Burnham delivers first leader's speech as PM with "pull together" rallying call

Andy Burnham delivered his first speech as prime minister to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, opening with a rallying call for the country to “pull together”. The Times live blog

“When we pull as one, there is nothing we can’t do,” he said. “Today we draw a line on a decade of division. We stop doomscrolling on posts running Britain down, and we put the country on a new path.” The Times live blog

Briefed ahead, Burnham promised to end “politics as usual”, break with the “flawed thinking of the last 40 years”, and launch a publicly-owned “Great British Grid” under Great British Energy — the first publicly-owned player in electricity networks since Thatcher-era privatisation — to bring UK energy costs into line with European nations within a decade. PA via Leigh Journal

The Sun reported he was expected to signal a post-election review of the pension triple lock to help fund free social care — not yet confirmed in the delivered speech. The Sun

Reactions: Unite’s Sharon Graham called triple-lock reform to fund social care “morally wrong”; Stephen Kinnock said the lock had “played a role” in state finance problems; Dame Emily Thornberry said it had “lost its balance”. Lucy Powell told Sky News Labour was “committed to the triple lock” in its manifesto but would not say what Burnham would announce. The Times live blog Grimsby Telegraph