Labour’s annual conference opens in Liverpool on Sunday, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham set to call for hope in Tuesday’s keynote. Rising energy prices and a need to raise defense spending leave tax increases or cuts possible in the Oct. 28 budget.
Burnham replaced unpopular Keir Starmer as party leader and prime minister in July. Labour’s early “Burnham bounce” is linked to his upbeat pitch and modest steps to ease bills, including a cut in tax on electricity bills and capped bus fares. He also promises more power for local leaders and reform of Britain’s expensive, leaky and polluting water network.
Burnham faces a divisive choice over approving new North Sea oil drilling: environmentalists oppose it, while trade unions back it. Starmer-era plans to make it harder for immigrants to settle permanently also face pushback. Burnham has pledged closer EU ties, but a planned EU-U.K. reset summit has slipped to November at the earliest amid a dispute over the bloc’s “made in Europe” rules, which the U.K. says will hurt British producers.
