Andy Burnham - ‘Labour needs to win over voters’

Labour shadow minister Andy Burnham. Picture: PA

LABOUR needs to set out clear ideas over the coming months in order to persuade voters who are not yet convinced by the party, a UK shadow cabinet minister has said.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham gave Labour until next spring to spell out its ideas in a way that “captures how people are feeling and thinking”.

The frontbencher, who stood against Ed Miliband for the party leadership, claimed many voters had “decided the coalition is a failure as a government”, but “what they aren’t yet convinced is that we have the answers”.

In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Burnham said: “I think there’s definitely a need to shout louder, and speak in a way that captures how people are feeling and thinking. There’s definitely a need to put our cards on the table.”

Asked how long that window was, he replied not “much beyond next spring”.

Mr Burnham’s comments follow criticism of Mr Miliband’s leadership from backbench MPs, but the shadow health secretary insisted he had the “utmost respect” for his leader.

Veteran backbencher George Mudie has claimed that the party appeared “hesitant” and “confused” because of Mr Miliband’s failure to spell out a clear agenda to voters.

Mr Burnham denied he was echoing Mr Mudie’s concerns and said: “No, this isn’t a criticism of Ed ... I’m making it a criticism of modern politics.”

He confirmed there were difficulties within the shadow cabinet over his radical plans to integrate social care into the NHS, but claimed he wanted to deliver a policy for Mr Miliband which would “knock the others off the pitch”.

The Guardian reported that the proposal faced strong resistance from shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and Mr Miliband remained undecided.

“If we were to make that shift to fully bring social care within the NHS, I think we could genuinely set the NHS up for the 21st century,” Mr Burnham said.

“I’m saying to Ed [Miliband], I will give you an NHS policy that is one nation to its core, people will say that’s what one nation means, all people covered for all of their care needs in a system that is based on the values of the NHS.

“What better way for Labour to say it’s relevant to the 21st century than to bring forward a policy as bold in this century of the ageing society as the NHS was in the last?

“That’s the way that Ed Miliband wins, by having policies that just knock the others off the pitch basically. And that’s what I want to give him.”