Watch: Sir Keir Starmer pledges to “get Britain building again”
By Sam Francis
Political reporter in Liverpool
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to build “the next generation” of new towns, along with 1.5 million homes, as part of a “decade of renewal under Labour”.
The Labour leader said he would “bulldoze through” the planning system in England if his party wins power.
Without action, he said home ownership would become “a luxury for the few”.
As Sir Keir readied himself for his conference speech, he was covered in glitter by a demonstrator calling for electoral reform.
But he received his biggest applause as he claimed he had moved Labour from a party “of protest” to a government in waiting.
Throughout the speech, the Labour leader set himself out as a reformer, promising to deliver economic growth and security.
Sir Keir promised to accelerate building on unused urban land to create the “next generation of new towns” near English cities, echoing those built by the first Labour government after World War Two.
He added that where there were good jobs and infrastructure nearby a Labour government would “get shovels in the ground”.
However, he said this would not mean “tearing up the green belt”.
“Labour is the party that protects our green spaces,” he said.
“But where there are clearly ridiculous uses of it, disused car parks, dreary wasteland – not a green belt, a grey belt, sometimes within a city’s boundary – then this cannot be justified as a reason to hold our future back.”
Labour expects the majority of up-front investment in the new towns to come from the private sector, with local areas bidding for new towns required to seek out private backers.
He also pledged to build 1.5 million new homes during the five years of the next Parliament, arguing more housing was central to delivering economic growth.
Suggesting his party is aiming for two terms in power, he said a Labour victory would herald a “decade of national renewal” after 13 years of Conservative-led government.
Without economic security and stability people would not be able to break the “class ceiling”, he said.
Sir Keir’s speech in Liverpool could be his last before a general election, expected next year, and could be his final opportunity to make a speech to a conference audience setting out his pitch to be prime minister.
He made a bold appeal to Conservative voters who “despair” at their party to join Labour, adding that he now oversees a “changed Labour party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics”.
This was contrasted with the Tories, who he accused of descending “into the murky waters of populism and conspiracy, with no argument for economic change”.
He made several digs at former PM Boris Johnson in his speech, referencing the Downing Street partygate scandal.
Sir Keir went on to attack Labour’s main rivals in Scotland, the Scottish National Party, who he said can “barely provide a ferry to the Hebrides”.
Image source, EPA
Sir Keir was left with glitter on his shirt after a protester interrupted the start of his speech
The speech lasted just over an hour, including a pause as security dragged a protester off the stage.
Stood covered in glitter, Sir Keir said in response: “That’s why we changed the party.”
“If he thinks that bothers me he doesn’t know me,” he added.
The speech exemplified Sir Keir’s confidence as party leader, with praise for former PM Tony Blair, vows to reform the NHS and a declaration of support for Israel which led to a standing ovation.
But he warned that if Labour won the election, its task would be harder and longer than under Mr Blair or previous Labour regimes.
“There’s no magic wand here,” Sir Keir said. “Changing a country is not like ticking a box. It’s not the click of a mouse.”
The response from trades unions was broadly positive, but while Unite general secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the speech, she said “the devil will be in the detail” and called on Labour to “lay out a vision for a reshaped economy”.
Martin McTague, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said “it is good to see small business needs front and centre of this conference”, adding: “The over-arching theme of this Labour conference has been build, build, build and that resonated well.”
