Sir Keir Starmer’s conference speech in Liverpool was his first as leader to be aimed squarely at voters rather than party delegates. He has spent much of the last two years ruthlessly tightening his grip over the party machine. This week he sealed his victory over his internal opponents by draping the union jack over the stage and getting his party to sing the national anthem. Sir Keir’s actions were not a repudiation of the party’s internationalism, but an embrace of the nation so it can be recast in a “fairer, greener” way.
He did take a swipe at his leftwing critics, saying Labour now put “country first, party second”. But he trained his guns on the Tories, accusing them of putting self-interest before nation. He argued that Britain does not have to be, as the Tories have made it, a deeply unequal country with a state that cannot provide basic services. The government’s economic ineptitude risks higher inflation and skyrocketing interest rates. Sir Keir spoke of a woman telling him: “I don’t just want to survive; I want to live” – words that will resonate with many voters who feel they have worked hard but got nothing in return.
