Andy Burnham gives Labour post-landslide euphoria absent under Sir Keir Starmer, says peer
Andy Burnham has given Labour the "post-electoral euphoria" that they did not have after Sir Keir Starmer's landslide 2024 general election victory, Harriet Harman has said. <p>Speaking to our <a href="https://news.sky.com/author/beth-rigby-583" target="_self"><strong>political editor Beth Rigby</strong></a> on the <a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/electoral-dysfunction-11062/1" target="_self"><strong>Electoral Dysfunction</strong></a> podcast, the senior Labour peer said she was wrong to argue against assertions that the Starmer project would not succeed, but now there is a "stable government with a huge majority" that can deliver for the public.</p><p>Her comments come after the prime minister's speech to Labour Party conference, in which he set out a series of policy plans, including a universal social care service, funded by controversial changes to the pensions triple lock, a commission to examine electoral reform, and a plan to get closer to the European Union - and potentially rejoin in future.</p><p><strong>Politics latest: <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/politics-latest-burnham-labour-conference-social-care-12593360" target="_self">Green Party and Plaid Cymru conferences begin</a></strong></p><p>Harman, who served with Mr Burnham in the Blair and Brown governments, told Beth Rigby in the wake of his speech: "We're suddenly having our post-electoral euphoria, which we sort of didn't feel confident enough to have [in 2024]."</p><p><strong><a href="https://podfollow.com/electoraldysfunction/view" target="_self">👉Listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app here 👈</a></strong></p><widget id="4"></widget><p>The Labour peer went on to say that she was "hoping" that the Starmer project would succeed, but "a lot of [Labour MPs] were saying, 'look, it's not going to. Face up to the reality. The reality is that it's not going to'.</p><p>"And they were more in touch with the public than I was, and I think the point is that without Keir Starmer having the confidence of MPs, nobody on the outside, whether they're businesses or whoever, could really have confidence that when they were liaising with the government and when they announced a policy, it would actually come to pass."</p><p>"Because although on paper he had a majority of over 100, he couldn't actually deliver anything with that majority.</p><p>"And I think now it's absolutely evident that we've got what we thought we got at the general election, which is a stable government with a huge majority which will get on and deliver a programme."</p>