I had few hopes for Keir Starmer's speech at Labour Party conference, and he managed to match none of them. That is how bad it was. Let me run through some of his failings…..
This is the audio version:
And this is the transcript:
Oh dear, Keir. What a flop.
All that time, all that effort, all that ambition that was put into beating Jeremy Corbyn, and that was the best that you could do in your first speech as a Labour Prime Minister.
It really was very bad. I sat through the whole of what Keir Starmer had to say in Liverpool with two of my family as company just to make sure that I missed nothing important, and I've got to tell you; we were all groaning in agony at the sheer boredom of what he had to say.
It started well, let's be honest. The opening round of applause was great; he should have enjoyed it.
He then started to talk about a new Act of Parliament he's going to introduce that will create a duty of candour on the part of politicians and public servants. He really didn't see the current irony in that.
He didn't see a great deal, in fact.
We were all particularly bored about hearing how, time and again, he has transformed his party. So, he apparently claims, it is now one that serves the interest of the working person. Nobody else, mind you. It doesn't serve the interest of the carer, or the unemployed person, or the child, or the pensioner, or anybody else who does require support in society, like the person who is on long-term sick leave. No. It doesn't matter for them. It's just for the working person.
He talked very little about economics. The pockets were not full, he said. The books will eventually balance, he said. But apart from that, frankly, there was little to discuss.
What were we going to see as change? There were going to be prisons near some towns, apparently. And we'd have to put up with it.
We'd also have to put up with pylons. Well, there have been worse fates in life.
These were his symbols of change.
Was there actually any real discussion of climate change, the biggest threat that we face? No.
There was discussion about the fact that GB Energy is going to be located in Aberdeen, but as far as I knew, everybody was aware of that already. So, that really wasn't an announcement at all.
And let's be clear about GB Energy. That is not going to generate a single unit of renewable energy. Nor is it going to sell a single unit of that energy to anyone through the wires into their homes. GB Energy is not going to do that. It is basically a hedge fund. It will invest in other companies. It's just a way to provide a backdoor boost to the City of London and its transition, we hope, into a climate change economy.
There was much less about the NHS. Did we hear very much about it? No. Apparently, it's going to be reformed by West Streeting. But that was as far as we got. Although we did hear that patients will have more choice. We didn't get told whether that required them to open their chequebook or not, but I have a sneaking suspicion it might.
There was mention of the merits of the private sector, and an awful lot of digs at public servants, as if they have failed us, which, frankly, I found pretty insulting on their part, because I don't think they have failed us. I think 14 years of Tory rule has left them demoralised, and as far as I can see, Labour is going to do nothing about that, which means I have enormous difficulty in understanding precisely how he is going to actually improve the quality of public services. You can't do so by abusing the people who are going to deliver them, but it appeared he was intent on just that.
There was also, of course, an obligatory mention of economic growth, but not a hint of where it will come from. But, to reinforce Rachel Reeves' point, it was obvious that he thinks that nothing that he talks about is going to be possible, unless that growth happens. So, all of this was pie-in-the-sky thinking.
And along the way, there was a great deal of blather. Actually, there was a great deal of difficulty in hearing him. Our television had to be turned up to one and a half times its normal volume just to be able to discern the words that he was using. Now I don't know whether that was the fault of the sound engineers that Labour has employed at its conference centre, or whether that was the fault of the BBC, or the fact that he mumbled. But I'm tending towards the last. This was a deeply uninspiring delivery to match the fact that there really was nothing to say in its almost hour-long duration.
He repeated himself too often. He talked about beating Corbyn time and again as if that was the only big idea he ever had because certainly there was no evidence of others.
Yes, he mentioned his five missions, four of which I have already forgotten, but I do recall that one of them is to recruit six and a half thousand new teachers. That's one for every three schools in the UK. What the other two are meant to do to improve the supply of education, I don't know. And why one teacher will make a difference in the schools where they're located, again, I don't know. It's left to your imagination to work that one out. If that's how big his missions are, they are deeply disappointing.
And that is really how I have to summarise this whole presentation, and why I started by saying, Oh dear, Keir. Because, frankly, that's how I felt about him. He has not got a clue why he is there.
I thought it very poignant that he said he would like his sister, who is a care worker, to be treated with the same respect that he gets as Prime Minister. And I actually thought, well, put her up on the stage and let's hear what she's got to say, because it could be a lot more interesting than what you're talking about, Keir. She might actually have some front-line experience and some suggestions for change that could be worth talking about, because he hadn't.
He didn't, admittedly, talk about his father being a toolmaker.
He did talk about the fact that he played a flute, and we all wondered, why did you do that? Except that he did so to emphasise the fact that he had travelled abroad for the first time in his life when he went with the Croydon Youth Orchestra to Malta. But that made something resonate with me. This is the man who is talking about opportunity for young people, but who is denying every person under the age of 30 the chance of free movement in Europe, which has been offered to them by Europe, but which he will not let them have.
I'm sorry, Keir, but your talk does not match your actions.
And when it came to migration, and he spent a long time talking about migration, I had this horrible feeling that he was saying, “I'm not a racist, but….”, and then proceeded to talk about all the problems that migration brought, particularly with regard to the fact that apparently migrants undermine the job opportunities of people in the UK.
But actually, the migration which people are upset about in this country is not that which is legitimately allowed, where people have visas to come here to work and where we want them to work. The migration that is upsetting people is the small boat traffic across the English Channel, which is only happening because of the actions of politicians who will not set up legal routes for refugees to come here.
And refugees are not, despite what Keir Starmer implied, economic migrants. They are fleeing from their countries where they face risk, and it is on that basis that they are allowed asylum in this country. He was horribly confused on this issue, and he really should not have been.
He was as confused when it came to Israel. Yes, he talked about the need for a two-state solution, with Palestine eventually being recognised by implication. But he certainly didn't say that he was going to do that now. And he called for a ceasefire yet again. But what does that mean when we have seen the destruction of most of the infrastructure of Gaza and most of its population now living as internal refugees within their own country? Just tell us how a ceasefire makes sense in that situation, Keir Starmer.
Oh, and also, you might like to add, what are you going to do about the war crimes that have been committed? Yes, by Hamas, but also by the leaders of Israel itself.
So, I still was left with this feeling at the end of all this that here is a man who's got a job that he has literally no idea what to do with.
He talked about the fact that Labour was the party of ideas now, the party of big delivery, the party of working people, yet again. I'll repeat it because he did often. But there was no clue what he was really going to do.
Running through the 40 or so bills that were included in the King's speech, which he did during the course of this speech, did not set out a plan for how he is going to change the country, because most of them are petty, let's be blunt.
So, Keir Starmer, I have a message for you. Think out why you really wanted this job, what you're going to do with it, and how you're going to deliver for this country now. Because as it stands, you told us nothing that will change anything.
But I promise you something, if you are watching this to the end. I will be offering an alternative speech that Keir Starmer should, in my opinion, have offered today. I will be doing so later this week. I will be finishing it, now I've heard what he had to say, and we'll be recording it in the next day or so.
It will be worth watching, because I have been deeply critical of Labour, I know. And some people don't like me for that fact, but I have been for a reason.
I believe Labour has to tell a story, has to have an overriding narrative, has to have an explanation of what it's going to do, has to have an explanation as to how it's going to fund the process of change, and has to explain what it is going to deliver.
I will set out such a plan.
Today, Keir Starmer failed to do so.
And for that, he really, really deserves no applause at all.
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I admire your perseverance! I have given up listening to most news programmes on the radio – avoiding labour ministers talking complete nonsense and journalists failing to interview them properly. Not once have I heard anyone question Rayner on her housing plans – which are based on a simplistic notion that if more houses are built they will be cheaper and all housing problems will go away. It represents a complete misunderstanding of housing issues based as it is on a neo-liberal approach, which is why the right wing lobby groups are on board!. Also I am tired of hearing about Israel which is acting with impunity and the UK and USA are complicit in their actions. So I read blogs – yours is a first activity in the morning, and other sensible news outlets – avoiding the right wing lot!
It does make for a quieter time!
I was shocked to read that Nationwide is now going to give mortgages at 6 times income. That is why house prices keep on rising – because banks and building societies keep on increasing the amount that can be borrowed- with little concern for the impact on house prices or risk of bankruptcy it would appear.
There is no narrative, since most current Cabinet policy (NOT actual Labour policy determined democratically, which includes electoral reform) is about opening doors to private enterprise while plucking some low hanging fruit in order to look socially liberal.
It was clear this is what we would get from Starmer the moment he started pushing for a”People’s Vote” in order to sabotage Corbyn’s Labour.
His primary focus has been to ensure we get an opportunity to elect a government working “for the many” again. And in doing that, he has much to my dismay, being successful.
We will see another term of ineffective government, of that I am sure. And deliberately so. It seems to matter not to Starmer and his front bench that they are leaving the door open for the far right and fascism at the next general election. I don’t think they are naive enough to not realise this. But their own legacies will be secured and the neoliberal consensus will continue under Reform so perhaps it is not of concern.
All that matters is that the door remains shut to any kind of government that puts regular people ahead of capitalists.
To me, with that speech, Labour went from being a caretaker government to an undertaker government.
There will be no respite.
I look forward to reading your alterative speech.
“The Labour party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.” – Harold Wilson
Keir Starmer has turned it into nothing just insincere soundbites when it comes to morality. This in turn says a lot about the state of British society.
Thank you Richard. You saved me wasting an hour of my life!
I look forward to your alternative speech with anticipation.
“This party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.”
Said by Harold Wilson in his speech at the Labour Party Conference, 1 October 1962; recorded in The Times 2 October 1962
This is 62 years ago. How things have changed for the worse in the current Labour Party. Now it’s all pretend soundbites that the party remains moral!
I agree with Harold Wilson
Labour seems to be turning on….Labour
From The Scotsman:
“Labour delegates have voted in favour of a motion calling for the winter fuel cut to be reversed in a blow for the leadership.”
Does not seem like the Labour Party Conference is going well for this Keir Starmer person.
They cheered very loudly when they had defeated him
After Starmer lost the winter fuel allowance vote, he said “This is clearly a difficult decision but a motion at conference doesn’t dictate government policy”.
Oh dear, Keir, I see a motion of no confidence in the Labour leader.
As I recall, Neil Kinnock’s speech at the 1983 conference describes pretty well the dystopia Starmer is about to create.
There’s a transcript here:
https://speakola.com/political/neil-kinnock-i-warn-you-campaign-1983
I like it
Hearing that clip from Neil Kinnock’s speech sent a shiver down my spine. How very sad that his words are so applicable to the future prospects of the elderly, poor and vulnerable now – with a Labour government in charge.
Agreed
Sad to say that Starmer is making all the same mistakes as Blair and Brown, and worse. He is, disastrously, legitimising the Right again, which ironically finds itself in power, albeit in absence. His crippling fear of what the Right thinks about everything he does just guarantees that when the Tories return to power, as they will, they will be even more emboldened – and therefore an even greater risk to the country and every single citizen outside its preferred narrow clique – than they were by 2010.
That fear also blindsided Starmer to the foolishness of running up such a huge amount of freebies – he saw and complied with the mechanics of the declaration but he completely missed the politics of the massive values he was enjoying, especially when set alongside the pointless winter fuel payment cut (a decision whose politics, again, he totally missed).
He just hasn’t got to grips with the fact he’s in government now. Tripping over words in a key speech, calling Sunak ‘the Prime Minister’, sitting aloof for 2 months as the winter fuel cut decision causes mayhem and proper damage to the government on a daily basis.
The fact is he’s gambled everything now on the delivery of the budget next month. But that’s not governing, particularly after winning an election. It’s not even something anyone to look forward to any longer. Starmer spent so much time deliberately boxing himself in during the campaign there is nowhere to go.
One of the starkest elements in the campaign was a Sky News chart analysing the fiscal measures in the manifestos. The impact of Labour’s fiscal measures amounted to two piffling, irrelevant bars on both revenue and expenditure. I thought to myself then, that laid out right there by Ed Conway is the evidence of the proper duffing up Starmer has allowed the Tories to do to him. All the Starmer-ite fear and panic laid out in a single dismal chart. One can only despair.
I see that Keir Starmer has made comments about the WFA. Abysmal – ok the previous government was useless but he should know that the ‘hole’ is a quirk dependent on how you set out the fiscal rules and assumptions and there is about £74 billion that could be raised with other changes to the tax system including fuel duty on aviation and also cuts to road building.
He really is a fifth rate politician who is unfit to be an MP let alone Prime Minister. Thankfully I did not vote Labour despite a lot of friends and acquaintances promoting Labour.
“Well, I am really concerned that we’ve been put in this position. When you inherit an economy with £22bn missing, it is a really difficult set of choices.”
But Reid persisted, and by question three and four, Starmer was saying it was the Tories who should apologise. He said:
“The people who should be saying sorry are the last government who left a hole of £22bn, and they should be sorry for that and they should apologise for that.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/sep/25/keir-starmer-labour-party-conference-winter-fuel-payments-conservatives-un-uk-politics-news-latest
“There was also, of course, an obligatory mention of economic growth, but not a hint of where it will come from.”
As a predominantly services driven economy, growth would normally rise in line with our birth rate?
But currently that is lower than the replacement rate, so it follows? That future growth will be driven by more immigration.
As the politicians say to the house builders, you build em, we’ll fill em. A bit tongue in cheek but probably not far off the mark.
Starmer and Streeting have both alluded to the 9.4m people of working age yet not seeking employment. That figure is about 23% of the working age population, and is rising rather than reducing.
Conservative hollowing out of the NHS since 2010 has been identified as being responsible for creating many, if not most, of the current problems. I do not doubt their continued venality, but Streeting has offered virtually nothing positive as an alternative – lots of criticism though ….
The UK, almost alone in the OECD, has had fewer people returning to work after COVID, and more slowly too .
We have about a million people more inactive now, and not seeking to return to work, but who were previously economically active.
Getting that million back to work has to be a logical priority for a government with a growth priority.
The reported reasons for not seeking work seem to be mostly down to health, with much insecurity and anxiety, and especially increasing mental health concerns, but an uncertain jobs market and low wages, as well as poor workplace provision for folks with health issues to work part time, or flexibly, are obvious disincentives to the vulnerable.
Now a million people returning to work would obviate the need for several million immigrants (including dependents), and as already resident, would not create new housing demands.
(Active immigrant workers tend to bring additional dependents, if they are settling permanently, and hence increase the dependency ratio, an often ignored impact of immigration.)
However, totally irrationally, the NHS has been told it has to improve performance before any additional resources will be allocated. Is this just Labour BS ?
Add to that the ministerial noises on compulsion in terms of existing benefit claimants is setting a tone unlikely to persuade work returners.
Then, we have exceptionally poor provision for mental health issues, exacerbated by the pandemic, and a huge backlog of outpatients.
New employment rights from day one could be a real positive in helping new workers, but the probably watered down set of commitments after business lobbying will be self defeating, and undermine the policy, and reduce its positive benefits
As I have little faith in this government’s political nous, I doubt they’ll even partly solve this problem, either through immigration or by increasing employment participation, as they seem unable to join the dots, let alone act coherently.
I sat through your talk. Well done. It was worth listening too. I feel sad that an opportunity to undo the harm of the last 14 years is being wasted.
My version has jus5 been recorded. It will be out tomorrow.
One test of Starmer’s speech is did it work? Most importantly for his leadership, did it win over this highly managed ‘conference’ to accept the very first bit of the results of his brave “hard choices” – the means-testing of the WFA? The answer is – no! Even with the naked maneouvring to send the vote to the morning after Starmer’s speech, so that one set of the union sponsors had to be absent (using a union leader’s funeral as a jerrymander looked pretty ‘old Labour ‘ to me!) and then calling only three floor speakers none of whom were his direct critics – he lost. The ‘conference’ was then speedily closed – so much for democracy, so much for that fragile “trust” for which he’d asked.
(It is also notable that the to items set for the final morning after Starmer were NHS and children – so not quite the main priorities after all!)
Starmer’s modus operandi is doing the dirty on others if he can’t get his own way. Genuine Labour Party supporters including the unions are so slow waking up to this deviousness!