Keir Starmer has signalled he is ready to see Labour’s far-left split from the party, declaring that winning the next general election is more important to him than maintaining internal unity.
Speaking ahead of the high-stakes speech, Sir Keir said he would ditch earlier pledges to hold onto key policies inherited from Jeremy Corbyn if it was needed to make Labour electable.
His keynote conference speech in Brighton on Wednesday will draw a firm line under the Corbyn era, with a promise to voters that Labour will never again go into a general election without a serious plan for government.
He will also launch an assault on the smallness and triviality of Boris Johnson’s approach to government, whose incompetence he argues has been exposed by the current fuel shortages and cost of living crisis.
A senior shadow cabinet minister told The Independent that Labour’s high command believe that the optimism and confidence that attracted voters to Boris Johnson will seem increasingly brittle in the economically difficult years ahead of an election expected in 2023 or 2024.
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“There’s an ever-growing chasm between the optimism and the delivery,” said the shadow minister.
“Boris has set himself up to fail with the ‘levelling up’ stuff. When people are told their lives are going to be levelled up, they don’t think it means a government grant to do up a couple of shops on the high street, they are expecting something transformative. It’s a very high bar to reach and a very short period of time to achieve it in.”
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UK news in pictures 29 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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In comments that infuriated Labour’s left, Sir Keir made clear he does not regard himself as bound by the list of 10 pledges from last year’s leadership election, which committed him to maintain key elements of Corbyn’s platform, including common ownership for industries like energy, rail and mail.
Speaking to BBC News, Sir Keir said he stood by “the principles and values behind the pledges” but added: “The most important pledge I made was that I would turn it into a party that would be fit for government, capable of winning a general election. I’m not going to be deflected from that.”
Asked whether party unity or winning elections was more important to him, he replied: “Winning. Winning a general election.”
Despite the resignation of the final Corbynist member of his shadow cabinet, Andy McDonald, on the third day of the Brighton gathering, Sr Keir and his team believe they have used the conference to create a launching pad for significant advances at the next election.
Rulebook changes approved by delegates will protect MPs from deselection by radical activists and reassure voters that a hard-left takeover will no longer be possible.
The Labour leader wants to use his first in-person address to the annual conference - forced online by Covid in 2020 – to make a strong impression on voters of who he is and the principles that underpin his politics.
In what was billed as the most personal speech of his political life, he will set out how his background and his values inform the politician he has become.
Following criticism that his first 18 months as leader have been dominated by internal party battles, he will focus on his plans for Britain and his appeal to voters – with eye-catching policy announcements expected to counter accusations that he has failed to be clear about how Labour would govern.
“Keir’s speech will be noticeably different from what you’ve heard from Labour in recent years,” said one party source.
“It will be more optimistic, more focused on the future, more outward-looking.”
Sir Keir will say that shortcomings in Johnson’s government, which were masked during the Covid pandemic by ministers’ reliance on expert scientific and medical advice, are now coming to the fore in the current crisis.
Problems with the disruption of supply chains and soaring prices were driven not only by short-term failures of government decision making but also by long-term neglect during 11 years of Conservative-led governments, he will say.
“I see the government lost in the woods with two paths beckoning,” the Labour leader will say. “One path leads back where we came from. None of the lessons of Covid are heeded. The divisions and flaws that were brutally exposed by the pandemic all worsen.
“But there is another path down which we address the chronic problems revealed by Covid with the kindness and the togetherness that got us through. That path leads to a future in which a smart government enlists the brilliance of scientific invention to create an economy in which people are healthy and well-educated. A contribution society in which everyone has their role to play.”
Setting out his determination to regain public trust after the Corbyn years, he will add: “Too often in the history of this party our dream of the good society falls foul of the belief that we will not run a strong economy. But you don’t get one without the other. And under my leadership we are committed to both. I can promise you that under my leadership Labour will be back in business.
Speaking to The Independent, a shadow cabinet minister said that Sir Keir’s route to No 10 lay in stressing the contrasts between his personality and Mr Johnson’s, rather than simply attacking the prime minister’s flaws.
“If you look at history, it’s very rare for one prime minister to be followed by another with a similar character,” said the shadow minister. “Voters decide it’s time for a change.”
And they added: “Boris is a very difficult opponent to beat, and you don’t do it by telling everyone what a terrible personality he has.
“People have repeatedly shown at the ballot box that they like his personality, and you don’t win them over by just telling them they are wrong.
“But no politician stays popular forever. He’s been through a whole list of scandals which would have killed any other politician’s career and I think a tipping point will come when people look at him and decide they don’t like what they see.”