One union leader told the prime minister that getting rid of the mechanism, which protects the state pension from below-inflation increases, was not 'the right thing'. The warning came as Burnham prepared to deliver his speech to delegates in Liverpool this afternoon.
On Europe, ministers have told The Independent that Burnham is building the case to put EU rejoin in the party's next election manifesto. A senior minister said it was now a question of 'how it is expressed in the manifesto, rather than if', adding that 'the mood has completely changed on this subject'.
Not all voices are convinced. One figure argued that the UK could get more by looking 'through a trade lens' than by pursuing constitutional questions, which 'cause a lot of uncertainty for business'. The same figure said a customs union would add little on top of existing arrangements while requiring 'a whole range of alignment on regulatory issues'. Another cautioned that Europe's political direction was uncertain, citing 'very challenging politics in Germany' and the possibility of a different outcome in the French presidential election.
In a separate development, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said it was never the government's intention to criminalise 'elderly people, vicars and grannies' arrested for supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action, and noted that the Supreme Court would examine the issue. Palestine Action's supporters welcomed what they called Miliband's honesty and said they accepted an offer, made in Pizza Express, to hold a conversation.