Andy Burnham has reaffirmed his pledge to deliver real change for people across Britain, insisting he is ready for the challenges as the country faces severe economic headwinds.
On arriving in Liverpool on the eve of the Labour Party conference, the prime minister acknowledged both he and Chancellor John Healey were working under a difficult set of circumstances in setting the autumn budget.
Global turmoil, including wars in Iran and Ukraine, has continued to push up borrowing costs, which will limit Mr Burnham’s room for manoeuvre ahead of the 28 October fiscal event.
While telling the Guardian it would be “crucial” to stabilise the public finances to put his agenda of national renewal on a good footing, Mr Burnham said he remained up to the challenge of bringing about radical change.
He was speaking as plans were unveiled for a new help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers. It was also announced that young people on health benefits will be offered a guaranteed job funded by the government.
Mr Burnham said: “I think the public would respect us more if we went and took something difficult … and said ‘Right, we’re going to do something here’, rather than just playing the political game all the time before we deal with the problems.”
“It’s challenging, definitely, but there are still things that you can do. Always in politics, there are things that you can do. The question is sometimes: Are you prepared to do them? Yeah, I am prepared to do them.”
Asked about the need for a buffer against his spending plans, the so-called fiscal headroom, Mr Burnham said,
I do think it is crucial to have stability and to show that there’s a willingness to confront some of these difficult issues.
“But actually, from that stability, the permission can come to make bigger changes that, in the end, could put the country in a stronger position in relation to the public finances.”
As he arrived at the conference, the prime minister promised to set the UK on a new course, saying the decade since the Brexit vote had been one of “drift and division”.
Mr Burnham said: “We’re going to make this conference a really important week where we set out a new direction for the country. We’ve had a decade since Brexit and it’s been a decade of too much drift and too much division, and we need to draw a line on that.”
He said his vision would leave “people able to have hope again that things will improve, that life will get better – and it will.”
Dressed in black jeans, T-shirt and jacket and accompanied by his wife Marie-France van Heel, Mr Burnham said it was a proud moment to attend the Labour conference for the first time as leader.
His arrival came as he also unveiled the Your First Home scheme, which will give first-time buyers the chance to buy a home with just a 2.5 per cent deposit. A loan worth 20 per cent of their property’s value will be available to help pay for the purchase as part of the scheme.
This equity loan will initially be interest-free to ensure it remains affordable.
Full details on the policy, which is similar to the Help To Buy launched in 2013, will be presented by Mr Healey at the Budget on 28 October.
Mr Burnham said: “We will step in to help more first-time buyers onto the housing ladder, especially those who can’t call on the bank of mum and dad.
“Your First Home will help them buy their own home and give builders the confidence to deliver the high-quality new homes the country needs. This Labour government is bringing back hope for people across the country.”
In another announcement on the eve of the conference, Labour revealed it was expanding its job guarantee scheme by giving young people on health benefits fast access to job opportunities in a bid to cut the welfare bill.
Through government funding, young people receiving health or disability support will be offered a guaranteed job three months after they start claiming benefits, down from 18 months.
Mr Healey is also expected to unveil a scheme aimed at encouraging foreign companies to buy more British goods and services.
The chancellor’s new UK Export Finance product, Flexible Finance, will provide loans to buyers in markets such as Brazil, Morocco and Mexico to incentivise them to purchase British products.
Meanwhile, Mr Healey, in an interview with the Sunday Times, said he would “take into account” the pressure on motorists from fuel prices when asked whether they were too high. Mr Healey could delay a planned 3p rise in fuel duty in January in his upcoming Budget.
On Sunday, chairman Bridget Phillipson, deputy leader Lucy Powell and deputy prime minister Louise Haigh will speak on the opening day of the party’s conference.
