Keir Starmer will deliver his speech at the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Keir Starmer will deliver his speech at the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty ImagesStarmer to tell Labour conference: ‘We are the healers’Good morning. Keir Starmer started his conference at the weekend by saying he needed not just to explain why the Tories should be voted out, but also to answer the “why Labour?” question. Today, at 2pm, he will seek to deliver the answer. In the age of 24-hour news and social media, big, setpiece speeches can still matter in politics, because they can shape the political and national debate for days, months and even years, and, if it’s any good, this speech should be in that category.
Labour sent out a fairly thorough preview last night and it is worth looking at it in some detail, because it is contains several newsy lines.
Starmer will argue that Labour are “the healers … the modernisers … the builders”. He will say:
People are looking to us because they want our wounds to heal and we are the healers. People are looking to us because these challenges require a modern state and we are the modernisers. People are looking to us because they want us to build a new Britain and we are the builders.
He has been going on about Labour being the builders for some time. Promising to be “modernisers” is pure Blair. But “healers”? It does sound a bit New Age and crystally, but it seems to reflect Starmer’s conviction that the mood of the nation is not like it was pre-1997, there is precious little optimism, and people feel much more beaten and broken. As a nation, we probably need a bit of healing.
He is aiming for a decade in power. The overnight press release is headlined “Starmer promises to kick off ‘decade of national renewal’, and that has been interpreted as Starmer saying he wants two terms in office. No doubt he does, it would be unwise to read too much into this. With Labour’s lead in the polls as high as it is is, it would sound a bit limp promising just “five years of national renewal”.
He says Labour will “turn our backs on never-ending Tory decline with a decade of national renewal” and give the British people the “government they deserve”.
He will explain how Labour will revive Britain, the party claims. It says:
The speech will answer the question ‘why Labour?’, explaining how economic growth, safer streets, cheaper homegrown British power, better opportunities, and a rejuvenated NHS will get Britain its future back.
He will stress that change won’t be easy. Labour says:
Starmer will warn that the path back from 13 years of Tory decline will be hard. But he will speak with optimism and hope about Britain’s future, saying: ‘What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt.’
He will say that Labour is now a “party of service” and that the days when it focused on gesture politics are long gone. Labour says:
Starmer will tell party conference that the sweeping changes made to the Labour party under his leadership mean it is, ‘a changed Labour party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protest … Those days are done. We will never go back.’ Instead, he will say, Labour is now, ‘a party of service … country first, party second’.
He will say that the result of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection last week shows that Labour can unite the union. He will say:
There’s nothing more important. The Scottish people are not just looking at us, they’re also looking at Britain. For the first time in a long time we can see a tide that is turning. Four nations that are renewing. Old wounds of division – exploited by the Tories and the SNP – beginning to heal. Let the message from Rutherglen ring out across Britain: Labour serves working people in Scotland because Labour serves working people across all these islands.
He will explain why he does not want to put up taxes. The overnight briefing does not mention tax, but it says Starmer 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.
My colleagues Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker have more detail, and they report that Starmer will flesh out ideas to give towns and cities more powers, particularly to promote housing. These are ideas that were first proposed in the report from Gordon Brown’s Commission on the UK’s Future, although they were not widely reported because coverage of the report concentrated on the proposal to abolish the House of Lords (ironically, one of the ideas in the document least likely to happen).
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.45am: The conference proceedings start. Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, opens a debate on crime and policing at 9.55am. There are also speeches from Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, at 10.05am. and from Yvette Coooper, the shadow home secretary, at 11.10am.
10am: Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, takes part in a Q&A event on the fringe.
Morning: Rishi Sunak is doing a visit in Staffordshire.
11.15am: Jess Phillips, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, leads a panel discussion on tackling violence against women and girls.
12.30pm: John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, speaks at a ‘“Justice for Palestine” fringe meeting.
2pm: Keir Starmer delivers his keynote speech.
4.05pm: Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, opens a renewed debate on growth. There are also speeches from Oliver Coppard, the South Yorkshire mayor, at 4.10pm and from Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, at 4.15pm.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
Key events
How Labour says it would improve community policingLabour has published fresh details of how the community policy guarantee (see 9.43am) will work.
On community policing
Labour will put an extra 13,000 police officers and PCSOs (police community support officers) on the beat, of whom 10,000 will be new appointments, and 3,000 ringfenced from officers being recruited by the government anyway. Labour suggests the money for this would come from efficiency savings: £370m from getting forces to collaborate more; at least £225m from standardising procurement; and at least £145m from getting forces to share services and specialist functions.
On anti-social behaviour
Labour has already set out plans for respect orders, civil orders for use against people committing anti-social behaviour, that might ban them from city centres. The party also wants to introduce a new version of public space protection order (PSPO), which can be used to ban undesirable activity in certain places. The current version is hard to use; Labour will create an expedited version, which could be introduced more quickly.
On shoplifting
Labour says it would scrap section 176 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 which established a new category of shoplifting, designated ‘low-value shoplifting’ – for shoplifting of goods amounting to less than £200 in value. Cases are tried at magistrates courts and defendents can even plead guilty by post. Labout says this led to the offence being deprioritised.
It would also create a new offence of assault of a shop worker, punishable by up to two years in jail. There are similar offences for assaulting a police officer or emergency worker. Ordinary common assualt just carries a maximum sentence of six months.
On community involvement in policing
Labour says it would require the police to develop plans for town centre policing, developed after consultation with retailers and residents.
On pride in community policing
Labour says it would create better promotion opportunities for community police officers
Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria photographed yesterday outside the conference centre in Liverpool by the River Mersey. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAThis is from Sky’s Beth Rigby on Keir Starmer’s speech.
On Starmer, told that after Reeves’ reassurance over economy, his speech designed to paint a ‘picture of hope’ & it ‘emotive rather than a big policy drop’> the word cloud on what Starmer’s about peppered with don’t know and even ‘nothing’. This his chance to hammer home values
the word cloud on what Starmer's about peppered with don't know and even 'nothing'. This his chance to hammer home values
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) October 10, 2023″,”url”:”https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1711661447292272931″,”id”:”1711661447292272931″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”7747fe3d-82e5-41fe-b0a6-a21a6ae35781″}}”>On Starmer, told that after Reeve’s reassurance over economy, his speech designed to paint a ‘picture of hope’ & it ’emotive rather than a big policy drop’> the word cloud on what Starmer’s about peppered with don’t know and even ‘nothing’. This his chance to hammer home values
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) October 10, 2023Starmer to propose ‘community policing guarantee’Labour says Keir Starmer will propose a “community policing guarantee” in his conference speech.
Taking the form of a five-point plan, this is a repackaging of ideas already announced by the party, with a bit more detail in some specific areas.
Here is Labour’s summary of the five points.
1 – Police on the beat again
We’ll bring back proper neighbourhood policing by ensuring every part of the country has more local officers and PCSOs, and guaranteed town centre patrols with tougher powers. We’ll give every community a named officer they can get in touch with, so policing gets back to what it’s supposed to do.
2 – Zero tolerance of antisocial behaviour
Getting tough with those who blight our towns, with new powers to ban repeat offenders from town centres and stamp out public drinking and drug use. Every local area will have a dedicated lead focused specifically on tackling antisocial behaviour.
3 – A crackdown on shoplifting and violence
We’ll reverse the Tories’ decision to downgrade the response to shoplifting under £200, making it easier to take action against repeat offenders and ending the farce of offending impunity, and creating a new specific offence of assault against retail workers.
4 – Put communities back at the heart of policing
We will give local people and businesses a say in how their local area and town centre is policed, ensuring the police work with them on deciding priorities.
5 – Make community policing something to be proud of
We will ensure that the path to career progression in policing is through getting to know your community – and ensure all neighbourhood officers are properly trained to be problem-solvers, not just recorders of crime. We will also work with the College of Policing and police chiefs to ensure neighbourhood policing has access to cutting-edge technology and methods, including data analytics and hotspot policing.
The UK is set to be the slowest growing member of the G7 next year, the IMF is forecasting. But the forecast is based on an assumption about the rate at which UK interest rates will peak which is now seen as too high, Graeme Wearden explains on his business live blog.
Ben Quinn
In his interview with BBC Breakfast Pat McFadden, the Labour national campaign coordinatory, said that Keir Starmer would be levelling with the public about the challenge at hand in his conference speech this afternoon.
Referring to Starmer talking about the need for a decade in power (see 8.57am), McFadden said:
What he’s doing is he’s setting out realistically that after 13 years of the Conservatives it’s going to take time to turn things round.
He is levelling with the public here. He’s saying we can’t solve everything overnight but what we can do is turn the page and begin a process of national renewal.
He’s assuming nothing. He’s being honest with the people about the time it’s going to take to face up to the challenges the country is facing right now.
Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, having breakfast at Labour conference this morning. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty ImagesPat McFadden confirms Labour will not implement conference vote in favour of energy renationalisation
Ben Quinn
A senior Labour figure insisted the party has a “different plan” to one endorsed by delegates at its annual conference where they voted in favour of nationalising energy companies, a move which contradicted the leadership’s approach.
Those on the left hailed a victory after delegates voted for a motion put forward by party’s largest backer, the union Unite, to “reaffirm” the Labour’s commitment to public ownership of railways and the energy industry.
However, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden rejected suggestions of any divisions in the party’s approach, saying:
The truth is we have a different plan based on a different vision which is a combination of public and private action.
Labour had already announced plans including proposals for the creation of GB Energy, a publicly-owned clean energy company, but also wanted to “lever in” private investment, he added.
Labour has largely presented a united front at its annual conference in Liverpool, but delegates on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a critical infrastructure motion, proposed by Unite and Aslef, calling for “UK energy to be brought back into public ownership, starting with the National Grid’s electricty and gas networks”.
It also called for HS2 to be built in full – not just to Manchester, but the eastern leg to Leeds too.
Neither of those proposals are Labour policy, and Labour leader Keir Starmer has repeatedly ruled out renationalising energy companies.
But the moment, which is likely to be largely symbolic was relatively low key, with a vote taken at the end of proceedings, and passed on a show of hands.
Pat McFadden checking his watch before an interview this morning. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPALabour to present plan to allow more building on low-quality green belt land as developing ‘grey belt’Other papers have their own lines on what Keir Starmer will say in his speech.
Steven Swinford and Chris Smyth in the Times say that Starmer will “pledge to build Georgian-style townhouses in urban areas and a string of new towns as he sets out plans for a decade in power”. They also say that Starmer will present Labour’s plan to allow more building on parts of the green belt as a move to develop the “grey belt” – a term for the less salubrious bits of the green belt, such as scrubland and car parks. They say:
Labour will run a six-month consultation to identify suitable sites for new towns with potential for high economic growth and “areas with significant unmet housing need”. The Times has previously been told that they could include Cambridge and the M1 corridor around Milton Keynes, with dozens of potential sites being considered.
Developers will be given “planning passports” to build on brownfield land if they meet the new design standards, with a “stronger presumption in favour of permission”. Guidance will specify a focus on “gentle urban development” emulating five-storey townhouses built during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Promising “a big build”, Starmer would also allow low-quality green belt such as scrubland and car parks to be released for development. The party has branded the areas “grey belt” and will specify that half of homes built are to be sold at affordable price.
John Stevens in the Daily Mirror says that Starmer will promise a crackdown on shoplifting (an issue on which the Mirror has been campaigning). Stevens says:
The Labour leader will end the scandal that has seen criminals escape proper punishment if goods are worth less than £200. And he will introduce a new law so those who attack shopkeepers face tougher sanctions.
Starmer to tell Labour conference: ‘We are the healers’Good morning. Keir Starmer started his conference at the weekend by saying he needed not just to explain why the Tories should be voted out, but also to answer the “why Labour?” question. Today, at 2pm, he will seek to deliver the answer. In the age of 24-hour news and social media, big, setpiece speeches can still matter in politics, because they can shape the political and national debate for days, months and even years, and, if it’s any good, this speech should be in that category.
Labour sent out a fairly thorough preview last night and it is worth looking at it in some detail, because it is contains several newsy lines.
Starmer will argue that Labour are “the healers … the modernisers … the builders”. He will say:
People are looking to us because they want our wounds to heal and we are the healers. People are looking to us because these challenges require a modern state and we are the modernisers. People are looking to us because they want us to build a new Britain and we are the builders.
He has been going on about Labour being the builders for some time. Promising to be “modernisers” is pure Blair. But “healers”? It does sound a bit New Age and crystally, but it seems to reflect Starmer’s conviction that the mood of the nation is not like it was pre-1997, there is precious little optimism, and people feel much more beaten and broken. As a nation, we probably need a bit of healing.
He is aiming for a decade in power. The overnight press release is headlined “Starmer promises to kick off ‘decade of national renewal’, and that has been interpreted as Starmer saying he wants two terms in office. No doubt he does, it would be unwise to read too much into this. With Labour’s lead in the polls as high as it is is, it would sound a bit limp promising just “five years of national renewal”.
He says Labour will “turn our backs on never-ending Tory decline with a decade of national renewal” and give the British people the “government they deserve”.
He will explain how Labour will revive Britain, the party claims. It says:
The speech will answer the question ‘why Labour?’, explaining how economic growth, safer streets, cheaper homegrown British power, better opportunities, and a rejuvenated NHS will get Britain its future back.
He will stress that change won’t be easy. Labour says:
Starmer will warn that the path back from 13 years of Tory decline will be hard. But he will speak with optimism and hope about Britain’s future, saying: ‘What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt.’
He will say that Labour is now a “party of service” and that the days when it focused on gesture politics are long gone. Labour says:
Starmer will tell party conference that the sweeping changes made to the Labour party under his leadership mean it is, ‘a changed Labour party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protest … Those days are done. We will never go back.’ Instead, he will say, Labour is now, ‘a party of service … country first, party second’.
He will say that the result of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection last week shows that Labour can unite the union. He will say:
There’s nothing more important. The Scottish people are not just looking at us, they’re also looking at Britain. For the first time in a long time we can see a tide that is turning. Four nations that are renewing. Old wounds of division – exploited by the Tories and the SNP – beginning to heal. Let the message from Rutherglen ring out across Britain: Labour serves working people in Scotland because Labour serves working people across all these islands.
He will explain why he does not want to put up taxes. The overnight briefing does not mention tax, but it says Starmer 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.
My colleagues Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker have more detail, and they report that Starmer will flesh out ideas to give towns and cities more powers, particularly to promote housing. These are ideas that were first proposed in the report from Gordon Brown’s Commission on the UK’s Future, although they were not widely reported because coverage of the report concentrated on the proposal to abolish the House of Lords (ironically, one of the ideas in the document least likely to happen).
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.45am: The conference proceedings start. Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, opens a debate on crime and policing at 9.55am. There are also speeches from Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, at 10.05am. and from Yvette Coooper, the shadow home secretary, at 11.10am.
10am: Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, takes part in a Q&A event on the fringe.
Morning: Rishi Sunak is doing a visit in Staffordshire.
11.15am: Jess Phillips, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, leads a panel discussion on tackling violence against women and girls.
12.30pm: John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, speaks at a ‘“Justice for Palestine” fringe meeting.
2pm: Keir Starmer delivers his keynote speech.
4.05pm: Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, opens a renewed debate on growth. There are also speeches from Oliver Coppard, the South Yorkshire mayor, at 4.10pm and from Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, at 4.15pm.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
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