How John Swinney inspired Andy Burnham's first Labour conference speech as Prime Minister

Andy Burnham’s first big Labour conference speech as leader and Prime Minister seemed to draw inspiration from two men.

First and foremost, from his father, Roy, who died just a few weeks ago. There was raw emotion as Andy Burnham talked of his dad and the care he experienced towards the end of his life. That has clearly driven his commitment to reforming social care, coming up with a plan to take to the country at the next General Election.

Although his focus there is on England, because social care is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and some of what he is talking about has been happening here for more than 20 years already. The changes to the state pension that will fund it from 2030 will affect people right across the UK, although those changes and the social care plan itself have still to be investigated and established.

Andy Burnham spoke movingly of his father, cabinet ministers were in tears, and as he paused to compose himself, spontaneous applause burst out across the conference hall.

That led to his second source of inspiration, and a much more surprising one. John Swinney was in Cardiff two weeks ago, meeting the First Ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland, and predicted that Andy Burnham would be the last Prime Minister of the UK.

It happened to be on the same day as Andy Burnham’s dad died.

The Prime Minister said he was not criticising John Swinney. “I don’t think he knew the news at the time, and anyway, my dad Roy would have been the first to defend his right to say it. I relay it because I want you to know how it made me feel – utterly determined to prove him wrong,” he said. This earned the Prime Minister another standing ovation from the crowd.

He went on, fighting back tears, as he added that “the United Kingdom my dad represented is the one I believe in, a union of nations….a country of solidarity not separation.”

He said Britain “still stands for something worth saving, worth fighting for” and he pledged to “fight with everything I’ve got to keep it together, not the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom but the first to rewire it and make it work for people and places”.

Andy Burnham said this was going to be a different kind of speech, and it was. It was probably the most emotional leader’s speech I’ve seen at a party conference. His connection in the hall was clear; it resonated strongly with his party. Whether his direct appeal to voters beyond the conference for “unity and positivity” worked will take more time to gauge.