Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday vowed that his Government will “build a new Britain” with a crackdown on benefit fraudsters, a promise to house all veterans and by reducing the UK’s reliance on foreign workers.
In his first party conference speech as Prime Minister, Sir Keir told Britons the “future will be better” but there will short term pain and a “shared struggle” through tough short-term pressures.
He vowed to create a country with faster economic growth, shorter NHS waiting lists and safer streets.
But he warned he could not offer “false hope” about the challenges ahead.
The speech was briefly interrupted by a single pro-Palestine who was dragged out by security.
“This guy has obviously got a pass for the 2019 conference,” the PM said.
“While he has been protesting we have been changing the Labour Party.
“That is why we have got a Labour government.”
Measures promised by Sir Keir in his speech included:
- Housing all homeless veterans - “Homes will be there for heroes”, he told delegates in Liverpool
- A crackdown on benefit fraudsters aimed at saving £1.6 billion over five years.
– A promise to introduce a Hillsborough Law requiring a duty of candour for public officials
- To base the publicly owned energy generation company GB Energy in Aberdeen, Scotland
Sir Keir also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a two state solution with Israel.
The PM attempted to set out his positive vision of “national renewal”.
However the speech came against a backdrop of anger within the Labour movement about the decision to means-test winter fuel payments for pensioners, stripping them from millions.
The opening weeks of Labour’s government was characterised by a gloomy outlook on the public finances, with the claimed £22 billion “black hole” left by the Tories blamed for coming cost cutting measures.
There is also reported infighting in No 10 and rows over donations of clothes and concert and football match tickets to Sir Keir and other senior Labour figures, which has contributed to a party conference with a more subdued mood than might have been expected after July’s election landslide.
Sir Keir promised "every pensioner will be better off with Labour" as he defended taking "unpopular" decisions on policies such as the winter fuel allowance.
He said: "I understand many of the decisions we must take will be unpopular.
"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."
Promising "no return to Tory austerity" and rebuilt public services, he added: "If you can't take that on faith, perhaps because you're concerned about the winter fuel allowance, then I get that.
"As I say, if this path were popular or easy we would have walked it already.
"But the risk of showing to the world, as the Tories did, that this country does not fund its policies properly, that is a risk we can never take again.
"Stabilising our economy is the first step of this long-term plan, the only way we keep prices low, cut NHS waiting lists, and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country, every pensioner, will be better off with Labour."
Sir Keir said homeless veterans would be “repaid” for their service.
"There is another injustice hiding in plain sight on our streets,” he 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."
Sir Keir acknowledged that many voters were motivated to back Labour on July 4 by despair at the Tories.
He warned that hos party needed to deliver “decisive” government without putting a heavy tax burden on workers, which will mean reforming public services.
Sir Keir told activists in Liverpool that “it will be hard” because “it’s not just that financial black hole, the £22 billion of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the Tories, it’s not just the societal black hole – our decimated public services leaving communities held together by little more than good will – it’s also the political black hole”.
“Just because we all want low taxes and good public services does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored.
“We have seen the damage that does, and I will not let that happen again. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people of this country.”
The Prime Minister committed to “reduce both net migration and our economic dependency on it”, arguing: “I have never thought we should be relaxed about some sectors importing labour when there are millions of young people, ambitious and highly talented, who are desperate to work and contribute.”
The Prime Minister also promised a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill to modernise the Department for Work and Pensions, allowing it to recover money lost to fraud while protecting vulnerable claimants from mounting debts.
He honored a commitment to the people of Liverpool by promising that a Hillsborough Law will be introduced before the next anniversary of the April 1989 football stadium disaster which claimed the lives of 97 fans.
The law 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.
Sir Keir said: “A law for Liverpool. A law for the 97. A law that people should never have needed to fight so hard to get.”
