Starmer says Labour would create new state energy company, Great British Energy
Starmer talks about visiting an insulation scheme in Kirklees. Energy bills were next to nothing. And tenants were delighted. Why not? Their energy bills had been cut by £1,000.
That is what levelling up should look like, he says.
And he says Labour would not make the mistake the Tories made in the 1980s, when they wasted the wealth from North Sea oil.
That is why Labour is proposing a wealth fund.
He says Labour would set up Great British Energy – a new company – within the first year of a Labour government.
It would take advantages of the opportunities for clean power.
And it will be publicly owned, he says.
That gets a sustained round of applause.
Key events
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Starmer concludes speech saying ‘this is a Labour moment’ – like 1945, 1964 and 1997
Quoting Tony Blair, Starmer says Labour is once again the political wing of the British people.
They are the party of the centre ground again, he says.
This is a Labour moment, he says – as in 1945, and 1964 and 1997.
We can do it, he says. “Thank you, conference.”
That’s it. The speech is over.
Starmer turns to the SNP. They will not deliver change, because they are not interested in the UK succeeding, he says.
He says Labour will not do a deal with them.
Starmer tells leave voters he will deliver greater control and higher wages they voted for
Starmer says the government has not made Brexit work.
He voted remain, he says – like Liz Truss. But people voted leave because they wanted more control.
They did not vote leave because they wanted to see services and standards cuts.
Addressing people who voted leave directly, he tells them they have been let down.
If you voted for a government … on your side, for better work, higher wages, more opportunities in your community, for an NHS that is reliable, if you voted to take control of your life, and for the next generation to have control of their lives … I will deliver.
Starmer says Labour would adopt more prevention-first approach in public services
Starmer says Labour would invest more in the NHS.
But he says he cannot say Labour will fix everything. The damage done by the Tories means “this time the rescue will be harder than ever”.
There has to be reform, he says.
And technology has to be used.
And services need to be built around users.
And there must be a shift towards a prevention-first policy.
He says he saw that as DPP. Every time he read a serious case review, the story was the same – a life that could have gone differently if change had been made earlier.
(Starmer is fleshing out the intriguing point about childhood trauma that Steve Reed made in his speech this morning. See 11.03am.)
Starmer says Labour would set goal of getting home ownership up to 70%
Starmer says home ownership has been rising for most of his life. He saw what it meant himself. Their pebbledash home meant everything to his family.
But home ownership has stalled, he says.
He says Labour will set a target to get home ownership up to 70%. (It is currently 65% in England.)
There will be priority for people getting on the housing ladder for the first time, and mortgage guarantees.
Starmer says the economic foundations of the UK are weak.
The Tories have accepted that.
They are the ones not prepared to graft. They are the ones not prepared to do the hard yards on growth.
Starmer says the future wealth is in our air, our seas, our skies.
Government should harness that wealth and share it with everyone.
The Tories record has been appalling, he says. He says even Kwasi Kwarteng says there has been a “vicious cycle of stagnation”.
As a former prosecutor, he is always pleased when “someone caught bang to rights pleads guilty at the first opportunity”. He goes on:
[The Tories] say they do not believe in redistribution. But they do – from the poor to the rich.
He quotes from the recording, revealed by the Guardian, of Liz Truss complaining about British workers not having enough graft.
He says if the Tories want to fight on that issue, Labour will take them on and win.
Starmer says Labour would create new state energy company, Great British Energy
Starmer talks about visiting an insulation scheme in Kirklees. Energy bills were next to nothing. And tenants were delighted. Why not? Their energy bills had been cut by £1,000.
That is what levelling up should look like, he says.
And he says Labour would not make the mistake the Tories made in the 1980s, when they wasted the wealth from North Sea oil.
That is why Labour is proposing a wealth fund.
He says Labour would set up Great British Energy – a new company – within the first year of a Labour government.
It would take advantages of the opportunities for clean power.
And it will be publicly owned, he says.
That gets a sustained round of applause.
Starmer says it is time to write a new chapter of Labour history, “about how we build a fairer, greener, more dynamic Britain by tackling the climate emergency head on, and using it to create the jobs, the industries and the opportunities of the future.”
Some nation will lead the world in offshore wind. “Why not us?”
Some nation will lead the world in electric vehicles. “Why not us?”
Starmer says that is why he is so pleased to be announcing the green prosperity plan. Labour would ensure all electricity is produced by green energy by 2030.
He summarises the headline components of the plan announced at the weekend.
Starmer is now changing tone. Missions do not achieve themselves, he says. You need to make tough choices.
He says Labour will set up an Office for Value for Money, ensuring money is spent well. And that means that the government will not be able to spend money on things a Labour party would like to do as quickly as they would want.
He says they will only borrow when it is in the long-term national interest, when not borrowing would be more costly in the long run than borrowing.
Starmer says he was struck by a comment from a woman he met on a visit recently. She said: “I don’t just want to survive, I want to live.”
He wants to ensure people like that can thrive. “That is the Britain we’re fighting for.”
Starmer asks delegates to imagine what might change after one term of Labour government.
The cost of living crisis would be defeated. Public services would be back, the economy stable, the NHS in good shape again, he says.
He says Labour is fairer and greener. And because it is fairer and greener, entreprenurial spirit is unleashed.
And Labour would also show “it is possible to govern with integrity”, to unite rather than divide, to govern for the long term.
Labour to put country first, party second – Starmer
Starmer says in the mini-budget on Friday the Tories gave up any claim to be the party of aspiration.
He says he is impatient for change.
As DPP, he overhauled the way victims of sexual violence were treated.
When he became Labour leader, he knew he had a big challenge – changing the party and preparing for government all in one go.
That is why he had to “rip out antisemitism by its roots”.
This gets a prolonged bout of applause.
Labour had to show its support for Nato was non-negotiable, and show its support for business. “Country first, party second.”
He did not do this alone; the party did it together, he says.
And Labour has now shown it can win anywhere.
Starmer says Labour will stand by Ukraine because it will ‘never allow imperialism to succeed’
Starmer says he knows that Urkaine is the immediate cause of the crisis. And Labour will stand by Ukraine. It will “never allow imperialism to succeed”.
Starmer says the country united to defeat Covid – only to see the government break the rules they respect.
And now, in the biggest crisis for a century, it turns out that there is money for the richest 1%.
Starmer says it is time for Britain to stand tall again.
He grew up in a pebbledash semi, he says. His dad was a tool maker. It was the 1970s, he says. He recalls rising prices, and having fuel cut off.
There is something else he remembers about being working class in the 1970s – hope.
His parents never doubted things would get better. And they were right. They “worked their socks off” and gave him opportunity. That drives him to make sure no one in this country is held back by their circumstances.
Starmer says this is a British value – work hard, and you will get a fair chance for your family.
But is that true now?
Starmer says, when he speaks to people, they tell him they are working harder and harder, but are standing still.
The Tories talk about aspiration. But they have “choked it off for working people”.
Starmer says the Tories are not on the side of the NHS either.
He is really worried about increased deaths this winter, he says.
He says he told doctors in his local hospital that the NHS was on its knees. No, they said, it is face down on the floor.
