Newsnight, followed by Weather

Tuesday's Newsnight, live from Broadcasting House and the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, led on Prime Minister Andy Burnham's conference speech. The programme said Burnham described where Britain had gone wrong, presented his vision, and drew dividing lines for the next election, including a promise of electoral reform and options for getting closer to the EU. It focused on his announcement that Labour would scrap the state pension triple lock by 2030 to help pay for a universal national care service in England. Under the plan, from April 2030 the state pension would rise by whichever is highest of inflation or 2.5%; the earnings link would not be guaranteed yearly, though the pension would hold its value to earnings over time. The state would pay for personal care at home or in a residential care home, while bed and board in a care home would remain subject to a means-tested council contribution.

Political editor Nick Watt said the speech looked like a manifesto in the making and began with a personal and raw account of Burnham's recent loss of his father to dementia. He reported enthusiasm at the conference but also divisions and deep concerns among some Labour figures and Burnham allies over the triple lock change. Supporters called it a significant party conference speech and big change; dissenters warned it could be political suicide, compared it to the winter fuel allowance row, and argued for a wealth tax instead. Panel member Kiran Stacey said the reaction was mostly positive, pensions would still rise but perhaps not as much, and the cut came with a promise of a care service. Ollie Dugmore supported the change, citing intergenerational fairness and demographic imbalance, but said the care plan needed detail and better care would cost more. Laura Farris questioned whether the savings plus a new care service would require significant tax increases.

Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander told Newsnight that pensions would not be lower and would rise each year by either 2.5% or inflation, after an estimated £2,000 rise in the current parliament, with the pension worth about £12,500 and at a historic high relative to earnings. He said the triple lock change would save about £15 billion by the end of the decade and contribute to building the National Care Service, while Louise Casey had been asked to examine how it would be funded and operate; the programme noted IFS figures arguing the savings would not be enough. It also reported the Greens saying Labour should use a wealth tax instead and Reform saying welfare should be cut rather than the triple lock. Later discussion covered electoral reform, closer EU options, a new state-backed GB Grid, greater mayoral oversight of water companies, the possibility of an earlier election, and newspaper front pages including a Daily Express campaign to save the triple lock.