Has Burnham gone public because he thinks that Miliband will demote him?

By Paul Goodman
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Andy Burnham says in today's Guardian that Labour has until next spring to set out more policies, and urges the integration of social care into the NHS (which isn't the party's official view.)

Every interview by a senior politician should be met by the question "what did he mean by that?", rather in the manner of Metternich enquiring after the death of Talleyrand

Burnham knows well that Labour's lead in the polls has slid, that Ed Miliband is under pressure, that he doesn't like Shadow Cabinet Ministers freelancing...and that the implied criticism of Miliband will be unwelcome.

The Shadow Health Secretary is in the wrong job. I write that not because of any intrinsic weakness Burnham may have, but because it's nearly always a mistake to shadow a department you ran.

Jeremy Hunt has been able to target Burnham's record, especially in relation to mid-Staffs, and has managed the unprecedented achievement of putting Labour under pressure over an issue which they own - at least, in relation to the Conservatives.

Five things we’ve learnt about Ed Miliband’s Labour from their Manchester conference

By Peter Hoskin
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Labour’s five-day jamboree ends today. There will be a closing speech by Harriet Harman at lunchtime, as well as some prior talks, before everyone leaves Manchester to the Greatest Football Team in the World, and decamps to their constituencies and to London. So apologies if this quick list of the things we’ve learnt from the Labour conference is a little premature, but I can’t see things changing much this morning. Here goes:

1) In  terms of presentation, Labour are turning blue. In my ConHome column on Tuesday, I wrote that the most important aspect of the Labour conference was how “Ed Miliband’s party is straying onto territory usually occupied by the Conservatives” — and that was even before the “One Nation” speech that Mr Miliband delivered later that day. From the emphasis on property ownership to Yvette Cooper’s claim that Labour are “now the party of policing”, from the rediscovered patriotism to the blue backdrop of the main stage, there appeared to be a concerted effort to broaden the party’s appeal rightwards. “Red Ed no more,” was the message. “Vote for Blue Ed.”

2) In terms of substance, Labour are staying red. But look beyond the performances and the stage lighting, and the (few) policies that Labour are espousing are still dripping red. There’s the example I used in my column: the party’s drive towards property ownership is based around more and more spending, and implicitly critiques Thatcher-era policies such as the Right to Buy. But we saw it too in those moments when Labour’s speakers tore up the Tory copybook, such as when Andy Burnham railed against “privatisation” in the NHS. Some of this is Labour staying on their comfort ground but, to my eyes, some of it is more than that. They’re trying to create a new generation of Labour voters by wrapping left-wing policies in centrist, or even right-wing, language.

Despite what Andy Burnham MP says, the principles of the NHS are still very much alive

By Tim Montgomerie
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Last night the NHS Bill was passed. The Lansley reforms became law. Regular ConHome readers will know that I regret that. I think nearly all that the heavily-amended-and-bureaucratised Bill set out to achieve could have been achieved by continuing with what Labour had already put in place. We should have chosen evolution rather than given the impression of revolution. Troubles in the NHS would then have been blamed fairly and squarely on the empty national coffers.

Nonetheless what is done is done and we now need to make the best out of a bad job. In that task we might be helped by the hysterical behaviour of our political opponents. The Mirror wants us to believe that the NHS is dead this morning. What absolute nonsense. The NHS remains free at the point of use. The Coalition is investing more money in the health service. It's the Labour administration in Wales that is cutting the NHS - a theme we will be developing on ConHome in the next few days with an article from Conservative MP Alun Cairns.

And it's not just the Mirror that deserves ConHome's Order of the Over-The-Top. Andy Burnham chose to piggy-back on the Queen's Jubilee speech and make political points. “On this day," he said, "in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, we should be celebrating what a much-valued social ­institution has done to bind our nation together throughout the 60 years of her reign." He concluded: "Instead, we gather to dismantle it.” Labour really won't help themselves if they can't find the reasonable position on the rhetorical dial.

A LabourList poll suggests a steep decline in popularity for Ed Miliband over strikes

By Joseph Willits 
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Last week we reported some bad news for Ed Miliband, that according to a poll in the Sun, only 1 in 5 Labour voters would back him. Today signals further disappointment for the Labour leader with a poll on LabourList blaming Miliband's handling of public sector pensions strikes on 30th November for a steep decline in popularity.

• Only 26% of those polled consider Ed Miliband to be doing a 'good' or 'excellent' job as leader of the Labour party, compared to 40% in October, and 59% at his peak in July.
• The biggest percentage grouping of 41% felt Miliband's performance was 'poor' or 'very poor'.
• 33% would describe Miliband as 'average'.
• Although 83% of LabourList readers backed the strikes, 67% believed Miliband handled the situation badly. 
• Tom Watson, Yvette Cooper, and Andy Burnham were the three most popular in the Shadow Cabinet.

The poll was conducted between Monday 5th and Friday 9th December. 604 people voted. LabourList's Mark Ferguson wrote:

"It remains to be seen whether Miliband can bounce back in the New Year, or whether the damage done is permanent".