Did Andy Burnham just deliver one of the great political speeches?

Jon Sopel (0:02)

This is a global production.

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

The United Kingdom my dad represented is the one I believe in. A union of nations that gave trade unions and the cooperative movement to the world, the National Health Service, a country that stood up to fascism, a country of solidarity, not separation. That's the Britain that my dad represented.

Lewis Goodall (0:31)

Andy Burnham has just concluded his first speech at a Labour Party conference as Labour leader and Prime Minister. It was one of the most remarkable conference speeches, certainly that I've ever heard. It was making a political and intellectual case for the state, for social democracy, but more than anything else, it was making an emotional case for the Labour Party.

Jon Sopel (0:56)

It was confident, it was commanding, and it has set out a battleground ahead over the national care system, over electoral reform. And he says people may not agree with him. We'll soon find out.

Welcome to The News Agents.

Douglas Alexander (1:18)

The News Agents.

Jon Sopel (1:20)

It's Jon. It's Lewis. And I'm honestly trying to think of the speeches in my political lifetime that can we compare that speech by Andy Burnham too. And I suppose Thatcher after the Brighton bomb, Neil Kinnock taking on militant in the 1980s, Tony Blair on the need to reform Clause 4 in the 1990s in Blackpool.

And honestly, I think that speech is up there with it for the confidence that he showed, for the willingness to make an argument, for the way he reached out to the public. And I suspect what marks this out from those other speeches is the raw emotion of having lost his father earlier on this month. And that's still being ever present and causing him to well up. And certainly the delegates I spoke to afterwards and MPs were, I think, blown away by it.

SPEAKER_5 (2:21)

He had me moved to tears. But everything he said, I think he'll do everything in his power to do.

Jon Sopel (2:32)

You sound quite emotional.

SPEAKER_5 (2:33)

I am.

It was magnificent. One of the best speeches I've ever heard from a Prime Minister.

SPEAKER_6 (2:40)

Told by Andy at the end that he'd given us honesty, ideas and a clear direction for the country that we love. And that really was his speech.

Very, very open about the challenges that we're facing, but also about how he's giving people breathing space. You know, he got that cut in VAT, obviously happening on Thursday. But so much more long-term plans too. So very, very pleased, I have to say.

Jon Sopel (3:01)

I mean, so different from last year.

SPEAKER_6 (3:05)

Well, we really saw there, I think, the real Andy. We saw his commitment. We saw his absolute dedication to our country. And that was the point where you could see, we really felt the responsibility on his shoulders. He really wants to change our country for the better. So I was delighted to hear what he had to say today. And I really hope the country will be as well. Very different approach. What people have been calling out for, that honesty, ideas, clear direction for our country.

SPEAKER_7 (3:33)

Beautiful speech.

Jon Sopel (3:35)

Yeah? Just tell me more, why did you like it so much?

Lewis Goodall (3:38)

I mean, everything that you said, apart from the triple lock, everything else, I think it's okay.

Jon Sopel (3:43)

So you didn't like the triple lock thing?

Lewis Goodall (3:47)

I think it will be something else will come out in the future.

SPEAKER_7 (3:50)

Hopeful and very motivational, particularly as a young person myself, I think for a very long time, we haven't seen a lot of a dialogue about young people's opinions and the services that we need, mental health, safety, security, homes, all things that we had in the speech. And so, yeah, I'm hopeful.

Jon Sopel (4:09)

I mean, could Keir Starmer have delivered that speech?

SPEAKER_7 (4:12)

I mean, my vision, personally, is on the future ahead and not the past. I'm hopeful, I'm bright, and I think there are good things to come, and that's what my focus is on as a young person.

Jon Sopel (4:21)

You don't want to engage in that question, do you?

SPEAKER_7 (4:24)

It's not about not engaging, it's just that I think now, more than ever, the country needs to band together to pull in a forward direction, and if we do that, I think the future's looking very bright.

SPEAKER_8 (4:33)

I think it was a great speech. I think Andy's tackled some of the big issues that people have been avoiding for a very long time, whether it's EU, whether it's pensions, whether it's big energy grid. I mean, it's one of my big things. Our energy grid has been failing, so we kind of put renewables on there.