Keir Starmer speech - live: Labour leader shakes off glitter ambush and unveils ‘mission for government’

The shadow chancellor is currently on course to be the first woman to take control of the nation’s finances – and has won the backing of former Bank of England governor Mark Carney. So, asks Sean O’Grady, what would she put in her first Budget, and how would that affect you?

Labour will build a “new generation” of Georgian-style townhouses in urban areas as plans for a decade in power.

Sir Keir Starmer will use his keynote speech at Labour conference to say that the houses will be developed by state-backed companies, according to The Times.

They will be built using compulsory purchase powers, with a cap on what landowners can charge, to free cash for local amenities.

Doctors’ surgeries, schools, transport links and other infrastructure would be “hardwired” into the plans, with sites in Cambridge and the M1 corridor around Milton Keynes among the areas being considered.

The foreign secretary has condemned protests in London overnight during which Israel flags were burned.

Speaking to Sky News, James Cleverly said the government respects the right to peaceful protests but criticised those supporting Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation in the UK and other countries.

“Therefore it is an offence to fly their banners,” he said. “Of course what we want to see is all communities - including Jewish communities in the UK - feel safe and secure”.

Towns and cities across England will get new powers to boost their economies under Labour plans for an expansion of devolution.

Starmer will use his conference speech to say that councils and combined authorities would get more control over housing and planning, skills, energy and transport of the kind currently held by London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, The Guardian reports.

“If we want to challenge the hoarding of potential in our economy then we must win the war against the hoarders in Westminster,” he is expected to say.

“Give power back and put communities in control.”

As we reported earlier, James Cleverly has been speaking to Sky News about protests in London over the conflict in Israel.

He urged supporters of Palestine not to attend the gatherings, said it could cause distress during what is a “difficult, delicate situation”

Jon Stone reports: The foreign secretary has urged supports of Palestine not to attend protests, after demonstrations took place in London.

Speaking during an interview on Sky News, James Cleverley said the world was facing "a difficult, delicate situation".

"There is no need, there’s no necessity for people to come out. It causes distress," he added.

Mr Cleverly said the protests were causing concern in the Jewish community, "who have often been on the receiving end of prejudice and threats of violence".

"There’s no need for this at all. I would encourage them just to pause," he said.

Mr Cleverly also said he would not share a platform with the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot.

"I’ve met with him, I speak with him. Maintaining diplomatic relations is important," he said.

"But I have said that Palestinian voices, particularly those in leadership positions, should criticise the appalling behaviour, the atrocious actions, that have been perpetrated by Hamas.

"These indiscriminate killings, these murders, these kidnaps, these terrorist actions, should be condemned by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, because otherwise there will be this perception that all Palestinians support Hamas, and they don’t."

The UK’s foreign secretary has said there is "no equivalence" between Hamas’s attacks on Israel and Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip.

James Cleverly told Sky News that it was "completely inappropriate" to suggest there was a "balancing act" between the two.

"The truth is that the reason we express our solidarity with the people of Israel is because terrorists took action to murder, to kidnap, and we’re now seeing reports that they are threatening to execute people that they have kidnapped," he said.

"The idea that somehow there is an equivalence, there is a kind of a balancing act between the actions of the Israeli government and their self defence, and the actions of Hamas and their terrorists, is completely inappropriate.

"I wouldn’t want to do anything which would imply that to be the case. Of course, we want to see the minimisation of loss of life."

An Israeli embassy spokesperson said on Monday that at least 900 people had been killed in Israel in the fighting so far, with the majority civilians. Another 2,500 have been wounded. Hamas has also taken hostages.

Airstrikes on Gaza have killed close to 700 people as of Monday, including 140 children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Red Wall voters who backed the Tories in 2019 are preparing to switch back to Labour, new polling by More in Common suggests.

But director Luke Tryl warned the analysis showed Labour was winning “by default” due to a collapse in support for the Conservatives rather than any great love for the opposition.

“The only way the party will turn that broad but shallow support into something deeper is to move on from prosecuting what the Tories have done wrong, and start setting out what they’d do better,” he told Politico.

Meanwhile, a separate YouGov poll for the Scottish Fabian Society showed Labour was closing in on the SNP north of the border, with 32 per cent of respondents saying they would back Starmer’s party compared to 33 per cent for the nationalists.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator, declined to tell people not to protest in support of the Palestinian people, but made clear his party stands with Israel’s right to retrieve those taken hostage by Hamas.

He told Times Radio: “I’m not going to police protest. What I’m going to make clear is the Labour Party stands with Israel, stands with its right to defend itself. Stands with its right to get its own people back who have been taken hostage. And its right to use force to do so.”

Mr McFadden said the consequences of Hamas’s actions will have been known to the militant group and “if they wanted to show more concern for Palestinian civilians right now what they would do is they would return every single hostage that was taken, and they would do it today”.

Keir Starmer will take to the stage at Labour conference in Liverpool today to give his keynote speech – we have a few ideas of what’s in store. Trailed extracts of his address suggest the opposition leader will focus on housebuilding and devolution – promising a “decade of national renewal”, Jon Stone reports.

According to the Guardian, Sir Keir will promise new powers to all towns and cities in England to invest, deliver homes, and create jobs. Echoing rhetoric from Labour mayors like Andy Burnham, Sir Keir will promise to "win the war against the hoarders in Westminster" and "put communities in control".

This would take the form of more "combined authorities" like Greater Manchester, where councils work together as regions. The model could be extended across the country.

Other powers given to all local authorities would include the ability to take control of bus franchising, as in big cities. And all metro mayors would get control lover adult education, as is current the case in some larger cities.

But perhaps the most eye-catching of the proposals expected to be delivered from the stage is on housebuilding.

According to The Times Sir Keir will promise "a big build" – and release what are deemed low quality areas of greenbelt such as scrubland and car parks for development around cities. He will specify that half of all homes must be built for affordable prices. Labour will also promise a string of new towns along the model of post-war developments.

The opposition is also planning to be prescriptive about architecture, promising "Georgian-style townhouses" in urban areas.A Labour government would be “totally focused on the interests of working people”, Sir Keir will promise, stating that easing the financial burden on hard-pressed families would mean “getting our future back”.

In a sign that he will resist further tax rises while people’s living standards are squeezed, Sir Keir will say: “We should never forget that politics should tread lightly on peoples’ lives, that our job is to shoulder the burden for working people – carry the load, not add to it.”