To ask if you watched Andy Burnham’s bloody good speech?

[Househunt2026]

As in actually watched it and didn’t just doom scroll the commentary? It was bold and honest and pragmatic and actually made me hopeful that we have someone at the helm with a vision for a better tomorrow who has Britain’s best interests at heart.

The National Care Service is a masterstroke, paid for out of scrapping the triple lock and the very real savings of reducing NHS bills on A&E and hospital beds for elderly who should be in care but have nowhere to go.

Scrapping right to buy and increasing council control of housing, boosting the technical education track for young people, pushing renewables, nuclear and energy sovereignty, public control of key utilities for water to get bills down and reduce pollution, investing in people & getting them back to work, leasehold reform by Christmas and everyone’s energy bill will be reduced by fast tracking decoupling energy prices from global gas pricing and by having no VAT on energy bills by TOMORROW!

You can watch the whole thing here and be directly informed instead of getting your perspective filtered through all the bots and misinformation peddlers online m.youtube.com/watch?v=jyjTT_55Gi0

Not watched it but will do now

He's a great speech maker. A complete antidote to the stupidity and negative, extractive vulgarity of Trump. I applaud his vision and conviction. Even though a lot of it is unlikely to succeed, politics needs people like him who fight for their beliefs.

Fuck my life. Anyone with any basic maths or economics can tell you that moving from a triple lock to a double lock (with caveat to still raise to triple rate in certain circumstance - yes this isn’t a BIG BOLD change) will NOT fund a National Care Service free at the point of service for everyone. It’s depressing that there are people out there that think it will.

It was a fantastic speech. Bold, passionate and brave. So many good things around housing and National Care Service. Admitting we can't afford the triple lock, as anyone with any basic common sense understands.

It was great. I don't always love Labour but am beginning to.

So so good ❤️

He didnt say it would. He said it would go towards building up what is needed for a national care service.

He also didn’t say that it would…so I think you can hold off on your depression for now.

I am so impressed with him. I just wish he’d change his stance on assisted dying.

I’ll chip in 20p and half a Crunchie. That’ll go towards it too 🙄

You’re so right. I am unfortunately chronically online and it’s easy to get caught up in various echo chambers of people’s opinions, so I was glad I just watched it first hand. You could sense that he believes in a better Britain and has so much compassion for people. A breath of fresh air vs what we see elsewhere. I teared up a bit when he spoke directly to care workers - imagine Trump doing that.

Everything about Andy Burnham is depressing.

Tell me what excited you about his speech, that also made sound economic sense? 👀

Thanks for recommending it, I did try it, but I just can't stomach it.

I think he's not stupid, and there's probably an audience for this. But I just don't care about his family story (lovely people as I'm sure they are). Just tell me what changes you'll make to fix things.

I'm delighted he's scrapping the triple lock. I think it's too little, but also it's more than any other party leader is proposing, so you have to give him credit for that.

But other than that, (admittedly, based on commentary, as I can't bear his rambling style) I can't find much to be excited about

Isn't it the case that the elderly still have to pay to go into a care home?

Well add that to the triple lock saving which is by 2050 anywhere between £11 to £30 Billion a year in today's money.

I am pragmatic and pretty centre-left (actually centre-right on certain topics) so I am very open to debates around costing policies but I do hope you find time to actually watch the speech, which was about more than balancing the books on one specific idea and was a very nice antidote for division and cynicism in favour of compassion, hope and vision.

Andy may be a much needed refresh from Kier but just when you think things are going in a sensible direction you hear the likes of Angela, Emily Thornbury and the vicious borderline psychotic Lucy Powell and can't help but think how can you be in charge of a country with people like that in your cabinet

I'm sorry OP probably not what you wanted to hear but that what I think

I watched it and genuinely felt some hope, and it’s a bloody long time since I have experienced that.
He seems to be the man that this country needs, and I truly hope he can deliver on his promises.

I feel hopeful that things will improve, he seems motivated and genuinely caring.

Good speech. I listened to him on the radio this morning defend his policies really well. Also a massive refreshing change to not hear him slag off his opposition once, not to use the phrases I cannot stand of ‘let me be clear…’ before talking an absolute load of tosh or the equally hideous ‘look…’ before spouting tosh. Even more amazingly my life long Tory supporting father in law said if he had to vote tomorrow he’d vote for him.

If you hold out for a few minutes of introduction about family he does move pretty quickly to announcements! The speech was a masterclass in communication generally, starting with a lot of “10 year plans” and then just when I was starting to think “hmm this is a lot of 10 year plans…” he says “but I know that many are struggling right now and need to see change soon, which is why there will be no VAT on energy bills from Thursday” 👏👏👏👏.

I also enjoyed how he called out, by first name, each minister who will be spearheading the various projects as he announced them, a very inclusive teamwork style of leadership.

He’s worse than Starmer which is not something I thought was possible.

If he stays in office until 2029 I fear we’ll be past the point of no return.

The lack of talent and experience in this government is frightening.

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind.

Aye. Our Andy made me cry but I’m a sucker for a good performance. Admire his conviction but dear lord the country is still going to hell in a hand cart and none of the shower of talentless individuals currently in the HoC have any idea how to get us out of it.

I feel exactly like this and in fact wrote something very similar on a different thread (although in less reasoned and articulate terms than you’ve expressed it here).

I’ve been so disillusioned with politics over the last few years, and as far as the next election went my thinking has very much been ‘anyone but Reform’, but this speech made me feel that maybe there’s finally a different kind of politics on offer, that I’d actually be excited to vote for.

It was a great speech. Felt like a leader. Didn't attack his opponents, set out his stall with some hope and passion.