UK politics live: Further poll boost for Labour as its conference begins

Andy Burnham says he will show he will take 'difficult but real decisions' as Labour's conference startsGood morning, and welcome to coverage of the Labour party conference. Or the Hope Again conference, as it is being billed here in Liverpool.Banner with conference slogan at Labour’s conference in Liverpool Photograph: GuardianAs a good Catholic, Andy Burnham (probably) believes in the resurrection and, since he has become prime minister, his party has certainly staged a miraculous recovery. When it met in this city a year ago (at a conference which ended with Burnham’s leadership ambitions becoming the subject of mild mockery from the Starmerites, and much of the media), Labour was about 10 points behind Reform UK and Nigel Farage seemed on course to become prime minister. That is not true any more. On Thursday two MRP polls showed that, with Burnham as Labour leader, Reform UK has suffered a huge setback. More in Common has another out this morning. “More in Common’s latest MRP projects Labour on 250 seats and Reform on 147, a sharp reversal from July’s projection of Reform 293 and Labour 110,” it says.But what next? That is what the next four days may (or may not) clarify.Burnham has given an interview to the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, and he told her that he wants to show the public that he is willing to take “difficult but real decisions”. Burnham said: double quotation markI think the public want to see, number one, honesty about things. So not spin or putting things a certain way that’s self-serving. They want honesty, and then they want, I think, difficult but real decisions. Not difficult decisions and making a fetish out of that, but actually grasping nettles and then moving things forward. I don’t think politics has been prepared to do that enough in recent times. Burnham said he would show that he was willing to take these decisions. double quotation markAlways in politics, there are things that you can do. The question is sometimes: Are you prepared to do them? Yeah, I am prepared to do them. What all those things are, sadly Burnham didn’t tell Pippa. We will find out on Tuesday afternoon, when he delivers his conference speech. But he has an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg coming up soon, and we might learn a bit more from that.Here is the agenda for the day.8.30am: Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, is interviewed on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Kate McCann.9am: Andy Burnham is interviewed on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.11.20am: The Labour conference formally opens in Liverpool.12.30pm: Lucy Powell, the Labour deputy leader and education secretary, addresses the conference. The other main speakers are Louise Haigh, the first secretary of state, at 2pm, and Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, at 3.15pm.3.15pm: Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, speaks at a New Statesman in conversation fringe event. Other fringe events include Kanishka Narayan, the AI minister, speaking on preparing workers for AI at 3.30pm; a LabourList rally where Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, Streeting, and Angela Rayner are due to speak at 4.30pm; and an IPPR in conversation event with Louise Haigh at 4.30pm. You can read the full conference timetable here.Also, at some point this afternoon Burnham is due to meet his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre.I’m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog. If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com. You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.Key events7m agoLabour conference policy announcements so far23m agoBurnham announces new homes scheme for first-time buyers28m agoAndy Burnham says he will show he will take 'difficult but real decisions' as Labour's conference startsAndy Burnham is being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC.Kuenssberg starts by looking at the Sunday newspaper front pages. Most of them are not splashing on news related to the Labour conference.You can see the front pages here.Labour conference policy announcements so farLabour has already made three policy announcements at this conference, before the main proceedings have already started. They are:1) A revived version of “help-to-buy”, called “Your First Home”. (See 8.39am.) In a note explaining the policy, Labour says: double quotation markA new equity loan scheme to help first-time buyers to purchase new build homes will be set out by the chancellor at the budget next month, with pre-registration open by the end of 2026. Support will be targeted to help those without access to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ to get on the housing ladder to buy a modest new build home. The ‘Your First Home’ equity loan scheme will be open to first-time buyers with just a 2.5% deposit. It will provide a 20% equity loan to help first-time buyers buy a new build home, with an initial interest-free period to ensure housing costs are affordable. The scheme will be funded by reprioritising existing government budgets. Developers will also contribute to the running costs of the scheme, which will give industry confidence to bring forward much-needed, high-quality new homes across the country. 2) Guaranteed jobs for out-of-work young people with disabilities and health conditions. This was announced yesterday, as an extension of the existing jobs guarantee programme. Labour said: double quotation markUnder the scheme, eligible young people on health benefits will be offered a guaranteed job on a voluntary basis just three months after their work capability assessment. They will receive mentoring and tailored support with their mental health, finances and housing to prepare them for work from partner organisations, while employers will be supported with onboarding costs. The government will also cover 100% of wage costs for up to 25 hours a week for six months. The move marks a significant expansion of the jobs guarantee, a government scheme launched earlier this year for long-term unemployed young people aged 18-24 who have been claiming universal credit for 18 months. The expansion to young people on health benefits after just 13 weeks, will start from April 2027. 3) Giving councils in England stronger powers to take over empty homes. Announcing this move this morning, Labour said: double quotation markEmpty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) allow councils to take over the management of long-term empty homes and bring them back into occupation for an initial period of 12 months, up to a total of 8 years, but no applications have been made since 2021. In the English devolution white paper, the government committed to strengthen local authority powers to take over management of empty properties. Ministers are today announcing that they will reverse damaging changes made in 2012 by the Tories during the coalition government by: -reducing the period a property must be empty before it becomes eligible for an EDMO from two years to six months, to prevent homes from falling into serious disrepair and accelerating their return to use. -removing the evidential requirements for local authorities to provide the residential property tribunal, simplifying the process and empowering local authority empty homes officers to act more decisively and with greater speed. -exploring further changes to protect local authorities from absorbing the costs they face managing homes subject to EDMOs. A Hope Again banner at the Labour conference. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty ImagesHope Again bags on sale at the Labour conference. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty ImagesBurnham announces new homes scheme for first-time buyersAndy Burnham has announced a new help-to-buy scheme aimed at helping first-time buyers who cannot rely on the “bank of mum and dad”, Pippa Crerar reports.Andy Burnham says he will show he will take 'difficult but real decisions' as Labour's conference startsGood morning, and welcome to coverage of the Labour party conference. Or the Hope Again conference, as it is being billed here in Liverpool.Banner with conference slogan at Labour’s conference in Liverpool Photograph: GuardianAs a good Catholic, Andy Burnham (probably) believes in the resurrection and, since he has become prime minister, his party has certainly staged a miraculous recovery. When it met in this city a year ago (at a conference which ended with Burnham’s leadership ambitions becoming the subject of mild mockery from the Starmerites, and much of the media), Labour was about 10 points behind Reform UK and Nigel Farage seemed on course to become prime minister. That is not true any more. On Thursday two MRP polls showed that, with Burnham as Labour leader, Reform UK has suffered a huge setback. More in Common has another out this morning. “More in Common’s latest MRP projects Labour on 250 seats and Reform on 147, a sharp reversal from July’s projection of Reform 293 and Labour 110,” it says.But what next? That is what the next four days may (or may not) clarify.Burnham has given an interview to the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, and he told her that he wants to show the public that he is willing to take “difficult but real decisions”. Burnham said: double quotation markI think the public want to see, number one, honesty about things. So not spin or putting things a certain way that’s self-serving. They want honesty, and then they want, I think, difficult but real decisions. Not difficult decisions and making a fetish out of that, but actually grasping nettles and then moving things forward. I don’t think politics has been prepared to do that enough in recent times. Burnham said he would show that he was willing to take these decisions. double quotation markAlways in politics, there are things that you can do. The question is sometimes: Are you prepared to do them? Yeah, I am prepared to do them. What all those things are, sadly Burnham didn’t tell Pippa. We will find out on Tuesday afternoon, when he delivers his conference speech. But he has an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg coming up soon, and we might learn a bit more from that.Here is the agenda for the day.8.30am: Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, is interviewed on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Kate McCann.9am: Andy Burnham is interviewed on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.11.20am: The Labour conference formally opens in Liverpool.12.30pm: Lucy Powell, the Labour deputy leader and education secretary, addresses the conference. The other main speakers are Louise Haigh, the first secretary of state, at 2pm, and Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, at 3.15pm.3.15pm: Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, speaks at a New Statesman in conversation fringe event. Other fringe events include Kanishka Narayan, the AI minister, speaking on preparing workers for AI at 3.30pm; a LabourList rally where Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, Streeting, and Angela Rayner are due to speak at 4.30pm; and an IPPR in conversation event with Louise Haigh at 4.30pm. You can read the full conference timetable here.Also, at some point this afternoon Burnham is due to meet his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre.I’m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog. If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com. You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.