Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will address the Labour Party conference later on Tuesday as he aims to inject some vigour into the country's vision. In a speech seen by his staff as "his clearest statement yet of his political creed," he is set to lay out what he sees as the significant difference between Labour's vision for the UK and that of Reform UK. Sir Keir will argue that his leadership is a "hard path" but one of "renewal" and "decency," despite a version depicted as decline and division in response to Mayor Andy Burnham's open criticism. At the start of the conference, he has indicated that he is standing against Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party, which is attracting large numbers of former Labour voters and whose deportation policy Sir Keir branded "racist."
Following the deaths of his US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, and his deputy, Angela Rayner, which triggered a big ministerial reshuffle, it will feel personal for the prime minister, whose decision has been criticised in recent days. Sir Keir has also seen the departure of a number of key aides from Downing Street as he continues to develop his communications plan, which seems to be struggling to cut through with swathes of the British public, as shown by dire opinion polls for the party. It's not just opinion polls; the prime minister will have to steer his government through a difficult budget in November, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing that taxes will have to increase to cope with the worsening economic outlook. Sir Keir will appeal to those outside Labour, including those who have never voted for the party, and ask voters to question which party is better represented, whether it is Labour or Reform.
"It is a test. A fight for the soul of our nation, every bit as large as rebuilding Britain after the war, and we must all step up to the challenge," according to him, who warns that it will not be achieved without a price. "We need to be definite that our course, the path of renewal, is long, it's costly, and it isn't easy or simple," he says. "Decisions aren't always beneficial for our party. However, at the end of this long road, a new nation, equitably wealthy, and a land of dignity and respect will emerge." In a nod to Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee's postwar government, he would also discuss the plan for new towns, which were a response to the destruction caused by bombs and poverty. At the weekend, the party said it would begin constructing three new towns in England before the decade's end. The prime minister would urge the world to "unite around a common cause" aimed at raising living conditions, growing the economy "from the ground up" and "putting money in the pockets of working people."
"We can all see that our country has a choice, a defining choice," he says. "Britain stands at a fork in the road. We can choose decency or division, or we can choose division. Renewal or decline. A country that is proud of its traditions, in charge of its destiny, or one that succumbs, against the grain of our history, to the politics of grievance."
Sir Keir is trying to establish a foundation for his party to continue to support him through what could be a long and difficult loss to Reform UK in May's Welsh, Scottish, and English local elections. He knows that many in his party, from the cabinet down, are secretly considering whether this will be his last Labour Party conference as Prime Minister. Darren Jones, the Cabinet minister, has confirmed that the next eight to nine months will be difficult for Labour. Jones said ahead of the PM's address that although Labour was beginning to implement its reforms, it would take time, and that although Labour was on the right track to win before the election, next year's municipal elections would be "challenging." He compared Nigel Farage to the outspoken social media celebrity Andrew Tate. "I put them in the same categories very clearly," he said. "They're snake oil salesmen who are deceiving people and taking them on a dangerous path for them and our country." And he chastised Andy Burnham for claiming that there was a culture of fear in the Labour Party. "I don't really understand why he said that. I just don't know it in the slightest," he explained.
"Labour's message to the world has been strong: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the country permanently, or Labour will call you racist. Reform's bill will guarantee that only British people have access to welfare and that migrants contribute to society."
"Keir Starmer calls this a fork in the road, but he's already plunged Britain into a cul-de-sac of confusion," Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said in a reaction to the preview of the speech.
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