Keir Starmer has vowed Labour will never surrender Britain to Reform UK as he came out fighting to defend his government’s record and attack Nigel Farage’s fake patriotism.
In an impassioned 54-minute speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool, which energised the conference hall, the prime minister pledged to defend British flags from the far right after a summer in which they became the focus of culture wars.
And he outlined his vision for the country based on a “true patriotic” agenda that rejects Nigel Farage’s claim that Britain is broken.
The speech was also marked with some important developments, including:
- A move to drop Tony Blair’s target of 50 per cent of school leavers going to university
- A warning to Labour members that he will be willing to make “tough choices” to deal with immigration and the economy
- Plans for an “online hospital” for England, offering patients consultations with specialist doctors from their homes to cut waiting lists
- The prime minister backing Donald Trump’s plan for peace in Gaza
Sir Keir went into the conference with his party trailing Reform in the polls ahead of crunch elections in Scotland, Wales and English counties next year, and with many delegates and Labour MPs discussing whether he was the right leader.
However, Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor who arrived vaunting his prospects as a potential leadership replacement, left the conference minutes before Sir Keir spoke.
But with an enthused audience in the conference hall, the main focus of the prime minister’s attack was the Reform UK leader, with Sir Keir claiming Mr Farage “doesn’t like Britain”.
He insisted that Labour is the “patriotic party” and used his address to set out his vision for a “land of dignity and respect”.
He warned that the politics of Mr Farage and Reform, which he said would threaten the livelihoods of thousands of legal migrants, was “racist” and said anyone who argues that people who have lived here for generations should now be deported is “an enemy of national renewal”.
He said the “politics of grievance” – a term he has used repeatedly to attack Mr Farage – was “the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are”.
Taking on the claim that the hard right is the only patriotic party, Sir Keir fumed: “When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future?
“He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does.
“And so he resorts to grievance. They all do it. They want to turn this country, this proud, self-reliant country, into a competition of victims.”
Urging people to fly their nation’s flags, he said he would “fight with every breath I have” for the “tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know”.
But he cautioned that if those same flags are “painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism”.
The prime minister acknowledged that people needed to feel change in their lives and, in a particularly emotional part of the speech, listed the achievements in 15 months of government – including improvements on workers’ rights, renters’ reform, extra money for the NHS, and coveted trade deals – to loud cheers.
He acknowledged deep-rooted problems in British society, tracing them back through Brexit to the financial crisis of 2008 and said a new model of economic growth, spread around the country and lifting living standards, was needed, as he promised to boost growth and protect jobs.
Just hours before Sir Keir’s speech, official figures showed the UK economy grew by just 0.3 per cent between April and June, marking a steep fall from 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Sir Keir said achieving growth was the “defining mission” of his government, adding: “Growth is the pound in your pocket, it is more money for trips, meals out, the little things that bring joy to our lives, the peace of mind that comes from economic security.
“But it is also the antidote to division – that’s the most important aspect of national renewal.”
While many Labour MPs who have been critics were absent, those present gushed about the prime minister’s speech.
Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh told The Independent: “When you are prime minister, you always have critics, that goes with the job, but he has addressed the issue of what he’s for and what his government is for. Now he’s just got to get on and do it, hasn’t he?”
Labour MP Luke Akehurst said: “I think the tone of the inclusive patriotism versus Farage was really important.” And Labour member Bill Frost, from Birkenhead, said: “It’s the best conference piece I’ve ever seen in my life. It was inspired.”
But former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the speech was “full-blown rhetorical flourish but extremely policy light, exemplified by denunciation of child poverty but sadly no announcement on scrapping the two-child limit.”
Responding to the attack on him, Mr Farage claimed Sir Keir is “unfit to be the prime minister of our country”.
Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The prime minister could have used his speech to own up to the mistakes he’s made on the economy, admit the country was living beyond its means, and set out a plan to avoid further punishing tax hikes this autumn, but he did not.”
