Labour leader glittering vision of renewal for Britain

Keir Starmer used the address to his resurgent party’s annual conference in ­Liverpool to promise the UK ‘its future back’.

A protester throws glitter over Keir Starmer during his speech on the third day of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Picture: Getty Images

British opposition leader Keir Starmer vowed overnight on Tuesday to spearhead a “decade of national renewal” if his Labour Party returns to power after nearly 14 years in a general election that is expected next year.

Sir Keir, who was showered with glitter by a protester at the start of his speech, used the address to his resurgent party’s annual conference in ­Liverpool to promise Britain “its future back”.

Pledging to tackle a cost-of-living crisis sparked by Brexit, pandemic lockdowns and the war in Ukraine, Sir Keir said there was “no magic wand” and urged “ambition, determination and ­patience” if he succeeds Rishi Sunak as prime minister.

“A decade of national renewal – that’s what it will take,” he told a cheering audience, suggesting he is eyeing at least two terms in power after the vote, which must be held by January 2025.

Sir Keir’s wide-ranging speech lasted almost an hour after it was initially disrupted by an activist heckler shouting “true democracy is citizen-led” and “politics needs an update” before being led off stage. He was later arrested.

“We will face down the age of insecurity together,” Sir Keir told delegates, urging voters to trust Labour against the Tories, who have had three prime ministers since the last election in 2019.

“People are looking at us because they want our wounds to heal, and we are the healers,” he said, vowing to modernise the state. “People are looking to us ­because they want to build a new Britain, and we are the builders.”

Sir Keir has shepherded Labour back to the centre ground since becoming leader in April 2020, after succeeding left-winger Jeremy Corbyn following a landslide defeat to the Tories at the last general election in 2019.

Labour enjoys double-digit leads in most opinion polls.

“I thought it was a great speech and it gave me lots of hope for the future. We need that now more than ever,” said Labour Party member Kate Sheridan, 57.

Despite leading in the polls for more than a year, Sir Keir, 61, has faced criticism for being too cautious and for not clearly spelling out a vision for Britain. He sought to confront that criticism, pledging to “bulldoze” his way through restrictions on much-needed housing, rejuvenate the ailing economy through modernised infrastructure and support for green industries, and get the country’s cherished public health system “back on its feet”. “Today we turn the page on the question ‘why Labour?’ with a plan for Britain built to last, with higher growth, safer streets, cheap British power in your home, more opportunity in your community,” he said.

Labour has rolled out several key policies at the conference, which is likely the last before the election.

Sir Keir announced a £1.5bn ($2.9bn) plan to tackle waiting lists in the health service that have ballooned due to the impact of industrial action and a huge pandemic backlog. He also said Labour would aim at building 1.5 million houses over five years.

His deputy announced a raft of pledges to strengthen workers’ rights, including banning so-called zero-hour contracts, a type of casual work where minimum hours are not guaranteed.

Mr Sunak, 43, took over from Liz Truss almost a year ago after her radical tax-slashing agenda spooked the financial markets. He has sought to stabilise the economic situation but struggled to get growth. Labour will put the economy front and centre of its campaign, Sir Keir said. He attacked the ruling Tories’ right-wing economic orthodoxy as “trickle-down nonsense that sees wealth trickle up and jobs trickle out”.

While the mood at the four-day Labour Party conference has been buoyant, many party chiefs are warning against complacency with the election possibly still as much as 15 months away.

AFP