‘New path’: UK’s Burnham promises huge expansion of public services

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to put the United Kingdom on a new path of equitable growth during his first Labour conference speech as leader of the country and party.Covering a range of topics including healthcare, pensions, electoral reforms, affordable housing and publicly-owned utilities, Burnham on Tuesday said it was time for the UK to opt for drastic change and reject a slow and painful demise.“Britain has been on the wrong path for a long time,” Burnham told delegates, adding that he was “ready to do things my predecessors wouldn’t”.“I will make a break with the direction of the past 40 years and put Britain on a new path, build a new economy and a new politics. That is the case I make to you today,” he said.Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as the UK prime minister in July, said there was a “sense of the powers-that-be pulling against the people, not with them”.“More of the same isn’t good enough,” said the former mayor of the northwestern city of Liverpool, where the party conference was held. He added that it was time “to break the mould today”.This year’s Labour Party conference brought together legislators and party members alongside trade unions an...