Burnham says nationalising railways "a no brainer" Burnham says in the Tory leadership contest the candidates said they wanted to bring back Thatcherism. But they are going further, he says. They are borrowing to fund tax cuts for the rich. They have no evidence this will work. “How can you take a gamble on this scale in a cost of living crisis?” he asks. He says the 1980s saw the sell-off of life’s essentials, like water, buses, trains. But services have not got better. People are paying more, and the money is going to shareholders and executives. In Greater Manchester he says he is bringing the buses back under public control from next year. He says he thinks nationalisation of the railways is a “no-brainer”. That gets a cheer. He asks how many people used Avanti to get here. The service is terrible, he says. He says if you go to day return and get a day return to London, it costs £369. You can get a flight to India for that, he says. Afternoon summary Keir Starmer has vowed to reinstate the top tax band for people who are paid more than £150,000 a year while keeping the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax, minutes after Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, said both should be restored. Starmer has unveiled plans to turn the UK into an independent green “superpower” before 2030. Burnham has said that renationalising the railways should be a “no-brainer” for Labour. At a Guardian fringe event at the conference, he said Labour needed to give voters a clearer idea of what it would do if it won the election. Nationalising the railways was a “no-brainer”, he said. (See 5.54pm.) He also suggested the party should propose rolling out nationally the £2 cap on bus fares he is introducing in Greater Manchester, building more affordable housing, offering social care on NHS terms and prioritising the interests of young people. And he said Labour should include proportional representation in its manifesto. How Britain is governed is not a niche issue but a core issue, he said. Delegates have voted to have a debate on PR. (See 3.34pm.) But, ahead of the vote, Starmer has said he will not put PR in the manifesto. Liz Truss plans to radically reshape the UK economy with even more tax cuts and fewer regulations, Kwasi Kwarteng, her chancellor, has said, declining to set a limit on how much public debt could be incurred in the process. Kwarteng has tried to play down concerns that ministers plan to tear up a series of environmental regulations in their push for growth, after a furious backlash from wildlife and green groups. Mark Fullbrook, Liz Truss’s new chief of staff, is being paid for through his lobbying company in a move that may help him minimise tax. Burnham says he would support a change in the voting system. And he would put it in the manifesto. He says the Tory leadership contest, culminating in the mini-budget, has shown how the political system can be manipulated by a small group of people. Power was concentrated with 50 to 100 people, he says. He says he would have PR for the Commons, and replace the Lords with a body representing the region. And then he would have maximum devolution. What is wrong with working with the Greens and the Lib Dems, he asks. Q: Why aren’t Labour going for it? Burnham says people argue it is not a priority for voters. But Labour may have to work with other parties. If you go back 100 years, the Tories have been in power for two-thirds of the time. That is because the system works for them. Why should we give the Tories two-thirds of the next century too, he says. And he says it is outrageous that people have been put in the House of Lords as donors. How power works, and is used, is “not a niche issue”, but a core issue, he says. And that’s it. The Q&A is over. Burnham says Labour should prioritise policies for young people Q: What should Labour be saying to young people? That we will put them first, Burnham says. He says when Labour was in power, the government put pensioners first. That was even more marked when the coalition took office. He says as mayor of Greater Manchester he has prioritised spending for young people. His daughter has to work in a bar in Liverpool while she is making her way through university, he says. He says young people find life harder than when he was young. He says he does not want to get rid of all tuition fees; he does not think that would be fair on people who do not go to university. But, when you see how young people are treated, they do not get value for the £9,000 they pay in tuition fees. And access to housing – Burnham says it would be great for Labour to have a solution to the housing crisis. Turning away from Andy Burnham for a moment, at another fringe event Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has been joking about the demise of Momentum as an all-powerful force in the party, my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports. Streeting was referrring, in part, to Momentum’s failure to get one of its preferred motions chosen for debate. (See 3.34pm.) Burnham says “social care on NHS terms” is a policy whose time has come. He is glad Wes Streeting is pushing for this. He says he pushed for this when he was in the health brief 10 years ago. He says he does not think Labour wins elections by default. It needs to have a policy offer. And that should include “public ownership of life’s essentials”. People are ready for it, he says. The energy policy announced today is good, he says. But the party needs to show how it can get energy bills down now. Viner is now doing a quickfire round. Liam or Noel? Both. Viner does not accept that. Burnham insists on both. Brown or Blair? Brown. That gets some applause. Truss or Kwarteng? Neither. Avanti or Virgin? Virgin. Monarchy or republic? Monarchy. Did you sing the national anthem? Burnham says he was not in the hall, but singing it was probably the right thing to do. William or Harry? William. Mick Lynch or Bet Lynch? Bet. Burnham says he has to go for a northern icon. Burnham says his plan for an intergrated transport system is called the Bee Network, after the symbol for Manchester. He says he has a bee tattoo as well. Burnham says he lives in his old constituency, Leigh. It went Tory at the last election. So he is a “red wall” voter, he says. He cannot see it doing anything other than vote Labour at the next election, he says. He says his advice to “red wall” Tory MPs is that they have to start denouncing the mini-budget or start clearing their office. Burnham says the Tories are “running out of road”. Parties start talking to themselves, he says. That is what happened to Labour at the end of its term of office. That is why he thinks this could be Labour’s last conference before it forms a government. Q: Should we stop using the word “woke”? It is just being used to attack people. Burnham says that is right, but the same applied to the term political correctness. He says the Tories are losing the support of all young voters with this approach. Burnham says the right in Britain is using the Donald Trump playbook in trying to ignite culture wars. It is a deliberate strategy, he says. People should stop being drawn into this. Q: Could you be an MP while continuing as mayor of Greater Manchester? No, says Burnham. He say Dan Jarvis was able to do that. But he says his position is different. He is a police and crime commissioner. He says he is not ruling out a return to Westminster. But he says he also wants to end the impression that Westminster is “the only show in town”. Q: Why have you not been invited to speak at the conference from the platform? Burnham says he does not know why. Perhaps they did not have time. He says the party should be highlighting the achievement of its metro mayors more. He says he is introducing radical policies. But he has the support of the business community. And he won every ward in Greater Manchester.