November 14, 2026 - 263 views
Andy Burnham has urged Welsh Labour to rebuild its relationship with communities and avoid creating barriers between Wales and neighbouring parts of England, during an address to the party’s annual conference in Llandudno.
The Prime Minister was speaking at Venue Cymru on Saturday, at the first Welsh Labour conference since the party’s historic defeat in May’s Senedd election, which ended its 27-year period in power in Wales.
He told delegates that Labour needed to listen more carefully to the public and recognise that it may have lost sight of some of the principles behind devolution.
Mr Burnham said the original vision had been about putting power into the hands of people and communities, rather than simply transferring it from Westminster to Cardiff.
He called for a new approach, with UK Labour and Welsh Labour working together as “one Labour team for Wales”, and said he wanted to see more powers devolved to local councils and regional partnerships.
He also revealed that he had put the full devolution of employment support to the Welsh Government on the table, arguing that communities should have greater influence over the routes into work available to young people.
But it was his comments about the relationship between North Wales and the North West of England that were likely to resonate particularly strongly with local delegates in Llandudno.
Mr Burnham recalled visiting North Wales regularly as a child with his family, saying he knew the area well and had fond memories of coming across from the North West.
He said the economic and social links between the two areas were too strong to ignore, pointing out that people regularly cross the border to work and shop.
He warned Welsh Labour against adopting an approach that treated the border as a dividing line, saying that creating walls between neighbouring communities would do the party no favours with the electorate.
He made a similar point about the relationship between South Wales and the South West of England, saying that jobs and local economies depended on cooperation across those regional boundaries.
Mr Burnham also paid tribute to the creation of Transport for Wales, revealing that when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester it had been the best rail operator serving the city.
He said he had been inspired by the Welsh approach and impressed by the decision to establish Transport for Wales, adding that it had helped inform the case for bringing rail services back into public ownership in England.
The Prime Minister praised Welsh Labour’s record in government, highlighting free school meals, free prescriptions and the Flying Start programme as achievements the party should be proud of.
However, he acknowledged the scale of the May election defeat, saying the party had to accept the result, learn from it and demonstrate that it was prepared to do things differently.
He also set out a wider vision for Wales based on reindustrialisation, stronger local economies and more opportunities for young people, saying the country had the talent and ambition to achieve much more.
Reflecting on a recent visit to Aberfan to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster, Mr Burnham said the experience had left a lasting impression on him. He spoke of the strength and dignity of the community, and the injustice of the way families had been treated in the aftermath.
He said the experience reinforced his belief in a fairer country where all communities were treated with dignity and had the power to shape their own futures.
Mr Burnham ended by pledging to work alongside Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates to rebuild the party’s support, saying the task ahead was to listen, learn and come back stronger.
