Labour conference live: Rayner gets choked up during speech before receiving second standing ovation

Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest ever ahead of his party’s first conference since coming into power, a new poll has revealed.

The prime minister’s net approval rating has plunged even further to -26 per cent, with a majority now disapproving of the way he is handling his job, according to Opinium’s lastest poll.

On the eve of the Labour Party Conference, which begins in Liverpool on Sunday, the research showed Sir Keir’s score is down 13 points from -13 a fortnight ago, standing at his lowest ever by 12 points.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has an almost equally low approval rating of -25 per cent.

By contrast, Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have risen 5 points to -25 per cent, which has been stable for most of the post-election period, and Ed Davey’s ratings are relatively stable at +3 per cent.

Almost half of the public now have a more negative view of Starmer (45 per cent) and Labour (45 per cent) since they came into office.

Labour continues to lead on most issue areas, but has almost lost its lead on the economy, standing at only +1, down from +10 in July.

For a party which won a stonking majority of 174 only two months ago, Labour’s annual conference starting this weekend would normally be a celebration. Yet Keir Starmer can’t allow more than a brief nod to his landslide victory, which already feels a long time ago.

Instead, he must use the Liverpool gathering to get his government back on track. In theory, Labour should be able to set a positive media agenda at the conference but it now needs to move on from revelations about Starmer’s £107,000 of freebies since 2019 and infighting among Downing Street aides, both of which have distracted the government.

Sue Gray, his chief of staff, should have ensured she did not earn more than the prime minister. Her lack of a political radar, coupled with Starmer’s similar background as a public servant rather than party political animal, has created an absence of political judgement at No 10.

Andrew Grice writes:

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour was “rebuilding our country”, as he arrived at his party’s conference intent on shifting attention away from rows over donations and internal No 10 infighting.

The Prime Minister said “change has started” as he arrived at the Liverpool conference centre.

But the feel-good factor of Labour’s landslide win in July’s general election has already begun to wear off, as Sir Keir battles a backlash over donations of clothing to him and his wife and damaging briefing revealing splits within his No 10 operation.

David Lynch reports:

John Swinney has said he wants to make sure people see independence as the solution to day-to-day challenges as the SNP launches a new leaflet on the issue.

Scotland’s First Minister said the SNP wants to reach people who do not yet believe in independence as the party seeks to boost confidence and support for the idea.

Just over a decade after the independence referendum, Mr Swinney joined fellow MSPs and campaigners in Glasgow on Saturday for what the SNP describes as a national “day of action” by the party.

Mr Swinney said: “Ten years on from the independence referendum, people are thinking about the future of Scotland, and I want to make sure that message resonates throughout our country.

“So the SNP is embarking on a whole amount of campaigning activity to set out the advantages and the opportunities of independence to the people of Scotland.”

Asked whether there is much appetite for talk of independence when many people are more concerned about issues such as the cost-of-living crisis and day-to-day challenges, Mr Swinney said an independent Scotland could offer a solution to these.

He said: “My priority is to make sure that independence is viewed as the solution to the day-to-day challenges that people face in their lives.

“So if people are concerned, as I understand that people are, about the cost of living, it’s vital that they see independence as the solution to that particular challenge and that difficulty, so that’s an issue.”

Diane Abbott has accused Keir Starmer of being “in the pocket of millionaires” as senior party insiders fear that Labour is being put on trial over the freebies saga.

The claim by the veteran leftwing Labour MP, who Sir Keir’s allies attempted to block from standing in the recent election, has come amid growing unease over the influence of Lord Waheed Alli and the £107,000 of gifts received by the prime minister since 2019.

The row is threatening to derail what should be a triumphant Labour conference in Liverpool in the wake of the election victory in July.

Political editor David Maddox reports:

Nigel Farage used his closing speech at Reform UK’s conference on Saturday to speek of the need to establish the party’s roots across the UK, announcing first a conference in Wales on November 8 at Newport’s Celtic Manor Hotel.

A November 9 conference in Exeter will follow, as will one on November 11 in the North East.

On November 30, Mr Farage said his deputy Richard Tice and others would host an event in Scotland.

Reform is eyeing up the Senedd, Wales’ Parliament, because the proportional voting system there makes it easier for the party to gain a greater number seats than at Westminster, where it won five constituencies in July’s general election.

The system has, in the past, benefitted Ukip, a party Mr Farage used to lead, and could stand to benefit his new party further as the voting system in Wales will be tilted towards a more proportional system at the next Senedd election.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour’s conference would show “how we’re fixing the foundations and rebuilding our country”.

Arriving at the conference centre in Liverpool alongside his deputy Angela Rayner, the Prime Minister said it was “our biggest conference ever and the first one in 15 years with Labour in government” adding “change has started”.

Scotland’s First Minister has said he was “stunned” to hear that Sir Keir Starmer had accepted clothing donations.

John Swinney said that the prime minister has now done the right thing, after it emerged that he and his most senior ministers will no longer accept donations to pay for their clothes, but that it should never have happened in the first place.

He told the PA news agency: “I think, like most members of the public, my jaw dropped when I heard this story emerging. I just never, ever thought this happened. I just was stunned by it.

“So I’m not surprised they’re stopping doing it, because it’s completely ridiculous, and I certainly don’t think that this is the way that well-paid public servants should be operating.”

Asked whether the Prime Minister and senior ministers have done the right thing by saying they will no longer accept clothing he said: “Yes, but they shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place.”

Mr Swinney said he has never been offered donations of clothing.

Sir Keir says he has followed all the rules on accepting donations.