Flipping public opinion on the triple lock was Burnham magic – he’ll need more of it to see his social care plans through

Andy Burnham speaks to residents, care workers and volunteers during visit to a care home in London, 29 July 2026. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool AP/AP

Here is rare clearcut proof of the power of political persuasion. Party conference speeches, the lifeblood of political obsessives, rarely reach the public beyond a brief news clip. But this time was different. Andy Burnham’s speech spun the dial on public opinion on several political hot potatoes, defining who he is.

The pensions triple lock, which guarantees that pensions rise faster than average incomes, has been a no-go electoral minefield despite a groundswell of economists (and even a Times leader) calling for reform to prevent pensions skyrocketing. Touching this live rail was an act of bravery – or recklessness.