Overview
- Labour opened its conference in Liverpool on Sunday with Andy Burnham using upbeat messaging to try to convert early public goodwill into policy momentum.
- The government announced a Your First Home equity loan for first-time buyers with a 20% state loan and a 2.5% deposit requirement and brought forward a guaranteed job offer for young people on health benefits.
- No.10 and Chancellor John Healey warned that global tensions and higher energy prices have pushed up gilt yields and left little fiscal room before the October 28 Budget, making tax rises or spending cuts possible.
- Sharp public rows broke out inside Labour over immigration and economic sequencing, including a high-profile clash between deputy leader Angela Rayner and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, critiques from Peter Kyle, and a reported backbench grouping led by Darren Jones.
- Pressure from pro‑EU modelling and polling has renewed debate about manifesto strategy but Burnham has denied plans for an early general election and the party now faces the test of uniting factions while turning conference pledges into funded measures.