Burnham falls silent on stage as he chokes back emotion before speaking about his late father Roy in Labour conference speech – just two weeks on from his death with Alzheimer’s
Andy Burnham paused and struggled to speak during his first Labour conference speech as Prime Minister, two weeks after his father Roy died with Alzheimer’s disease. He said his father’s experience helped drive his plans for social care, and pledged to build a high-quality National Care Service in his memory.
Burnham also described his father’s pride in the opportunities his sons had received, including the chance to attend university, and said he was determined to keep the United Kingdom together. In the speech, he proposed using savings from changes to the state pension triple lock to fund his care plans; his mother Eileen and brother John were there to hear him.
- Burnham became emotional while speaking about his late father.
- Roy Burnham died with Alzheimer’s two weeks earlier.
- The PM linked his father’s experience to social care reform.