Andy Burnham arrived at Labour’s conference in Liverpool as party leader, saying Britain needs a new direction after years of Brexit-related “drift and division”. The government announced measures on housing and employment, while acknowledging that difficult decisions would be needed at the forthcoming Budget to protect the public finances.

Angela Rayner proposed stronger powers for councils to bring roughly 300,000 long-term empty homes in England back into use, reducing the qualifying vacancy period from two years to six months. The government also aims to expand support for first-time buyers and young people receiving health benefits, while Wes Streeting identified Russia and Vladimir Putin as Britain’s greatest security threat and defended increased defence spending.