Andy Burnham will use his first Labour conference as party leader and Prime Minister to set out a “new direction” for the country.
The Labour leader said he would be “drawing a line” under the country’s turbulent last 10 years since the Brexit vote and vowed to face down a challenge from the left over his Government’s stance on the Gaza conflict.
The conference begins in Liverpool on Sunday and Mr Burnham said it was “time for Britain to believe again”.
He could face a challenge from the party’s left to adopt a tougher stance on Israel despite his “reset” of relations with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has seen a ban on goods from illegal West Bank settlements.
But he said he believed the “vast majority” of delegates in Liverpool would support his position if it came to a vote.
The conference, along with October’s Budget and the promised 10-year plan for Britain will be key steps in setting out Mr Burnham’s vision for the country.
Ahead of the conference he said: “The message will be it’s time for Britain to believe again, it’s time for Britain to have hope again. That will be the message”
He said a “more stable Britain will be one that can then set out a new direction, drawing a line with the last decade”.
“I will set out in Liverpool what that means in practice.”
Ahead of the conference, campaign groups including Momentum and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign had urged Labour members to back a motion calling for the UK to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and imposing a full arms embargo.
But Mr Burnham said: “I think the vast majority of people in Liverpool will vote for the change that (Foreign Secretary) Ed Miliband has made in relation to the UK’s position on the illegal settlements, the concerns we raised about the E1 tender process, the timing of it.
“I think conference will recognise that a change has been made and I think it will be welcomed by the vast majority of delegates.”
