Andy Burnham - Esther McVey
File photo of Andy Burnham, who delivered his first speech as prime minister at the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool Instagram/Andy Burnham @andy.burnham

Critics ripped into Andy Burnham as he made his first official appearance as prime minister at the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool. Even his emotional speech was not spared as Burnham teared up while remembering his father, Roy, who passed away on 14 September 2026.

The first point of contention among critics was Burnham's plan to adjust the triple lock pension system. The change will take effect in April 2030, after the current Parliament. 'The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5%. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation,' Burnham said.

What Critics Are Saying

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that while Burnham would reduce pensioners' future payments, his party would instead cut 'foreign aid, migrant welfare, welfare fraud, and mad net zero spending.'

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch does not believe Burnham's adjusted triple lock will generate enough savings to fund social care. 'His proposal to change the triple lock is already falling apart under scrutiny, and it won't generate enough savings to fund a nationalised care system for another two decades, which means more tax rises are inevitable,' she said on social media.

Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick questioned why pensioners are always the ones making the sacrifices. He agreed with Badenoch that Burnham's proposal would not be enough to fund social care.

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'Death Tax'

'Hitting pensioners will only get him 20% of what he needs. He'll need £17 billion more in taxes. Coincidentally, £17bn is the same amount as levying a 10% death tax on every single person who dies. It's a double whammy on pensioners,' Jenrick posted on social media.

Burnham has not announced further details about how the National Care Service would be funded. Reform UK has instead drawn on past proposals from 2010 when he was health secretary.

Burnham's former colleague, MP Zarah Sultana, now with Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party, also criticised the prime minister over his funding priorities. 'They can find £70,000,000,000 more for bombs and tanks, but nothing for the poorest in society. We need welfare, not warfare,' said Sultana.

She was referring to a House of Commons debate on 30 June 2026, when MP Mike Martin said the second half of the government's Defence Investment Plan remained unfunded, including around £70bn ($92.7bn) for the air domain after 2030.

Emotional Burnham

Some critics also hit out at Burnham over his emotional speech. At one point, he paused for more than 30 seconds as he composed himself to talk about his father. 'Why on earth do people want a Prime Minister who does emotion?' asked broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer.

When he finally composed himself, Burnham said: 'On the day my dad died, the Scottish First Minister said I would be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom... I relay it because I want you to know how it made me feel... Utterly determined to prove him wrong.'

Scottish First Minister John Swinney did not comment on the emotional speech, but posted on social media that Scotland does not punish pensioners. 'In Scotland, we provide free personal care for older people without punishing pensioners... The blame for the UK's financial mess lies with successive Westminster governments, not pensioners,' Swinney wrote.

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