At Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke at length about his family, linking his upbringing to his political outlook and plans for a national care service. He said his grandmother’s experience in a care home, and his father’s death after living with Alzheimer’s, had strengthened his commitment to improving care.

The article says Burnham gave little detail on welfare reform or defence spending. He ruled out “crude cuts” to welfare and argued that helping people into work could reduce the benefits bill, while acknowledging that proposed work placements and apprenticeships for young people would require upfront funding. On defence, he made only a brief reference to meeting Nato obligations, without explaining how Britain might reach the stated goal of spending 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.