Keir Starmer presents himself as serious leader for difficult times

Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as the serious leader needed for the crises Britain faces, as he criticised Boris Johnson for being a “trivial man” without a plan.

In the most important speech of his political career at Labour’s annual conference, the leader sought to reposition the party “right at the heart of British public”, disavowing the leftist approach of predecessor Jeremy Corbyn that had led to “obliteration” at the polls.

After a bruising week that has seen rows with the left and the resignation of a shadow cabinet minister, he faced down persistent heckles from backers of a £15 minimum wage, telling them: “At this time on a Wednesday it’s normally the Tories that are heckling me, it doesn’t bother me then, and it doesn’t bother me now.”

But in a mark of how far he has moved the party in his 18 months as leader, he won repeated standing ovations from delegates as he listed the achievements of the Blair and Brown governments and strode deep into traditional Conservative territory to pledge his devotion to law and order, patriotism, the armed forces, Nato and the union.

Having come under fire earlier in the week for failing to take the government to task over petrol shortages, Sir Keir addressed the crisis head-on in his opening comments, accusing ministers of following Johnson’s usual pattern of “ignoring the problem, blaming someone else, then coming up with a half-baked solution”.

“We have a fuel crisis, a pay crisis, a goods crisis and a cost of living crisis all at the same time,” he said. “Prime minister, either get a grip or get out of the way and let us clear up this mess.”

Promising – in homage to his toolmaker father – to “retool” the UK for the challenges of the modern world, Mr Starmer stated his core principles as “Work. Care. Equality. Security”.

And he drew a stark contrast with a fundamentally unserious prime minister, who he said was unable to rise to the task of dealing with the concurrent emergencies of record NHS waiting lists, rising crime, petrol shortages, supply chain disruption and the soaring cost of living.

“It’s easy to comfort yourself that your opponents are bad people,” he told delegates.

“But I don’t think Boris Johnson is a bad man. I think he is a trivial man. I think he’s a showman with nothing left to show. I think he’s a trickster who has performed his one trick.

“Once he had said the words: ‘Get Brexit Done’, his plan ran out. There is no plan.”

He contrasted his experience as chief prosecutor fighting for justice for the parents of Stephen Lawrence and domestic abuse victim Jane Clough with Mr Johnson’s past as a newspaper columnist and celebrity guest on Top Gear, where he jokingly admitted to being a “blithering idiot”.

He gave his most personal account yet of how his political vision was shaped by his childhood background as the son of a skilled worker and an NHS nurse who later relied on the care of the health service.

In one of the few lighter moments of a 90-minute speech, he made the PM the butt of a risque joke, telling delegates: “My dad was a toolmaker, although in a way so was Boris Johnson’s.”

Sir Keir targeted the prime minister’s “assumption that the rules don’t apply to him”, citing his refusal to sack aide Dominic Cummings and cabinet colleague Matt Hancock for breaching Covid restrictions and his attempt to dodge self-isolation after being “pinged”.

“Politics has to be clean, wrongdoing has to be punished,” said Mr Starmer, listing Tory controversies over PPE contracts, lobbying and the funding of the PM’s flat refurbishment.

“On behalf of the public that cares about cleaning up politics, I put this government on notice.”

But the heart of his assault on the prime minister centred on his failure to deal with the crises of today or the challenges of tomorrow.

“These times demand a responsible leader with clear values,” said Sir Keir.

“From my dad, I understand the dignity of work. From my mum, I appreciate the nobility of care. From my work, the principle that we are all equal before the law.

“Work. Care. Equality. Security.

“Those are the values this country needs now as we first seek to recover from the pandemic and then to look, with excitement and anticipation down the path that beckons us to retool Britain for the future. To make this nation anew.”

He also took a swipe at Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP – who Labour will have to win seats from to stand any chance of victory – saying that Scotland was “in the unfortunate position of having two bad governments”, with the Tories and Scottish Nationalists “in lock-step” in their attempts to exploit division for their own ends.

Despite expectations that Mr Starmer would use his first in-person conference speech as leader to shoot down criticisms that his platform lacks clarity, there was little in the way of new policy in the address.

A £6bn “national mission” to fit insulation in every home in the country within a decade was presented as a means to tackle climate change, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and cut household energy bills by more than £400 a year.

A “curriculum for tomorrow” would add digital skills to the core “three R” subjects in schools, while children would also be guaranteed lessons in drama, music and sports, as well as two weeks’ compulsory work experience.

Labour would guarantee mental health support within a month of referral and recruit more than 8,500 professionals to support 1 million more patients each year.

And the legal obligations of company directors would be rewritten to require them to focus on the long term, while the state’s investment in science and research would be hiked to 3 per cent of GDP from its current 2.4 per cent.

Sir Keir thanked the party foot-soldiers who had saved Labour from wipe-out in the 2019 general election.

But he bluntly reminded those who still hankered after the Corbyn years that the result was Labour’s worst since 1935.

And – a day after declaring that winning was more important to him than party unity – he made clear that the chance to govern the country will not be secured through chanting slogans and waving placards, but by winning the trust of ordinary voters.

“Talk is cheap but progress isn’t,” he said. “If we want permission to create a good society, we have to win trust that we will create a strong economy.”

To those who would hurl abuse at the Tories, he asked: “If they are so bad, what does that say about us?

“In 2019, we lost to them and lost badly.

“I know that hurts each and every one of you. So let’s get totally serious about this ... We can win the next election.

“This government can’t keep the fuel flowing, it can’t keep the shelves stocked and you’ve seen what happens when Boris Johnson wants more money – he goes straight for the wallets of working people.

“In a few short years from now I want to be here with you talking about the difference we are making, the problems we are fixing as a Labour government. That is what this party is for.”

Former shadow chancellor and close Corbyn ally John McDonnell said it was “interesting” to see Sir Keir denouncing the 2019 manifesto for not being credible, when “he was a member of the shadow cabinet that signed off every detail... and never objected to a word”.

With Andy McDonald’s resignation, Mr Starmer now has a more united shadow cabinet than Labour has seen for years, and this was reflected in enthusiastic responses to his speech, which was hailed as “outstanding” by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, “barnstorming” by shadow justice secretary David Lammy and the “finest for a decade” by shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told The Independent: “It was a magnificent, uplifting speech, leading the Labour Party back to government.”

Sir Keir also won applause from stalwarts of the New Labour era Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson. Mr Campbell said it was a “relief” to hear a proud defence of Mr Blair’s record after a decade of Labour leaders distancing themselves from his legacy, while Mr Mandelson said Sir Keir had shown himself “in touch with ordinary people’s lives”.

Several unions also gave their backing to what TUC chief Frances O’Grady described as “a plan for fixing the cost of living crisis” and Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said was “a serious plan for change”.

However, the UK’s largest union, Unite, was less impressed, with spokesperson Rob MacGregor saying it wanted “a Labour leader who is as angry as we are about the harm being done to workers”.

The Labour left was not won over either, with Momentum saying Mr Starmer “identified a lot of problems but offered very few solutions”, while former MP and current National Executive Committee member Laura Pidcock branded the speech “uninspiring”.