Andy Burnham to promise to ‘fix the big things’ in first speech as Labour leader

The brief

Andy Burnham will pledge he has the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected” in his first speech as Labour leader. Burnham, who is set to be announced in the job at a special conference on Friday, will promise to give back control to communities and spread growth across the country. The new Labour leader will take over as prime minister from Keir Starmer on Monday, marking a fresh era for the government as it attempts to reverse its decline in the polls over the last two years. Burnham has the overwhelming backing of MPs but there is already huge jostling for position in his cabinet, which…