scottish First Minister [not knowing the tragic news] said I would be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom,' Mr Burnham told the conference. 'I relay it because I want you to know how it made me feel. asserted

Utterly determined to prove him wrong.' asserted

However, elsewhere in his speech he said his theory of economic growth involved a plan to 'devolve more power to places to put them in charge and decide their own destiny'. asserted