Sir Keir Starmer has delivered his first Labour Party conference speech as prime minister. In a speech briefly disrupted by a pro-Palestine protester, he addressed the new government’s unpopular cuts to the winter fuel allowance, and warned of further tough decisions to turn the country around. However, there were some announcements which will be welcome to many, including the introduction of a Hillsborough law, and guaranteed homes for veterans, young care leavers, and victims of domestic abuse. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello. Hello. Good morning.
00:05Whatever honeymoon period the new government were hoping for,
00:08Zakir Starmer will have wished he could at least get through the Labour Party conference before it's ended.
00:14After only weeks as Prime Minister, he has faced criticism over freebies,
00:19being too downbeat on the future, and has lost ground in the polls.
00:23My favourite subject at school was actually music.
00:28But today, the stage in Liverpool was his, and a chance to change the tune.
00:33The last time a Prime Minister delivered the Labour conference's keynote speech was Gordon Brown, back in 2009.
00:40Look at what we have achieved together since 1997.
00:45The winter fuel allowance. Our economic future must be green.
00:50It's a ruthless determination to raise standards in every school.
00:54We have to step up the protection of our borders against terrorism and illegal immigration.
00:59We will work for peace and stability for the peoples of Israel and Palestine.
01:05Getting the deficit down while maintaining and indeed improving front-line services, and that is the Labour approach.
01:17Fifteen years on, many of those issues may sound familiar to Zakir.
01:21Early on in his speech, he delighted the conference with a whistle-stop tour of the government's early achievements and pledges.
01:28Planning. Reform. Doctors back in theatre.
01:32New solar projects. New offshore wind projects.
01:35The onshore ban lifted. Great British Energy launched.
01:39One-word hostage judgement ended.
01:42A border security command. A national wealth fund getting Britain building again.
01:47The Renters Reform Bill stopping no-fault eviction.
01:50And the Railway Services Bill.
01:52Giving railways back into public ownership.
01:55And we're only just getting started.
01:59A crackdown on knife crime. A real living wage.
02:03A modern industrial strategy.
02:05A ten-year plan for our NHS.
02:08Devolution to our nations, regions and cities.
02:11The biggest levelling up of workers' rights in a generation.
02:14More teachers. More neighbourhood police.
02:16More operations. Rebuilding our public services.
02:19Change has begun.
02:24The Prime Minister's first announcement was a fitting and timely one for the setting.
02:28Telling the conference that a Hillsborough law will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the disaster,
02:34in which 97 Liverpool fans were fatally injured.
02:38A law for Liverpool. A law for the 97.
02:42A law that people shouldn't have had to fight so hard to get.
02:46That will be delivered by this Labour government.
02:52Ahead of his departure for New York and the UN General Assembly,
02:56the Prime Minister restated his call for de-escalation in the Middle East
03:00and the recognition of a Palestinian state.
03:03So I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel.
03:09Again, again, all parties to pull back from the brink.
03:16I call again for immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
03:19The return of the security.
03:21The hostilities.
03:23And a recommitment to the two-state solution.
03:27A recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.
03:34And in this uncertain world, I also pay tribute to our armed forces
03:39for all they do to keep Britain safe.
03:43As well as praise for current members of the armed forces,
03:46there was also a commitment to the UK's veterans.
03:49Because there is another injustice hiding in plain sight in our streets,
03:53in every town and city in this country.
03:56People who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,
04:00who put their lives on the line to protect all of us,
04:04but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight.
04:09We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore.
04:13So today I can announce that this government will respect that service.
04:18We will repay those who served us and house all veterans in housing need.
04:23Homes will be there for heroes.
04:30One of Labour's flagship policies before the election
04:33was the creation of the publicly owned GB Energy.
04:37And today, Sakhir confirmed the location of its headquarters.
04:41So today I can confirm that the future of British Energy
04:45will be powered as it has been for decades
04:48by the talent and skills of the working people in the granite city
04:52with GB Energy based in Aberdeen.
05:00There was strong criticism for the Conservatives' record
05:03after 14 years in government.
05:05Why must we release prisoners early?
05:07Because the Tories serve themselves.
05:10Why are our public services on their knees?
05:13Because the Tories serve themselves.
05:16Why is crime routinely unpunished?
05:18Our rivers polluted. Borders insecure.
05:21School roofs crumbling. Child poverty rampant.
05:24Nothing seems to work. Our public finance is broken.
05:27Because for 14 years, the Tories performed the politics of easy answers
05:32rather than use the power of government to serve our country.
05:37Before addressing Labour's unpopular cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
05:42Stabilising our economy is the first step of this long-term plan.
05:48The only way we keep prices down, cut NHS waiting lists
05:53and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country,
05:58every pensioner, will be better off with Labour.
06:03My sister, my sister, was a...
06:07I think this guy has obviously got a pass on the 2019 conference.
06:14The Prime Minister's speech was briefly interrupted towards the end
06:17by a pro-Palestine heckler,
06:19just as Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been the day before.
06:27Sakhir's overall message is that there are no easy answers,
06:31but there would be no return to the years of austerity under the Conservatives,
06:35despite what the new government calls a black hole in the public's finances.
06:39Despite some announcements which will be welcome to many,
06:42the Prime Minister also recognises there are unpopular decisions to be made.
06:47Labour won a landslide victory in July.
06:50Just a few months on, they face a challenge to keep winning over voters.