YouSaid · the spoken record
Andy Burnham
On the record 2012–2026
hansard
This is everything the corpus holds for Andy Burnham. It is not everything they have said on the record.
Every line below is reproduced as it was said and credited to the record it came from, and links to that record wherever it can be linked. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections
“From Leyton Orient, on loan, to the Ballon d’Or—what a journey! Many congratulations, Harry. We are all so proud of you. This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our thoughts are with everybody in Spain who has been affected by the devastating train crash this morning. I have been in touch with Prime Minister Sánchez to relay our condolences and to offer any support that we can give. May I also send condolences to the families who lost loved ones during the storms over the weekend, and thank our emergency services and everyone who has worked so hard to support those affected? Let me, in his final week, pay tribute to the Clerk of the House for his 30 years’ service to this place. Tom’s wisdom, professionalism and abilities at the piano are all hugely admired, and I know that the whole House will wish him well for the future. Finally, I am sure that the whole House—including, I am sure, those on the Scottish National party Benches—will join me in congratulating Harry Kane.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right. The water industry is a symbol of what has gone wrong. The private interest has been allowed to dominate the public interest, which is why we will introduce a strengthened water Bill that will lift the bar on public ownership, alongside other reforms over the next decade. The vast majority of the public support this. They do not want to see sewage in our rivers and seas—unlike, I believe, the Leader of the Opposition, who told her conference recently, “Water privatisation has been a success.” She cannot really believe that, can she?”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is no confusion at all. The Government have a collectively agreed position, which I have set out today. It is entirely consistent with everything I have said, including what I said at the time of the by-election. The red lines in our manifesto, including those on freedom of movement, will stay firmly in place for the whole of this Parliament, but what I will not do is defend the deal negotiated by the right hon. Lady and the Government she was in, which, in my view, gave us a harder Brexit than was promised at the referendum, and has been bad for growth and bad for control of immigration.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It may have escaped the right hon. Lady’s notice that we are three weeks away from a UK-EU summit. It is an opportunity to improve the poor deal that the Conservatives negotiated and to get a better deal in place for Britain—a deal that backs British farmers and British food producers, and that removes red tape from our businesses. If we get the right deal, it will protect our car industry, protect our steel industry and allow better co-ordination on migration. The Tories used to stand for these things. If they still do, will she back Britain’s negotiating position as we go into that summit?”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“She has my support in making those changes, but let us have a little humility from those on the Conservative Benches, who left Britain with low growth and migration out of control.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do, because I am not. I am trying to get a better deal for Britain at the summit that we are about to go to. The right hon. Lady has mentioned things said in the past. Can I remind her of what she said? [ Interruption. ] Well, I am going to—I am sorry. She said it was a mistake for the Conservative party to “leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU.” She has just nodded. She may as well have said it was a mistake to leave the EU without a plan in place to control migration, because that is what led to the Boriswave under the Government she was in, when migration into this country changed and went away from revolving-door migration and towards long-term settlement. It is why my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is having to reform indefinite leave to remain.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think I have answered that very clearly by saying that the red lines in the manifesto are firmly in place. The right hon. Lady stood there a moment ago and said that she admits mistakes. She was asked twice by BBC London during her conference whether Brexit, and the deal she negotiated with her colleagues, was good or bad for London, and twice she could not bring herself to answer that question. Perhaps, before she finishes today, she will answer it now.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is the difference between this side and that side of the House: we stand up for the British interest. Where is the Tory party of old that used to stand up for those things? The reason she could not answer in this House today on whether or not she was backing the position that I have set out is that she is too worried about the threat to her right to stand up for Britain. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Yes, yes—now the right hon. Lady is speaking the truth. The country was paralysed by the Conservative party: low growth, insufficient control on migration. That is what this Government is dealing with, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will stand up and show that we have a plan to get that growth going across the country. Where I am focused is getting a better deal for Britain. That is my responsibility, and I will lead from this Dispatch Box over the next few weeks. I will do everything I can to get a better deal for Britain—a better deal for farmers and food producers, less red tape on our exporters, more support for our steel and our car industries, more control of migration. I will stand here and defend doing that, as well as being true to our manifesto.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have repeatedly set out the red lines of the manifesto, and can I just say this one final time? I am doing what I can to get a better deal for Britain, and getting a better deal for Britain, I can tell the right hon. Lady, is part of this job. I am standing up for British business. Can I tell her who supports what we are doing? The CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium, Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Salmon Scotland—they all support what we are trying to do. Why does she not join us, with other colleagues across this House, and send a strong message that Britain is calling for a better Brexit deal, so that we can get growth going again, as my right hon. Friend will shortly show to this whole House?”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do agree with my hon. Friend. I do not think we should accept in this country that anybody should spend even one night sleeping rough on the streets. I said when I walked up Downing Street coming into office that I wanted to change that and wanted to bring an end to rough sleeping. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for committing funding for the whole of this Parliament to support a drive to give everybody an offer of support, and I can confirm to the House today that we are increasingly confident that everyone will get such an offer before the Christmas break. My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, and I thank him for attending the summit. I hope everybody will get behind this national drive.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am prepared to meet the right hon. Gentleman, and I thank him for what he said. It is a start, but we are in a position where we are trying to build a cross-party consensus around better support for older people, a new social care system in which there is much stronger support for family carers, as he has so rightly argued.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I have said today, we will not be doing those things in this Parliament, but let me come back to what I was saying to the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition. We will take pragmatic steps where we can to support British business by improving the Brexit arrangements that we have got. I think it is extraordinary that the Conservative party, the Opposition, are unable to back us in getting in place those better arrangements that would make a real difference for people in their constituencies trying to export to the European Union. People will have heard that very clearly today. The Conservatives claim to be the party of business. They have turned their back on them today. This party never will.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to call out President Putin’s actions, which have resulted in thousands of innocent Ukrainian children being killed, people forced into the bitter cold, and sending his own Russian people to die on the frontline. I spoke to President Zelensky this morning, together with the Chancellor. We assured him of our steadfast support. We said to him that we will always take sanctions and we are committing to more sanctions. That is the clear commitment that we are making to stand with Ukraine, whatever it takes.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am ready to make an offer to Wales similar to the one I recently made to the First Minister of Scotland, and I will do so on Friday. I am glad to hear of the right hon. Lady’s commitment to pushing power down for deeper devolution. What I will put on the table on Friday is an offer of greater devolution of employment support, so that we can have a different approach to supporting people in communities to get back to work and supporting the economy. That is a starting point; there will be more to come. I look forward to working with the right hon. Lady and her party on that issue.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will give my hon. Friend that commitment, because the visit I made to FARE Scotland some years ago had a huge impact, and I know that the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) was very much inspired by the same. FARE takes a very personal approach—a “names not numbers” approach—and I took that to our work in Greater Manchester on employment support. Exactly as I was saying to the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) just a moment ago, that should be the way that we approach supporting people in work across the country, as pioneered in my hon. Friend’s constituency by FARE Scotland.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Member for his kind wishes at the start. I completely share the deep concern about that attack, and the distressing effect that it will have had on parents, teachers and children. Obviously, there is a live and serious police investigation. I cannot comment on that, but I can tell him that the National Cyber Security Centre is providing direct expert help to the schools affected. I can be categorical with him—and I will work with him on this—that those found to be responsible will face the full force of the law.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My right hon. Friend the Communities Secretary says that she will meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss those concerns, because what he has just said in the House is extremely serious. Of course we must have the highest standards of conduct from local authorities and elected councillors, and we are monitoring the situation. I will say no more than that at this stage, but the hon. Gentleman has that clear offer of a meeting.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I could not agree more strongly with my right hon. Friend—sorry, my hon. Friend. I promoted him for a second—it is just a matter of time, I am sure. I was the Health Secretary who received the groundbreaking report from Professor Sir Michael Marmot, “Fair Society, Healthy Lives”, in February 2010, and in my view that remains the blueprint for how this country can close those health inequality gaps. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend and talk more about how we do that in his constituency and beyond.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is obviously a matter for the Energy Secretary. It is a quasi-judicial decision, and the hon. Gentleman will have to wait for that in due course. He will also have to wait for the details of the Budget, which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will set out to the House shortly. The hon. Gentleman is right, however, in pointing to the fact that use of our reserves can support and accelerate a clean energy future, and that was very much the logic behind the decision that the Government announced on Jackdaw last week.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is reinforcing the point I was making earlier that the Brexit arrangements that the Conservatives left were clearly not good enough, including for his constituency. We are reviewing the potential benefits of restoring access to this important system. The relevant Minister will have heard my hon. Friend’s case today in this House and will be happy to discuss it with him.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I was in the south-west, in Cornwall, in the summer to announce the funding for on-farm reservoir development, and I am pleased to tell the hon. Lady today that the application system will open very shortly. I hope that farmers in her constituency will benefit.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is the case, in all the terrible situations that my hon. Friend mentioned, that people suffered unacceptable intrusion into their private lives. I understand why he is raising this issue today, and I am happy to meet him to discuss it further.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“What we are trying to do is build up from where we are. That was the whole thrust of the answer that I gave to the Leader of the Opposition at the start. The hon. Gentleman sounds slightly more constructive, so I am happy to work with him on that. I hope that he will work with us to get backing for the British position at the forthcoming UK-EU summit.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Today we welcome the Sultan of Oman on the occasion of the state visit, which is an opportunity to recognise the deep and historic ties between our countries and the vital role they have played regarding the strait of Hormuz. As you say, Mr Speaker, today also marks the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House will be with that community today and with the people of Wales. I visited Aberfan on Monday and heard how the injustices the people suffered at the time and in the aftermath of the tragedy at the hands of the state still hurt. This is a day to recognise that and say sorry for it, but also to celebrate the strength and spirit of the community that has stood together through adversity all of these years. I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others this morning.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and recognise his sincerity and personal experience in this regard. We have a national cancer plan to drive the improvements that he calls for. As part of that, we are also establishing an independent national cancer board, which I will ask to look at his proposal. Last week I met Archie Goodburn, with the Health Secretary, to look at how we can make the UK a world leader in trials for brain cancer treatments. There is huge progress, but we can work with him to deliver more.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that question. I think we all feel for Emma, given the position she is in. I can give him an assurance that she and many thousands of others up and down the country need wait no longer for leasehold reform. We will bring forward the leasehold reform Bill as soon as possible—hopefully this year.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I can tell the House today that I have asked the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary to look at whether we can remove standing charges from gas bills and to report back to this House at the earliest opportunity.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can we get something straight at the start of Prime Minister’s questions today? We have made a decision that the right hon. Lady’s Government messed up. That is why there was the delay: because they did not do the process properly. We have made a pragmatic decision that will allow us to do two things. First, it will allow us to build a bridge to a renewable future, because the resources that come in from this decision will allow us to invest in renewables, bring forward clean energy and, in this Parliament, substantially delink gas and electricity prices so that we can bring bills down. It will also allow us to do more to help people with bills.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can I find a point of agreement with the right hon. Lady? This decision does strengthen our energy security. It will release gas into British homes and British industries, starting in the next few weeks, and it supports us in a difficult time. I appreciate that she wants us to take further decisions that she messed up when she was in government, but can I make something really clear? The reason why they messed up those decisions is because they are quasi-judicial decisions. We will run those decisions properly. The Energy Secretary considered that decision against our climate obligations and concluded that it was consistent, and she will oversee the same process in relation to future decisions.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Lady talked the country up, rather than constantly talking it down.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On energy, can I just say to the right hon. Lady that she is displaying for the House and the nation today why the Conservatives got those decisions wrong, because she and they did not give any regard to our climate obligations? These things have to be considered in the round, and they have been considered in the round. That is why the decision the Government have made is the right decision. On the economy, I am not sure that the right hon. Lady has read last week’s report from the International Monetary Fund, because if she had read it, she would see its clear conclusion that Britain is the stand-out nation for deficit reduction and the joint fastest growing country in the G7. Britain is the country that, only yesterday, saw unemployment down and improved labour market statistics. It is time that the right hon.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Have they had the time to read the covid inquiry report yesterday about the appalling state of social care as it went into the pandemic, the hundreds of thousands of British people who suffered as a result of that, and the lives that were lost? I need no lectures from the Conservatives about taking tough decisions on social care. I suggest they go away from this PMQs, read that report and have a period of reflection.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The right hon. Lady asks me about cutting spending. I did exactly that on my first day in office with the digital ID programme, so that we could take action to support people and remove VAT from electricity bills, which is what we have delivered—a tax cut. The right hon. Lady asks about the big decisions, and I want to come directly back to what she is saying. I am not going to apologise for doing the small things that help people have better lives, but I also take the big decisions that the Conservatives have avoided for many years. Let me go directly to one: social care. I grasped the nettle in a way that nobody on their side ever has. I made a difficult spending decision to lay a path towards a national care service.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“She may notice that there is a situation ongoing in the middle east of which we do not have full control. What I can say to her is that the fundamentals of the British economy are getting stronger and stronger under this Government. We will take the right long-term decisions. She should wait for the Budget, when she will see that laid out in this House.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do not think the right hon. Lady was listening to what I said. I did take a difficult decision to lay a path to the national care service, and it involves a change to the triple lock. I am happy to stand at this Dispatch Box and defend that, because I am confident that we should support older people financially, but with better social care support in later life. That is my decision. I am happy to stand here and defend it. Where is the Conservatives’ decision on social care? When are they going to respond to what the report said yesterday? On welfare, I will do the same. I do not want to see anybody in their 20s on benefits in this country; I want to see them in work, in training, in education. That is the reform that we will bring forward on the back of the Milburn report. The right hon. Lady mentions inflation.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I have said, there are signs of growing strength in the British economy. Before the Budget next week, we will have a new book published about the mini-Budget of a few years ago. Opposition Members have gone quiet, because the authors of that mini-Budget are sitting on the Opposition Benches, including the shadow Chancellor. Does anybody on this side or anybody around the country believe that party, of all parties? The Conservatives have the audacity to come to this House and lecture us about how to do a Budget. People in this country—British households—are still paying the price of their disastrous Budget.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We agree that the scenes from Gaza and the west bank are deeply distressing, and that is why the Foreign Secretary has taken the action that he has. We will not stand by when the viability of the two-state solution is threatened, and he has made a further statement in relation to that this week. The proscription of Palestine Action followed a rigorous and evidence-based process that came before this House and was endorsed by Parliament. The matter is a live legal case, so I will not comment further.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“If the House were to come together—I wait for the party opposite to do so—it would put me in the strongest position to go to that summit and get a good deal for British farmers and British food producers, which is exactly what they need.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have ahead of us a UK-EU summit on 20 November. It is an opportunity for the House to come together and get a good deal for food producers, for farmers in this country and for Northern Ireland in relation to energy costs there, as well as, hopefully, more co-operation on illegal migration. It is an opportunity to take an important step back to secure growth in the British economy and more control of migration. I am picking up the message that the right hon. Gentleman will give us that support. We are already working to reduce the risks from the Made in Europe initiative, and we are making good progress there.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Of course I have concerns about any move that diminishes the military capability of Ukraine in the position in which it finds itself. The right hon. Gentleman is right about that, and I am sure that the sentiment is echoed throughout this country, but the situation is currently fragile and needs careful handling. There were talks in Oslo yesterday at which the UK Government were represented. We need to handle the situation carefully so that we can bring back all sides to get the support behind President Zelensky and Ukraine. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that the UK Government are working on every single level to bring that about.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right to raise this condition in the House. I know that women across the country suffer terribly with it, and often feel that they are not seen and not listened to when it comes to the treatment that they need. Our women’s health strategy sets out precisely how we will improve treatment for conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women, including endometriosis. It is about redesigning clinical pathways and removing the need for repeat appointments. There is a lot to do, but I can assure my hon. Friend that this is very high on the Government's agenda.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The gas would still be needed; it would just be imported from somewhere else if we did not use our own reserves. In these difficult times, when we have resources, the public would expect us to use them to secure jobs in Aberdeen, and I am sure that people in Aberdeen appreciate what has been announced. There is, however, a big difference between an ideological approach, which is what the hon. Lady is putting to the House, and a pragmatic approach, which is what I am announcing today. The truth of the matter is, the revenue that comes into the Treasury from this decision will enable us to speed up the roll-out of renewables and build towards a clean energy future. In the end, that will help us delink gas and electricity prices and get bills down.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is right: Royal Mail’s service has been unacceptable for far too long. The leadership have been asked in to see Ministers on a regular basis. Ofcom is looking at the situation as well. Let us be clear: they need to bring forward a plan to restore service standards to the level they need to be at. They need to do it quickly, or we will consider further measures.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I answered the hon. Gentleman last week, and I set it out very clearly in the statement that I made. It was all covered in that statement, and there is no more I need to add.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The mental health strategy will do precisely that. It will confirm the plan to open 100 new community mental health centres across the country to get mental health support right into communities, and the Health Secretary is ensuring that we also bring forward 59 mental health emergency departments to give same-day support to people experiencing a crisis. I am pleased to say to my hon. Friend that there will be one of each in Sunderland.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will ensure that a Minister meets the hon. Lady to discuss that proposal, because I find myself in agreement with it. The right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) has been very powerful on this point about unpaid carers or family carers who often sink under their responsibilities and find it very, very difficult. Sadly, in the case of Matilda—the hon. Lady’s constituent—it is obviously a devastating situation, so I will arrange that meeting, and I thank her for raising the issue in the House today.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I recognise that Ian is obviously in a very difficult position. I am pleased to say the Exchequer Secretary has announced that we will bring forward a new approach to this issue. We have been working on a solution that will remove VAT as a barrier to free-of-charge donations of innovative medicines. It will be permanent, backdated to 23 June, so that it supports companies to continue to make donations. We will set out the details shortly, and I am sure a Minister will be pleased to meet my hon. Friend, too.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗