Starmer promises ‘strong economy’ and tells Johnson to ‘get a grip or get out of the way’
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed in his party conference speech to “never again under my leadership go into an election with a manifesto that is not a serious plan for government”, while promising four times to deliver a “strong economy”.
The Labour leader said “the good society and the strong economy” are “partners” as he tried to distance himself from he more radical socialist policies of Jeremy Corbyn.
He also praised a number of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown achievements in government, signaling a clear change of direction for the party.
“Talk is cheap, but progress isn’t,” he said.
“And if we want the permission to create the good society we have to win trust that we will create a strong economy.”
He added: “I have no doubt that the small businesses of this country are the next generation wealth creators. I want to see enterprising creative companies. I want to see them make a profit and employ more people.
“I want to create the conditions in which inventive small businesses can grow into inventive big businesses.”
In a marathon 90-minute speech that was interrupted more than a dozen times by left-wing hecklers, Starmer derided Boris Johnson for delivering “a fuel crisis, a pay crisis, a goods crisis and a cost of living crisis all at the same time”.
He also said that Johnson was “not a bad man”, but that he is a “trivial man”.
“If you go outside and walk along the seafront, it won’t be long before you come to a petrol station which has no fuel,” he said.
“Level up? You can’t even fill up.
“Well Prime Minister, either get a grip or get out of the way and let us clear up this mess.”
This year’s conference has been largely framed around factional infighting between left-wingers and the leadership, with Corbyn and his allies speaking to packed venues across Brighton over the last five days.
The party passed changes to party rules on Sunday that will make it far harder for a left-wing candidate, like Corbyn, to become leader again and left-wing MP Andy McDonald quit the frontbench on Monday.
“The more we expose the inadequacy of this government the more it presses the question back on us,” he said.
“If they are so bad, what does it say about us? Because after all in 2019 we lost to them, and we lost badly. I know that hurts each and every one of you.
“So, let’s get totally serious about this – we can win the next election.”
The speech saw Starmer hit on a large number of different policy areas in a bid to combat previous claims from all wings of the party that Labour has become directionless.
He promised increased education spending as a part of a teacher recruitment drive, more emphasis on harnessing AI and new technologies, and taxation that will “not fall on working people”.
He summed up his plan as revolving around “work, care, equality, security”.
“I think of these values as British values. I think of them as the values that take you right to the heart of the British public,” he said.
“That is where this party must always be.”
The speech, the first he has delivered at an in-person conference, saw Starmer speak about the inspiration he gained from his parents in a bid to open up about his personal story.
He also spoke about his time as the UK’s director of public prosecutions, while recalling his experiences with the families of victims of violent crime.
“Under my leadership, the fight against crime will always be a Labour issue,” he said.
“Labour will strengthen legal protections for victims of crime. We won’t walk around the problem. We’ll fix it.”
Left-wing trade union, and major party financial backer, Unite said “there wasn’t much” in the speech around “the cost of living crisis, empty petrol pumps, abhorrent ‘fire and rehire’ in our workplaces”.
“We needed to hear a Labour leader who is as angry as we are about the harm being done to our workers, and as determined as Unite to stand up against abusive employers,” Unite’s national political lead Rob MacGregor said.
Conservative chairman Oliver Dowden said: “As Labour’s chaotic conference comes to an end, it is clear Sir Keir Starmer’s party is more divided than ever and has no plan. Labour spent five days talking to themselves about themselves instead of to the country.”