Burnham speech: Message of hope is crucial, now we need honesty about the changes ahead says IPPR

IPPR has reacted to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s conference speech. Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at IPPR, said:

"After years in which British politics has been dominated by crisis, decline and pessimism, there is something important about a prime minister telling the country that things can get better.

“But hope can’t just be a slogan. It has to come from showing people that government can actually solve problems which have been allowed to fester for decades, from social care and youth unemployment to broken public services and an economy that isn’t delivering rising living standards.

“The most important message from this speech is that politics as usual is not enough. Restoring hope will require honesty about the difficult choices ahead, but also the ambition and political courage to show that Britain’s biggest problems are not inevitable and can be fixed.”

On election reform:

“Britain’s democracy is creaking. Our politics has fragmented, trust has collapsed, and yet we are still using an electoral system built for a different age. It supresses voter choice and turnout, elects majority governments on low vote shares, and no longer brings stability in government.

“Electoral reform should be about giving people a stronger voice and making every vote count. What Burnham set out today could be a significant step towards renewing our democracy and rebuilding people’s trust that politics can work for them.”

On housing and homelessness:

“As IPPR has argued, it’s only right that houses sitting empty, long-term eyesores in our neighbourhoods, should be brought back into use to shelter those in crisis.

“Councils are being pushed to the brink, spending billions on expensive and poor-quality temporary accommodation.

“In announcing his plans to end rough sleeping and echoing our recent research pushing a housing-led solution to homelessness, he has signalled he is willing to work at rapid pace to support those in need and take pressures off our local councils.”

On plans for a national care service and changes to the triple lock:

See earlier press release here.