Starmer promises to ‘rise above challenges’ to deliver new Britain

Sir Keir Starmer said people must “face the storm” in order to make a “Britain built to last” as he warned of further tough decisions to turn the country around.

In his first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister, Sir Keir set out plans to “clear out the Tory rot”, with a new era of political leadership creating a country “renewed by respect and service”.

In a speech briefly disrupted by a pro-Palestine heckler, he said the “wounds of trust” left by the Conservatives needed to be healed as he acknowledged that addressing that legacy would require unpopular decisions.

“If they were popular, they’d be easy.

“But the cost of filling that black hole in our public finances, that will be shared fairly,” he told activists in Liverpool.

“We will get the welfare bill down because we will tackle long-term sickness and support people back to work.

“We will make every penny work for you because we will root out waste and go after tax avoiders.

“There will be no stone left unturned.”

But there would be “no return to Tory austerity”, he said.

Addressing criticism of the decision to means-test winter fuel payments, he insisted “every pensioner will be better off with Labour” but said he understood people’s concerns.

“The risk of showing to the world, as the Tories did, that this country does not fund its policies properly, that is a risk we can never take again.

“Stabilising our economy is the first step of this long-term plan.

“The only way we can keep prices low, cut NHS waiting lists and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country, every pensioner, will be better off with Labour.”

He said decisions such as squeezing winter fuel payments or releasing prisoners early were due to the state the Tories left the country in.

“For 14 years the Tories performed the politics of easy answers rather than use the power of government to serve our country,” he said.

“Yet still those wounds of trust must be healed.”

In a message to “anyone nervous about the difficult road ahead” he promised there would be “light at the end of this tunnel”.

But he said people had to accept the trade-offs that reforming the country and renewing its infrastructure would require.

“If the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that if you bury your head because things are difficult, your country goes backwards.

“So if we want justice to be served some communities must live close to new prisons.

“If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.

“If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground otherwise the burden on taxpayers is too much.”

For home ownership to be a “credible aspiration” for all then “every community” would have to contribute with extra building.

And to tackle illegal migration “we can’t pretend there’s a magical process that allows you to return people here unlawfully without accepting that process will also grant some people asylum”.

He added: “If we want to be serious about levelling-up, then we must be proud to be the party of wealth creation.

“Unashamed to partner with the private sector. ”

Sir Keir took on concerns about levels of immigration, insisting that British workers could be trained to reduce reliance on overseas labour.

In the wake of the summer’s riots, Sir Keir said people with legitimate concerns about immigration were not responsible for the “violent thuggery” unleased on streets across the country.

“I will never let a minority of violent, racist thugs terrorise our communities,” he said.

“I have always accepted concerns about immigration are legitimate.

“It is, as a point of fact, the policy of this Government to reduce both net migration and our economic dependency on it.”

Echoing the Brexit campaign slogan, he said “taking back control is a Labour argument”, because government action was the way to deal with the “great forces that affect your community – whether that’s migration, climate change, law and order or security at work”.

There has been unease within Labour about the doom-laden messaging from ministers over the state of the country when they took office and Sir Keir sought to justify the approach he was taking.

Sir Keir said: “We will turn our collar up and face the storm.

“We will rise above the challenges that we’ve inherited.

“Because this is a country with fairness in the water, that believes in justice, and that wants working people to be respected.”

He added: “What will people get to show for it? 

“They’ll get a country with its future back.

“Renewed by respect and service.

“Rebalanced towards the interests of working people.

“Confident in its values and story.”

In his speech, Sir Keir confirmed that Great British Energy will be based in Aberdeen and announced veterans will be given greater access to social housing, promising “homes will be there for heroes”.

In a message with emotional significance in Liverpool, he confirmed that the Government would bring forward a Hillsborough Law by the time of the next anniversary of the 1989 football stadium disaster in April.

Tory chairman Richard Fuller said: “After a lacklustre Labour Party Conference mired in scandal over freebies and infighting over the decision to cut winter fuel payments, Sir Keir’s speech did nothing to change the impression that this is a government failing to make progress.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Sadly there will be millions of pensioners left disappointed today at the lack of a u-turn on the upcoming winter fuel allowance cuts.

“There is still time for the Government to change course on this concerning policy and we urge them to do so.”