Keir Starmer today presented himself as the serious leader needed for the crises Britain faces, as he blasted Boris Johnson as a “trivial” man without a plan.
In the most important speech of his political career the Labour leader sought to reposition the party “right at the heart of British public”, disavowing the leftist approach of predecessor Jeremy Corbyn which he said had led to “obliteration” at the polls.
After a bruising week which has seen rows with the left and the resignation of a shadow cabinet minister, he faced down persistent heckles from backers of a ￡15 minimum wage, telling them: “At this time on a Wednesday it’s normally the Tories that are heckling me, it doesn’t bother me then, and it doesn’t bother me now.”
But in a mark of how far he has moved the party in his 18 months as leader, he won repeated standing ovations from delegates as he listed the achievements of the Blair and Brown governments and strode deep into traditional Conservative territory to pledge his devotion to law and order, patriotism, the armed forces, Nato and the Union.
Promising - in homage to his toolmaker father - to “retool” the UK for the challenges of the modern world, Starmer stated his core principles as “Work. Care. Equality. Security”.
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And he drew a stark contrast with a fundamentally unserious prime minister, who he said was unable to rise to the task of dealing with the concurrent emergencies of record NHS waiting lists, rising crime, petrol shortages, supply chain disruption and the soaring cost of living.
“It’s easy to comfort yourself that your opponents are bad people,” he told delegates.
“But I don’t think Boris Johnson is a bad man. I think he is a trivial man. I think he’s a showman with nothing left to show. I think he’s a trickster who has performed his one trick.
“Once he had said the words: ‘Get Brexit Done’, his plan ran out. There is no plan.”
He contrasted his experience as chief prosecutor fighting for justice for the parents of Stephen Lawrence and domestic abuse victim Jane Clough with Johnson’s past as a newspaper columnist and celebrity guest on Top Gear, where he jokingly admitted to being a “blithering idiot”.
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UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London
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UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London
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UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton
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UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland
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UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London
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UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the “ups and downs” of her mother’s case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran
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UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by ‘CrackTheCrises’ coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London
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UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for ￡12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent
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UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London
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UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium
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UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester,
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UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September
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UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson
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UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London
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UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk
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UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral
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UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his “awesome” year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than ￡150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospital’s charity
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UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York
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UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria
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UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queen’s Guard
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UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London
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UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled “Prairie” by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London
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UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic
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UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole
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UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London.
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UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
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UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season.
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UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire
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UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium
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UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London
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UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London
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UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire
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UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit
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UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London
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UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britain’s cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Women’s C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold
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UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London
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UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London
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UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest
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UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London
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UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach.
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UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire
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UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families
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UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing
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UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week
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UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival
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UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident
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UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening
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UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair
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UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges
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UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London
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And he gave his most personal account yet of how his political vision was shaped by his childhood background as the son of a skilled worker and an NHS nurse who later herself relied on the care of the health service.
In one of the few lighter moments of a 90-minute speech, he made the PM the butt of a risqué joke, telling delegates: “My dad was a toolmaker, although in a way so was Boris Johnson’s.”
Starmer targeted the prime minister’s “assumption that the rules don’t apply to him”, citing his refusal to sack aide Dominic Cummings and cabinet colleague Matt Hancock for breaching Covid restrictions and his attempt to dodge self-isolation after being “pinged”.
“Politics has to be clean, wrongdoing has to be punished,” said Starmer, listing Tory controversies over PPE contracts, lobbying and the funding of the PM’s flat refurbishment.
“On behalf of the public that cares about cleaning up politics, I put this government on notice.”
But the heart of his assault on the prime minister centred on his failure to deal with the crises of today or the challenges of tomorrow.
“These times demand a responsible leader with clear values,” said Sir Keir.
“From my dad, I understand the dignity of work. From my mum, I appreciate the nobility of care. From my work, the principle that we are all equal before the law.
“Work. Care. Equality. Security.
“Those are the values this country needs now as we first seek to recover from the pandemic and then to look, with excitement and anticipation down the path that beckons us to retool Britain for the future. To make this nation anew.”
He also took a swipe at Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP - who Labour will have to win seats from to stand any chance of victory - saying that Scotland was “in the unfortunate position of having two bad governments”, with the Tories and Scottish Nationalists “in lock-step” in their attempts to exploit division for their own ends.
Despite expectations that Starmer would use his first in-person conference speech as leader to shoot down criticisms that his policy platform lacks clarity, there was little in the way of new policy in the address.
A ￡6bn “national mission” to fit insulation in every home in the country within a decade was presented as a means to tackle climate change, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and cut household energy bills by more than ￡400 a year.
A “curriculum for tomorrow” would add digital skills to the core 3R subjects in schools, while children would also be guaranteed lessons in drama, music and sports, as well as two weeks’ compulsory work experience.
Labour would guarantee mental health support within a month of referral and recruit more than 8,500 professionals to support 1 million more patients each year.
And the legal obligations of company directors would be rewritten to require them to focus on the long term, while the state’s investment in science and research would be hiked to 3 per cent of GDP from its current 2.4.
Starmer thanked the party foot-soldiers who had saved Labour from wipe-out in the 2019 general election.
But he bluntly reminded those who still hankered after the Corbyn years that the result was Labour’s worst since 1935.
And - a day after declaring that winning was more important to him than party unity - he made clear that securing a chance to govern the country will require seriousness about making the party electable.
To those who would hurl abuse at the Tories, he asked: “If they are so bad, what does that say about us?
“In 2019, we lost to them and lost badly.
“I know that hurts each and every one of you. So let’s get totally serious about this - We can win the next election.
“This government can’t keep the fuel flowing, it can’t keep the shelves stocked and you’ve seen what happens when Boris Johnson wants more money - he goes straight for the wallets of working people…
“In a few short years from now I want to be here with you talking about the difference we are making, the problems we are fixing as a Labour government.
“That is what this party is for.”
Former Tony Blair aide Alastair Campbell said that many in the party would feel “relief” at Starmer’s praise for the accomplishments of the New Labour administration, after a decade of seeing leaders distance themselves from it.
But trade union Unite said Starmer had not been “angry” enough over workers’ pay and conditions.