Your support helps us to tell the story
Sir Keir Starmer will tell an “exhausted Britain” that the tough decisions he is taking for the short term are the first steps towards national renewal and higher living standards.
The prime minister will give one of the most important speeches of his political career on Tuesday as he addresses Labour delegates at the party conference in Liverpool.
It comes as sources close to him admit he urgently needs to project a longer-term vision of hope and optimism after a first 10 weeks in power characterised by gloom and despair over the state of the finances and problems facing the country.
The prime minister is understood to blame the summer riots for preventing him from having enough time to properly consider his long-term vision in the immediate wake of the election.
In his conference speech, he will try and justify the tough decisions he has made in the first few weeks of government and quell deep unhappiness in the party over cancelling winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners.
A day after his chancellor Rachel Reeves was heckled during her own keynote speech and the conference hall heard boos after a winter fuel debate was blocked, Sir Keir has privately acknowledged that he needs to lift the spirits and “explain the why”.
He will say that while the £22bn black hole in public finances for this year must be fixed and there will be tough decisions to come, “the pain will be short” and he will seek to outline what he hopes to bring to the country “once the foundations are fixed”.
The prime minister will say that “country first, party second” is the foundation of his project, “a pact with working people that we must fulfil”. He will also talk of his desire to unite the whole country in the mission of creating “a Britain built to last, built with respect and built with pride”.
He will add: “A project that says, to everyone, this will be tough in the short term, but in the long term, it’s the right thing to do for our country. And we all benefit from that.”
Sir Keir is not expected to refer to the freebies scandal which has dogged his government – especially him personally - with more than £107,000 worth of gifts including £5,000 in clothes for his wife Victoria.
He believes some media coverage “is getting silly” on the issue, especially after Ms Reeves turned the tables on the BBC pointing out they were receiving the same gifts.
He will also avoid reference to the ongoing row about his chief of staff Sue Gray and her salary being larger than his. However, the speech will be set against a background of ministers fiercely defending Ms Gray and demanding cabinet secretary Simon Case be removed.
Sir Keir will also directly address those fed up with politics as usual or anxious about the future, saying this Labour government will deliver through its actions.
He will say: “I know this country is exhausted by and with politics. I know that the cost of living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives and that people want respite and relief, and may even have voted Labour for that reason. Our project has not and never will change. I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people. And that is exactly what we will do for Britain. But I will not do it with easy answers. I will not do it with false hope.”
In his speech, the prime minister is set to promise a “Hillsborough Law” will be introduced in Parliament before the next anniversary of the football stadium tragedy in April, which will introduce a legal duty of candour on public bodies, with the potential for criminal sanctions for officials or organisations which mislead or obstruct investigations.
He will also announce a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill which will see welfare fraudsters dealt with faster, adding it will save the taxpayer £1.6 billion over the next five years.
Ministers have already been briefing on major reforms in the digital revolution, with announcements set to come in the coming weeks. New apps and AI technology are expected to improve access to services and start cutting costs.
In addition, the prisons crisis is set to see a major review to tackle the overcrowding in the long term and there will be announcements on a deal with Germany on defence and other issues.
Sir Keir is also set to task health secretary Wes Streeting with “reimagining the NHS” because “throwing money at it does not work without major reform”.
Claiming his government has delivered more in 11 weeks than the previous administration did in 14 years, he will highlight the renationalisation of rail and transformation of the planning system to allow more homes to be built – just two of the big ticket items they have announced.
