New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham hints at European Union rekindling in bold political speech

New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham set out a sweeping political vision on Tuesday, pledging to give Britain “a new social contract for the 21st century,” reform the country’s electoral system and reset its relationship with its European neighbors.But he acknowledged that economic constraints make delivering his sweeping plans a big political risk.“Small things will not get us through what are difficult times,” Burnham said in a tough-love speech to the center-left Labour Party’s annual conference.Two months after becoming leader of the U.K.’s governing party, Burnham set out a crowd-pleasing vision of more social housing, better education and more affordable care for the elderly.

But he warned that money would have to come from welfare and pension spending to deliver the changes.Anticipating opposition to his plans, Burnham said: “I have given you what you often say is missing from politics: honesty, ideas and a clear direction for the country we all love.”Some of Burnham’s announcements in the hourlong speech will spark big political fights.Burnham said he would stake his political legacy on establishing a “national care service” to fix what he called a “ broken” social care system.

He said that like the much-loved but overstretched National Health Service it would be free to use and would be paid for through taxation.Burnham held back tears as he spoke about his experiences of the care system with his father, Roy, who died earlier this month.To help fund the care service, which will be introduced if Labour wins the next election, Burnham said he would water down the long-unassailable pensions triple lock, an expensive policy that guarantees pensions rise each year by the annual increase in consumer price inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5%, whichever is highest.“I accept I may pay a political price,” he said.“But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off.”Burnham argued that Britain took a wr...