Burnham to say his government will be ‘unashamedly Labour’ in first speech as party leader – UK politics live

‘Special conference’ to take place at noon where Burnham will be formally announced as Labour leaderAnyone who thinks that Andy Burnham as PM will be just like Keir Starmer only with better communication skills is “absolutely deluded”, Steve Rotheram told the Today programme this morning.Rotheram, the Liverpool city region mayor, is a close friend and ally of Burnham. Together they wrote Head North two years ago, which remains the best guide available to Burnham’s political agenda. Rotheram was speaking this morning in an interview on the Today programme.Rotheram said that a Burnham government would “shake things up” and be significantly different from Keir Starmer’s. He was not asked about Zack Polanski’s comments this morning (see 8.43am), but he could have been referring to Polanski when he said:If people believe that Andy Burnham is being made the prime minister so that he can communicate the same message just in a better way or a better form, then they’re absolutely deluded. Andy wants to go in there and he wants to shake things up.People will start to see what Andy Burnham wants to do. But he’s not just there to be a better communicator than Keir Starmer was. There’s going to be people who are into a very rude awakening if that’s what they believe.Rotheram rejected claims that Burnham does not have a plan for government. He said:Of course there’s a plan. And there’s been a plan being worked on for many weeks and months now. As soon as it could look likely that there was going to be a byelection, then those gears started to click into motion.Rotheram implied that Burnham might favour small tax rises. He said he and Burnham had both raised taxes as mayors, saying the “small increase” in Manchester has improved public transport. He added:Nobody really complains about a small increase that allows you to do something that’s popular.Rotheram rejected criticism of Burnham from the Labour MP Graham Stringer. In a separate interview, Stringer, MP for Blackley and Middleton South in Greater Manchester, complained about Burnham not having a plan. He said:Andy hasn’t told us what he’s going to do. He’s not explained any plan, or any details, about policy on immigration, the economy, energy, a whole series of major policies are still a mystery in terms of what he will do about them.Effectively nominating him would have been giving a blank cheque. He owes it both to the parliamentary Labour party and the country to be more explicit.A senior ally of Burnham said: “Shabana has no sense of the economics. It’s just not something she’s ever spoken about. She’s not collaborative. It’s not clear how she would drive the machine.”Another Labour MP said: “It’s baffling a lot of people because nobody knows what her views are on the economy. Does she even have any? She’s never done a speech or intervention. It’s just absolutely bizarre and I can’t see her as a sensible appointment. Continue reading...