LONDON – Two months into his tenure as Britain’s prime minister, Andy Burnham has yet to face a serious internal revolt. In today’s Labour Party, that alone counts as progress.
Labour will open its annual conference beside Liverpool’s River Mersey on Sunday, as Burnham promises to move Britain beyond a decade of political instability and economic uncertainty. The upheaval has produced the country’s seventh prime minister since the 2016 Brexit vote.
In his keynote address on Tuesday, Burnham is expected to deliver a simple message: “It’s time for Britain to have hope again.”
Speaking as he arrived in Liverpool on Saturday, Burnham said Britain needed to close the chapter on the years since Brexit. “We’ve had a decade since Brexit and it’s been a decade of too much drift, too much division, and we need to draw a line on that,” he said.
That appeal is directed at voters as well as a center-left Labour Party that is cautiously optimistic. Members want to believe in Burnham’s promise of brighter days, but remain concerned that the economic consequences of conflict in the Middle East could soon deepen the pressure on households.
Rob Ford, a political science professor at the University of Manchester, said Burnham must persuade a “skeptical electorate” that change is possible while operating within severe economic and fiscal limits.
His challenge, Ford said, is essentially this: “How do you serve people a bowl of cold porridge and convince them it’s a pepperoni pizza?”
Upbeat Burnham replaced unpopular Starmer
Britain’s major political parties traditionally stage their conferences in September and October. The gatherings combine campaign-style rallies, social events and policy debates, helping shape Westminster’s priorities for the year ahead.
Labour’s conference last year was marked by gloom. Members were increasingly frustrated by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s unpopularity, despite his party winning a landslide victory little more than a year earlier. At the same time, Reform UK’s anti-immigration message appeared to be gaining momentum.
Burnham, who was then the widely liked mayor of Greater Manchester, attracted intense media attention as reporters followed him through Liverpool and speculation mounted that he might challenge Starmer.
Those tensions culminated months later when a rattled Labour Party pushed Starmer out and installed Burnham as both its leader and Britain’s prime minister in July.
Since then, Labour has benefited from what supporters are calling a “Burnham bounce.” His optimistic tone, combined with limited measures such as reducing taxes on electricity bills and placing a ceiling on bus fares, has helped ease some pressure on voters.
Reform, meanwhile, is under parliamentary and police scrutiny over its finances. The party has also secured a huge 72 million pounds ($95 million) donation from two cryptocurrency billionaires.
Burnham has outlined an agenda that includes transferring more authority to local leaders to deliver what he calls “good growth in every post code.” He has also promised to overhaul Britain’s privatized utility companies, with particular attention on the costly, leaky and environmentally damaging water system.
EXPLORE MORE: SNL Roasts NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani With ‘Urgent Message’
Despite Labour’s relative unity behind its new leader, Burnham faces difficult choices. One of the most divisive is whether to approve further oil drilling in the North Sea, a move opposed by environmental groups but supported by trade unions. He is also encountering resistance to Starmer-era proposals that would make permanent settlement in Britain more difficult for immigrants.
The next general election does not need to take place until 2029. Still, Labour’s improved standing has fueled speculation that Burnham could call an early vote — an idea he insists is not under consideration.
“All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead,” Burnham told ITV on Friday.
Next month’s budget promises pain
Yet however positive Burnham’s message may sound, Britain is still facing another round of economic pain.
Burnham must explain to party members and voters how he will deal with economic turbulence from the on-off U.S.-Iran war, which has severely restricted the movement of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury chief John Healey is set to deliver the Burnham government’s first budget on Oct. 28, with rising energy prices tightening a cost-of-living squeeze. Like other countries, Britain also needs to find money to increase defense spending to counter threats from Russia.
That means tax rises or spending cuts – or both – could be on the cards.
One thing that might bring an economic boost is to ease some of the trade barriers erected by Brexit. Burnham has pledged closer ties with the European Union, but it’s unclear how close.
Under Starmer, Labour was elected in 2024 on a promise not to seek to rejoin the bloc or enter its single market for goods, services and employment. Many Labour members would like to break that pledge, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said last week that the U.K. and EU should start negotiations “where everything is on the table.”
Burnham has said that’s a discussion for another time. Meanwhile, progress toward closer ties has been slow.
An EU-U.K. reset summit initially penciled in for July has slipped to November at the earliest because the two sides are wrangling over the bloc’s “made in Europe” rules, which the U.K. says will hurt British producers.
Ford said that unlike Starmer, who quickly squandered the public’s goodwill, Burnham has held onto his reputation “as an optimist and an effective communicator.” But he said Burnham’s “really stern test” is yet to come.
“The bills are still going to land on the doormat,” Ford said. “He’s going to have to be the prime minister who can sell the average voter on, ‘Yes, that is indeed a bowl of cold porridge in front of you, but it will get better.’”
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.