Keir Starmer speech - live: Labour leader shakes off glitter ambush and unveils ‘mission for government’
Heckler storms stage shouting ‘we are in crisis’ before being dragged off by security
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Keir Starmer vowed to oversee a “decade of renewal” if Labour wins the next election after his conference speech got off to a shaky start when a protester stormed on stage and covered him in glitter.
The Labour leader set out his mission for government, promising to build 1.5 million homes in what he described as a “new generation of towns”.
Shocking footage captured the moment the heckler evades security and dumps glitter over the Labour leader while wrapping his arms around him and shouting “we are in crisis” before finally being bundled to the ground.
The heckler was heard shouting: “We demand a people’s house, we are in crisis – politics needs an update. We are in crisis”. Footage emerged online afterwards of the protester being dragged from the building by police.
Removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, Starmer was applauded for keeping his cool and regaining control of the podium. He told the audience: “If he thinks that bothers me he doesn’t know me. Protest not power, that is why we changed our party conference.”
Reeves reiterates intetion to scrap non-dom status
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated Labour’s intention to abolish the non-dom tax status, telling delegates: “If you make your home in Britain, you should pay your taxes here too, and with Labour you will.”
Ms Reeves said her first budget would see her end the “tax loophole” exempting private schools from paying VAT and business rates, adding: “We will put that money into helping the 93 per cent of our children who are in our state schools.
“I tell you, if Rishi Sunak wants a fight on this, if the party that has herded our children into Portakabins while our school roofs crumble wants a fight about who has the most aspiration for our children, then I say bring it on.”
Reeves confirms Labour proposal to overhaul ‘antiquated’ planning system
Reeves has confirmed plans for reforms to the "antiquated" planning system to make it quicker and easier to build the infrastructure needed for modern industries and clean energy networks.
She also confirmed that her first budget would crack down on the tax perks enjoyed by private schools, making them pay VAT and business rates.
She told Rishi Sunak to "bring it on" if he wanted a fight on the issue at a time when children in state schools were being taught in temporary classrooms due to crumbling concrete.
The shadow chancellor said: "The choice at the next election is this: five more years of the Tory chaos and uncertainty which has left working people worse off or a changed Labour Party offering stability, investment and economic security so that working people are better off.
"It falls to us to show that Labour are ready to serve, ready to lead and ready to rebuild Britain."
Reeves sets out measures to tackle wasted taxpayers’ money
Reeves also set out a series of measures to tackle the waste of taxpayers’ money
- A crackdown on the use of private planes by ministers, which she announced with a jibe at Mr Sunak, suggesting his love of flying was because he was scared of meeting voters
- Curbing Whitehall’s use of consultants
- A new Covid corruption commissioner with a "hit squad" of investigators to recoup money lost in the "carnival of waste" during the pandemic
Reeves: HS2 another example of government incompetence
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Labour Party conference: “Just look at the fate of HS2, a major transport project lost, another promise broken because the government could not keep costs under control.”
She added: “The question must be how was it ever allowed to get to that point? If I were in the Treasury, I would have been on the phone to the chief executive of HS2 non-stop, demanding answers and solutions on behalf of taxpayers, businesses and commuters. But, with this government, this has become a pattern.
“When it comes to getting things built and projects delivered, Britain has become the sick man of Europe, with HS2 coming in at 10 times the cost of the French equivalent.
“That is why our shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh will commission an independent expert inquiry into HS2 to learn the lessons for the future.”
Reeves: We’ll tax fairly and spend wisely
Labour will provide catalytic investment through a new national wealth fund, Rachel Reeves has said.
The shadow chancellor said: “Labour will tax fairly and spend wisely. But I must tell you, you cannot tax and spend your way to economic growth. The lifeblood of a growing economy is business investment.
“It is investment that allows businesses to expand, create jobs and compete with international rivals with new plants, factories and research labs coming to Britain, not France or Germany or America.”
She added: “So, Labour will aim to restore investment as a share of our GDP to the level that it was under the last Labour government and to bring us in line with our peers, adding an additional £50 billion to our GDP every single year, worth £1,700 for every household in Britain.
“But we know, too, that asking businesses to do all the heavy lifting while government steps back is not an option. As our competitors understand, there is a role for governments in encouraging and derisking investments in new and growing industries.
“So, we will provide catalytic investment through a new national wealth fund. Financial responsibility means knowing when not to spend, but it also means making sure that when you invest, you get the bang for your buck. So, we will set that new national wealth fund a target: for every pound of investment that we put in, we will leverage in three times as much private investment.”
Tory rule ‘greatest risk’ to UK defence, says John Healey
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey has told the conference that “the greatest risk to UK defence is another five years of the Conservatives”, Adam Forrest reports.
Mr Healey used to his speech to accused the Tories of underfunding the military. “In 13 years, they’ve cut the army to its smallest since Napolean, scrapped one in five Royal Navy ships, taken 200 aircraft out of RAF service.
He also said they had “left forces families living in damp housing and let morale fall to record lows” while failing to fix the “broken defence procurement system”.
Ex-Bank of England boss Mark Carney endorses Labour
The former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has endorsed Labour in a shock coup for Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell report.
In a surprise video shown at the party’s conference after Ms Reeves’ speech, Mr Carney praised her as a “serious economist” and said it was “beyond time” for a Labour government.
There were gasps in the auditorium as a video showed Mr Carney’s endorsement. He called Ms Reeves is “a serious economist” who “understands the big picture” – pointing out that she started her career at the Bank of England.
The senior figure, governor between 2013 and 2020, added: “Crucially she understands the economics of work, of place and family. It is beyond time we put her energy and ideas into action.”
Full story:
Ex-Bank of England boss endorses Labour as party vows to ‘rebuild’ economy
Mark Carney says ‘beyond time’ for a Labour government so Rachel Reeves can run the economy
Reeves promises Labour inquiry in to HS2
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that Labour would launch an independent expert inquiry to learn lessons from the government’s failure to build HS2, Adam Forrest reports.
Ms Reeves said it would be led by shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh. Attacking the Tories for allowing costs to balloon. “If I were in the Treasury, I would have been on the phone to the chief executive of HS2 non-stop, demanding answers and solutions.”
She also said shadow Treasury secretary Darren Jones would conduct a review of how a future Labour government can deliver major projects on time and on budget.
She also announced a £4bn clampdown on government waste, with a target to reduce spending by half – or £1.4bn – over the next parliament. Labour will appoint a “Covid Corruption Commissioner” in the hope of recovering up to £2.6bn lost to fraud.
UK would start ‘dating’ the EU again under Labour, says Lammy
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has said Britain would start “dating” the EU again under a Labour government.
Lammy did not signal any change in position at the conference fringe event – insisting the UK would remain outside the single market and customs union. But he suggested Labour would seek much closer ties – again backing a formal defence pact with Brussels.
“We had a very, very bitter divorce with the EU. It’s a divorce that went on for years and years and years … No one in this room in all seriousness would suggest you can have a divorce and … that you could get married again without even going on a date.”
He added: “The starting point for a Labour government is let’s get back to the strong partners that we have always traditionally been with our friends and colleagues in Europe.”
Andy Burnham calls for HS2 land to be safeguarded so project can be restarted
The land for HS2’s northern phase must be safeguarded so the project can be restarted by a future government, Andy Burnham has said.
Jon Stone reports: Speaking at a fringe event at Labour conference in Liverpool the mayor of Greater Manchester said the timescales given by the government for selling off the land were not acceptable.
And he said the decision to cancel the route "mustn’t be allowed to stand".
"We need to safeguard the land. We’ve been told that the Birmingham to Manchester land is protected for a matter of weeks but that protection will be lifted," Mr Burnham told delegates.
"That does not give [West Midlands mayor] Andy Street or me or [West Yorkshire mayor] Tracy Brabin or anyone else the time to look at whether that’s viable.
"We need to actually work together. There should be a clear message that time should be allowed to look at Birmingham to Manchester to see if we can come up with an alternative solution."
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