Labour conference live: Blow for Keir Starmer as members back union bid to reverse winter fuel payments cut

Sir Keir Starmer has been branded a “useless liar” by the public in a damning poll released ahead of his Labour conference speech, Archie Mitchell writes.

A Savanta word cloud showed the words most commonly associated with the prime minister were overwhelmingly negative.

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to cut immigration but rejected claims that the summer’s rioters were “one and the same” as people with legitimate concerns about migration.

Addressing the Labour conference for the first time as prime minister, Sir Keir condemned the “violent thuggery” seen on Britain’s streets over the summer, saying: “The country sees you and it rejects you.”

He said he would “never accept the argument… that millions of people concerned about immigration are one and the same thing as people who smashed up businesses, targeted mosques, attempted to burn refugees, scrawled racist graffiti over walls, Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph, attacked NHS nurses and told people with different coloured skin, people who contribute here, people who grew up here, that they should ‘go home’.

“No, people concerned about immigration were not doing that, because they understand that this country, this democratic country, is built on the rule of law, the ballot box, the common understanding that we debate our differences.”

Drawing loud applause from the audience in the conference hall in Liverpool, the Prime Minister promised: “I will never let a minority of violent, racist thugs terrorise our communities.”

He went on to stress that the debate about immigration was about “control”, not “the worth of migrants”.

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.

Sir Keir Starmer’s address to the 2024 Labour Party Conference saw him promise to rebuild Britain “brick by brick” after fourteen years of Tory government, telling conference delegates his government will create a “Britain that belongs to you”.

But what exactly was announced? We look at the key developments from the prime minister’s speech below:

Sir Keir Starmer has called for parties in the Middle East to “pull back from the brink” and for a ceasefire in Gaza amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.

The prime minister told the Labour Party conference: “This is a time when great forces demand a decisive government prepared to face the future. We can see that again in the Middle East today.

“So I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel. Again, all parties to pull back from the brink.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of… the hostages, and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.

“And that’s the message I will take to the UN General Assembly when I travel there later today, alongside our steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”

Labour has faced pressure to suspend arms export licences to Israel after a UK assessment found there was a “clear risk certain military exports to Israel might be used in violations of international humanitarian law”.

The government suspended around 30 licences from a total of approximately 350 earlier this month.

During Sir Keir’s speech, a protester shouted “children of Gaza” from the crowd.

The prime minister replied: “While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party. That’s why we’ve got a Labour government.”

Veterans, young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse will be given a “guaranteed roof over their head”, Sir Keir Starmer has promised.

The Prime Minister pledged that “homes will be there for heroes” as he vowed to “house all veterans in housing need”.

He also said young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse “will have the security they deserve”, as he addressed issues around current requirements to have a local connection in order to get housing support in many areas.

The changes will mean all three groups will be exempt from local connection or residency tests which most councils have in place to determine who can qualify for social housing.

Speaking at the Labour conference on Tuesday, Sir Keir said: “We have started the hard yards of planning reform, because we are facing up to decisions ignored for years, and because we are introducing new planning passports that will turbo-charge housebuilding in our inner cities, we can make the very same guarantee for other people at risk of homelessness.

“Young care leavers, victims of domestic abuse. They will have the security they deserve. They will have a guaranteed roof over their head. Because Britain belongs to them.”

The PM referred to homelessness among veterans as “another injustice hiding in plain sight on our streets”.

There were 2,270 households owed a homelessness duty with a member that previously served in the Armed Forces in the year to March, according to Government figures. This was up by a quarter, from 1,820 households in the year to March 2019.

Sir Keir said: “In every town and city in this country. People who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, who put their lives on the line to protect us all, but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight.

“We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore. And so today, I can announce that this Government will respect that service. We will repay those who served us and house all veterans in housing need. Homes will be there for heroes.”