Keir Starmer's conference speech: 'He believes in showing, not telling'
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Has the Prime Minister departed from the doom and gloom warnings about the economy late by saying positive change will come from this Labour government?
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In brief…
- Keir Starmer addressed delegates in a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday.
- He pledged to deliver long-term changes, promising there will be light at the end of the tunnel after a tough period.
- But are people willing to be patient in these impatient times? The News Agents ask.
What’s the story?
Tough decisions are needed but there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
That is the message Keir Starmer issued today in his speech at the Labour Conference in Liverpool.
Until now, it appeared Labour was sending a “doom and gloom” warning about the set of dire economic circumstances it says it inherited from the Conservatives.
Starmer’s speech may have reiterated the message.
“The state of our country is on them”, he said, as he promised not to give “false hope”.
It may not have had the “optimism and hope of Blair in ‘97”, Jon notes, but it did attempt to depart from the largely negative messaging we have been used to hearing over the last few weeks.
Starmer said: “The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do … then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.”
He hailed the series of bills the Labour Party has announced at conference so far, saying that “change has begun”.
Starmer also pointed to Labour’s five key missions.
“We have to become serious and mission-led, and have to put respect and service deep in the bones of our institutions. That’s not a debate about investment or reform, it’s always been both“, he said.
It comes after ‘donorgate’ - where Starmer and members of his cabinet came under scrutiny for accepting freebies - made Labour’s life more difficult than perhaps it should have been heading into conference.
What topics did he discuss?
Starmer pledged to house all veterans, telling delegates that “homes will be there for heroes”.
He announced a crackdown on benefit fraudsters, a measure he predicts could save £1.6 billion over five years.
The Prime Minister also revealed that GB Energy, the publicly owned energy generation company, will be based in Aberdeen.
He reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a two state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Starmer pledged to introduce a Hillsborough Law - which would require a duty of candour for public officials.
The PM also addressed concerns over immigration.
“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 to their community,” he said.
But he said that the racist rioters who caused chaos over the summer do not think in such a way.
Starmer added: “People concerned about immigration would not be doing that, because they understand this democracy is built on the rule of law, the ballot box, the common understanding that we debate our differences. We do not settle them with violent thuggery. And racism is vile.”
The News Agents’ take
Jon notes that Starmer is clearly asking the public to be patient with him for the long-term rebuilding of Britain.
He says: “The main substance of the speech was ‘we've inherited a mess, it will take time to rebuild. There are no easy solutions…but we have got a plan and we will get there given enough time”.
The question is, Jon asks, are the “people in these impatient times prepared to wait for the good times to come?”
Lewis agrees that this speech shows Starmer “is a man who believes in showing and not telling.”
“He believes that if he can deliver, then that itself will be enough. I suppose the great bet of his premiership is..one: whether he can deliver, and two…whether it is enough.”
But according to Lewis, Starmer’s strongest sections of the speech were “when he was trying to say something about his own politics”.
Lewis says: “He had a good section on how his politics is different to his opponents, on a critique of populism, something that he calls the ‘politics of easy answers’.
“He says that the difference between himself and his mode of government and style of politics is that he is the teller of hard truths, that he is the guy who makes hard choices.”
Meanwhile those around him, such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and possibly Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick, are giving you “false ideas, false choices”.
Lewis adds: ”That was strong because it was saying something about himself and saying something that is distinctive about his government, which is not something that has been said a lot at this conference.”
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