Labour conference kicks off as Starmer vows no more austerity

Labour is braced for a clash with unions over its winter fuel payment decision, as it weathers the storms of multiple rows at the heart of Government.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer takes a selfie with Dawn Butler, MP for Brent East and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at a reception during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday September 21, 2024. (PA Wire)

The Labour Party’s first annual conference since it swept to power will begin on Sunday after Sir Keir Starmer promised he would protect public services from future austerity.

The Liverpool gathering was originally expected to be a victory lap for the party after its landslide success at the general election.

But Labour is now braced for a clash with the unions over its plans to limit winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners.

The embattled Prime Minister is meanwhile seeking to move on from rows about internal strife at No 10 and donors.

Speaking to Labour-friendly newspapers ahead of the conference, Sir Keir vowed his administration was not “going down the road of austerity” like that pursued by the Cameron-era government, in a move that may signal future investment in public services.

The Prime Minister was keen to counter suggestions he had only offered doom and gloom since coming to power, instead stressing Labour would deliver for voters.

“I want to answer the ‘why’ question as well as the ‘what’ question.

“We do need to say why and explain and set out and describe the better Britain that this ladders up to,” he told the Observer newspaper.

An early signal of this optimistic intent came as he told a Saturday night reception in Liverpool that he wanted his Government to be compared with Clement Attlee’s transformational post-war administration.

In other news as the conference kicks off:

• The Prime Minister has announced new “planning passports”, aimed at densifying urban areas by giving default approval to building works if they meet high standards for design and quality.
• Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary will vow to build “homes fit for the future” in her speech, including by introducing new protections for tenants against mould, damp and fire safety defects.
• Defence Secretary John Healey has urged gamers to sign up to the military as he signalled there would be a relaxation in army recruitment rules amid efforts to counter foreign cyber threats.
• Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has said she wants children to have a wider range of job opportunities, including in skilled trades, as she claimed “snobbery” often drove them towards university.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in an interview with the Sunday Times her priorities for the autumn Budget include “protecting living standards”, as she ruled out proposals for a wealth tax.

With the conference taking place against a backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered in Liverpool to urge Labour to change its approach to the conflict.

There is also consternation within the Labour movement about the Prime Minister and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer’s acceptance of gifts, including clothing, from prominent Labour donor and peer Lord Alli.

Sir Keir, Ms Reeves, and Ms Rayner have said they will not accept such donations in the future.

The leaked disclosure that No 10 chief of staff Sue Gray is paid £170,000, some £3,000 more than the Prime Minister, has meanwhile contributed to reports of a fractious atmosphere at the heart of the new Government only three months into its tenure.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said leaks “damage everybody” and it was his “responsibility” to solve the problem.