Labour Party Conference: Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham face being left off speaker list

Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham face being left off the speaker list at Labour’s annual conference next month in order to give Labour’s expanded membership a greater role.

The conference – the party’s first since Jeremy Corbyn defied pundits at the general election and increased the number of Labour seats – is expected to be stripped-back from the usual affair, with less time for speakers on the platform.

But the drive to bolster the involvement of members at the conference on Brighton’s seafront could see Mr Khan, the Mayor of London, and Mr Burnham, who was earlier this year elected as the new Mayor of Manchester, given reduced roles at the event.

A Labour source told The Independent that while arrangements for the conference have not yet been finalised there “is a strong enthusiasm for opening it up to more of our members, who played such a vital role in the general election campaign”.

“This would mean more time for debate for members, which could reduce speaking time from the platform,” the source added.

A report in the Huffington Post also claimed the party is drawing up plans for just five keynote speakers at the party’s conference in Brighton next month, including senior allies, John McDonnell, Emily Thornberry, Diane Abbott and Keir Starmer.

But a source close to the London Mayor said it would be “extraordinary” if Mr Khan did not address the conference “after the year London has had, with the Grenfell fire and three terror attacks, as well as critical local council elections next year”.

The omission of the city mayors from the conference’s keynote speakers will undoubtedly be viewed by some as revenge for swipes at the Labour leadership before the general election result.

Last year, Mr Khan wrote an article during the tumultuous summer for the party, under the headline: “We cannot win with Corbyn…so I will vote for Owen Smith.” In his opinion piece Mr Khan said that while the Labour leader “is a principled man” he had decided to back Mr Smith because the British people “need Labour to win the general election”.

He continued: “By every measure, if Jeremy remains as leader, Labour is extremely unlikely to win the next general election. The hopes of the members who have joined our party would be dashed again.”

And Mr Burnham, who was elected as the Mayor of Manchester earlier this year, was forced to deny snubbing the leadership when he failed to accompany Mr Corbyn to celebrate his victory in Manchester.

Party figures are expecting one of the biggest turnouts in 30 years at the conference next month, with about 1,200 people expected to attend.