Andy Burnham pledges a big shakeup for Britain in a high-risk political speech

Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed Tuesday to overhaul Britain with a "new social contract for the 21st century," reforming the country's electoral system and re-establishing its relationship with European neighbors. However, he warned that his ambitious plans were a "big political risk" due to economic constraints.

Burnham addressed the Labour Party's annual conference, emphasizing that "small things" wouldn't be enough to overcome the challenging times. He outlined proposals for more social housing, improved education, and affordable care for the elderly. However, he admitted that funding these changes would require sacrificing welfare and pension spending.

The prime minister pledged to create a "national care service" to address the "broken" social care system, modeled after the National Health Service, which would be free and funded through taxation. He tearfully shared his personal experiences with the care system, having lost his father, Roy, earlier that month.

To finance the care service, Burnham suggested reforming the pensions triple lock, which guarantees pension increases based on inflation, wage growth, or a set percentage. He accepted that this move might carry a political price, but argued that change was necessary to prevent Britain from being run for "vested interests" rather than the public good.

Burnham criticized Britain's economic trajectory in the 1980s, attributing deindustrialization, deregulation, privatization, austerity, and Brexit to a country run for "vested interests" rather than the public interest. He vowed to "move beyond a decade of drift and division" and end the economic and political turmoil that had led him to become Britain's seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote in 2016.

Key among Burnham's proposals were contesting the next election on changing Britain's first-past-the-post electoral system to proportional representation. He also promised a review of Britain's relationship with the EU, acknowledging that "Brexit has done more harm than good" and calling for clarity on the UK's position in the continent.