Andy Burnham told a Labour Conference fringe event that there was a ‘culture of fear’ in the party:“We do need a debate at this conference… how can you have an open debate if there is too much of a climate of fear in our party and in the way your party is being run… how can you have an open debate about the direction that we need to take to reconnect with the public if a party member is suspended for liking a tweet from another political party or a member of Parliament loses the whip for trying to protest disability benefit cuts or the two-child cap?”