Andy Burnham pledges public control of water, housing and energy in first Labour conference speech as PM

# Overview

Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as party leader to outline a policy shift that gives greater public control over key services. Speaking to delegates in Liverpool, he said he intended to "break the mould" of recent British politics and set out a package of measures focused on water, housing, energy and social care.

# What he announced

Burnham said laws introduced since the 1980s would be challenged. He specifically cited the Thatcher-era ban on public ownership of water companies and opened the door to nationalising firms that do not "serve the public interest." He also pledged to give councils the authority to take over homes that private landlords refuse to repair.

The speech tied these proposals together as part of a wider approach to put more control in public hands for housing, energy and transport, alongside promises to overhaul the social care system.

# How he framed the change

Burnham described Britain as having been put on the "wrong path" by deindustrialisation, deregulation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit. He said those trends left the country "run for vested interests, not in the public interest" and argued his proposals would reverse that direction. He likened the scale and ambition of the programme to Labour's post-Second World War reforms of 1945, which he said focused on building a common good.

# Political context

The speech arrived amid immediate pressures in government, such as scrutiny over fuel prices noted in accompanying coverage, and follows earlier signals that public control of utilities would be central to his agenda.

# Concrete policy directions to watch

• Water: Legal route opened for nationalisation where companies fail to meet public-interest standards. Details on the trigger, process and compensation are to be announced.

• Energy and transport: Greater "public control" was promised, though the speech did not set out exact interventions or regulatory changes.

# What remains unclear

The speech outlined direction and principles rather than legislative specifics. Key questions include the legal and financial mechanisms for nationalising utilities, thresholds for intervention, how councils will be funded and supported to run housing taken into public control, and the timing of legislation. Economic constraints and the government's fiscal stance were touched on elsewhere in coverage but not detailed in the speech itself.

# Practical implications for voters and stakeholders

# Bottom line

Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as prime minister to present a strategic pivot: reversing parts of the post-1980s policy model and expanding public control of water, housing and other services. The announcements set direction and expectations, but the speech left detailed mechanisms and timetables to be developed.