Labour Leader’s address at TUC Congress, Brighton, Thursday 20 October 2022

Keir Starmer MP said:

Can I just say, watching that video and hearing the words of the (trade union) reps there, was really moving and a reminder of the importance of the trade union movement. 

But before I go any further, I want to say thank you to the General Secretary – my friend, a giant of our labour movement, Frances. 

On the side of workers, on the side of women, on the side of Arsenal – Frances is always on the right side. 

But Congress, especially during the pandemic, where her determination to fight for working people was an inspiration to all of us.  

Congress, never forget: it was Frances who led the employers and the Government to the furlough scheme. A tripartite deal for those troubled times, a true collective agreement for the nation.

Without her deal, ten million workers would have been jobless during a monumental social crisis.

And my Labour Party supported it every step of the way. Including on the many occasions the Government was to scrap it prematurely. 

We will never forget that leadership, Frances, thank you for that. And thank you Paul too.

The organising you did to keep workers safe during that crisis will have saved countless lives.

I know how much our movement is in your blood. I also know that you’re an Everton fan, so as the TUC moves from red to blue, I look forward to working with you as Britain moves in the opposite direction.

Congress, today I want to set out what’s at stake for Britain.

Because while politics is always about choices, the choice now is as stark as it gets.

We face a battle for the soul of our country - who we are, who we’re for.

The Labour choice is a Britain that is fairer, greener and more dynamic.

A Britain where we rebuild our public services to provide opportunity and security, tackle the climate emergency head on, use it to create the jobs and industries of the future, restore faith in politics as a force for good, get Britain’s hope, its confidence and its future back.

But the first step, the foundation this all rests on is respect for the working people who create the wealth that drives our country forward.

It’s not just the privileged few who grow Britain’s economy – the Tories are so wrong about that.

It’s cleaners, carers, nurses, teachers, engineers, physios, scientists, shop workers, drivers, builders, bar tenders, teaching assistants, technicians, cooks, warehouse workers, posties, farmers, small business owners.

Who grows our economy? Who is growth for?

The right choice, the only choice, the Labour choice– is working people. And my Government will be dedicated to building an economy that works for working people.

Everything else follows from this and Britain knows exactly where the Tories stand.

They can dance around and u-turn, they can sack this Chancellor or the Prime Minister, but the damage is done and they did it.

They crashed the British economy, and for what?  

To show they were on the side of the richest one percent.

A crisis made in Downing Street, without a democratic mandate, paid for by working people in higher bills, higher rents and higher mortgages.

This is who they are, these are their true colours.

Never again can Britain take seriously their claim to be a party of aspiration or sound money.  

But Congress, last night in Parliament, even by their standards - a new chaotic low.

All the failures of the past 12 years have now come to the boil: the victims of crime who can’t get justice, people dying because ambulances can’t get there in time, millions going without food or heating.

And none of it can drum into the Tories the idea that our country must come first.

They lack the basic patriotic duty to keep the British people out of their own pathetic squabbles and it’s wrecked the finances of the country and for millions of people. This cannot continue. Britain deserves better.

Britain cannot afford the chaos of the Conservatives anymore, we need a General Election now.

Just look at their latest plan to get our country out of the hole that they dug, they turn to austerity and they turn to you, to your members and their rights.

Congress, I am sure you’ve heard that tape - how the Prime Minister thinks that working people lack “skill” and “application”.

Heard her say that your members don’t “graft” hard enough. It’s delusional, it’s insulting. But it comes with a warning.

Because look around our country - a national emergency on the cost-of-living, public services on their knees, working people grafting every minute of the day, still unable to make ends meet. 

And ask yourself this - with that warped logic in charge, what happens when the Tories finally see the full reality of what they’ve done? I’ll tell you, they’ll lash out, double down, attack my party, our movement, your members.

So Congress, let me spell this out. If they bring forward further restrictions on workers’ rights or the right to strike, we will oppose and we will repeal, just as we will tear-up anti-trade union legislation such as the Trade Union Act 2016.

But we also need to be prepared, disciplined, relentlessly focused on the future - meet their attacks with hope, provide the leadership this country so desperately needs, and build a Britain where working people can succeed again.

Where working people are backed as the people who really create economic growth. That’s the Labour choice. And that’s not just words.

I don’t come from a privileged background, I grew up in a pebble-dashed semi in the 1970s. I remember what the anxiety of rising prices feels like.

Remember when our phone was cut off because we couldn’t pay the bill, and I know what that anxiety looks like now.

Let me tell you about a care worker I know. She works 14 hour shifts often overnight, never flinching at the relentless pressures put upon her, and every week – yes I mean every week - she struggles to make ends meet.

Congress, that care worker is my sister. And when I think about the work she and millions like her did for our country during the pandemic, risking their health to save lives on low pay, low security contracts and the Prime Minister says the problem is people like my sister lack “graft”? 

Let me spell it out - the fight for fair pay, the fight for good work, the fight to make our economy work for everyone, not just a privileged few is personal for me - and I will not rest until we see a Britain based on those values. That’s the Labour choice.

If you don’t back people like my sister, don’t be surprised if you get 12 years of stagnant growth. That’s why we backed working people on rising energy prices.  

When the Prime Minister argued against “handouts”, Labour provided the clarity our nation needed. 

We said: this winter, not a penny more on anyone’s bills, and we’d make sure the oil and gas companies pay their fair share.

And I’ll tell you something else, we’d abolish non-dom status to get our NHS back on its feet. That’s the main barrier to capacity right now – staff.  

So we would invest in more doctors, more nurses, more health visitors - a tax break for some of the richest in our society, or a stronger NHS workforce – that is not a hard choice for us.  

But to end this cost-of-living crisis once and for all, we also need a long-term plan. A plan that will deliver cheaper bills and higher living standards for working people, growth and jobs in every part of our country - and real independence from tyrants like Putin, who weaponise fossil fuel exports and threaten our security.

That’s what our Green Prosperity Plan will achieve - 100 per cent clean power by 2030. Investment in wind, solar, nuclear, hydrogen, green steel and carbon capture. Training for plumbers, electricians, engineers, software designers, technicians, builders. A national sovereign wealth fund that generates growth and private investment. Insulation for 19 million homes. 

And Great British Energy - a publicly owned company that takes advantage of the opportunities in clean British power and turns them into good, secure, high-paid British jobs. 

The argument for our plan is simple: clean energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels – nine times cheaper.

Working people need more of it, Britain needs to own it, and the jobs and growth we generate must be shared with every community. That’s the Labour choice.

It’s why I’ve always said we will fight the Tories on economic growth.

The Prime Minister is completely out of touch with the reality of the British economy.

She thinks workers’ rights and collective bargaining are a barrier to growth.

She doesn’t care about the distribution of wealth in Britain – she hasn’t u-turned on that.

It’s a clear argument – I’ll give her that, one we’ve all heard before but it does not work.

Working people will not be better off because we make the rich, richer.

It’s pure dogma – the world has moved on from these discredited ideas.

And every day the Tories stick to them, is another nail in the coffin of Britain’s economic credibility.

Our real problem is we create too many jobs that are low paid and insecure.

We lock too many communities out of the wealth that we create.

And our public services aren’t strong enough to help working people succeed.

That’s why we struggle to grow – our economic foundations are too weak and the Tory argument is: that’s fine.

If the City of London races ahead and the rest of Britain stagnates, they think that’s ok.

Congress, forget about lines on a graph.

If you leave this many people behind, a nation will not grow fairly. You can’t do it with low wages, you can’t do it with insecure jobs and bad work, and you can’t do it without a modern industrial strategy. This isn’t a debate – the evidence is in.

“A vicious cycle of stagnation” – that’s how the, now former, Chancellor called it and on this one thing, and he was right. 12 years of Tory stagnation has left the average British family £8,800 poorer than in other advanced economies.

Economies like France, Germany and the Netherlands, economies that do have stronger collective bargaining, do have stronger worker rights, do have a fairer share of wealth across their country.

These things are not a barrier to growth or higher productivity, they go hand in hand with it. That’s the Labour choice.

So, we will strengthen the role of trade unions in our society.

An economy that is strong for working people, cannot weaken the institutions that give working people strength, and it cannot be built on insecure foundations. 

Security at work is the bedrock for aspiration and opportunity, for giving people the confidence to get on.

Nobody does their best if they’re wracked with fear about the future. If their contract gives them no protection to stand up for their rights at work.  

Or if a proper safety net doesn’t support them in times of sickness and poor health. That’s what Labour’s New Deal for Working People is all about. 

That’s why we’ll end fire and rehire, ban zero-hour contracts, extend parental leave, strengthen flexible working, better protections for pregnant women, mandatory reporting on ethnicity pay gaps, statutory sick pay for all, a single worker status, no more one-sided flexibility. 

Congress, as far as I’m concerned, that’s not just a list of rights - it’s a statement of intent on social justice, on fairness, whose side we are on. More security for every worker in our country and because of that – a stronger foundation for working people to aspire and get on.

That’s the economic dynamism Britain needs. That’s how you get growth. That’s the Labour choice.

A choice that provides the basis for true social partnership.

A modern industrial strategy where we unite to tackle the country’s challenges on behalf of working people.

I will say this here – I’m not just pro-business, I want to partner with business to drive Britain forward. And I will say the same about trade unions to the CBI.

You saw the deal Frances struck during the pandemic, the results speak for themselves.   

It’s a model Mark Drakeford has used successfully in Wales.

And it can work because the vast majority of business leaders don’t buy into the Tory trickle down-fantasy.

They’re not knocking on my door saying they want to rip up employee rights.

They don’t tell me the problems that they face will be solved by corporation tax cuts.

They want fair taxes, high skills and the long-term stability to invest.

We can work with that. We will work with that.

We’ll set up a new Industrial Strategy Council, a permanent part of the landscape that brings in the creative genius of science and our universities. Holds us to account for our decisions, helps businesses to innovate and grow, and delivers a real partnership between Government, business and unions.

This is how we can give Britain the stability it needs for higher investment.

A long-term plan, not a short-term fix. That’s the Labour choice.

But when we talk about economic stability, I want to be frank.

The damage the Tories have done.

To our finances and our public services means things are going to be really tough.

Now and during my Labour Government. 

We cannot take any risks with the public finances, we have to restore economic stability, be the party of sound money.

You have all seen the damage that can be done from fiscal irresponsibility.

When you lose control of the economy, as the Tories have done.

You lose the ability to do anything. And working people pay the price.

That will not happen with Labour, I will not let it. 

But it doesn’t mean we have to take a backseat on fair pay.

Low pay is the biggest barrier to a fairer, more dynamic Britain bar none.  

A huge drag on our prospects for growth and social justice.

We need a minimum wage that reflects the cost of living.

And with a Labour Government, that is exactly what Britain will get. But we will go further.

Because ending low pay in Britain isn’t just a question of law.

It’s not just about the rules the state sets.

It’s about the power working people have to shape the rules that govern their lives.

So my Labour Government will end the Tory race to the bottom on pay, with Fair Pay Agreements.

Agreements that will make work pay for the people who create Britain’s economic growth.

Just think how this would work in social care, a sector where half a million workers are paid less than £10 an hour.

Where people have to work multiple jobs and still struggle to provide for their family.

With our Fair Pay Agreements, social care employers and unions will have to get around the table and negotiate.

And the deal they strike, will set the floor for every social care employer in the country. That’s how you make work pay fairly, that’s how you improve conditions and raise the status of care work.

Respect the workers who saved countless lives in the pandemic and create this country’s wealth.

Good work, fair pay, respect. That’s the Labour choice.

It’s what both of us fight for – party and movement. But we must fight in different ways.

Must accept that when it comes to delivering for working people, we have different jobs. 

I support the right to strike, unequivocally. I understand it’s always a last resort.

The Tory idea that working people give up their wages lightly in the worst cost-of-living crisis for a century is completely unserious about the pain people feel right now.

You’re representing the democratic choice of your members, you’re doing your job and I respect that, but my job is different.

The single most important thing I can do for working people is to make sure we win the next election and get a Labour Government.

That is how we roll-out our Green Prosperity Plan, how we deliver the New Deal for Working People, how we create a modern industrial strategy together. 

None of this happens unless Labour is in power.

So I will never be ashamed to say my Labour Party wants to increase worker power in our economy.

But nor will I apologise for approaching questions on industrial action as a potential Labour government.

The Labour Party is not doing its job when it’s in opposition.

I will not let this be an era of Tory chaos, stagnation, attacks on working people. 

This can’t go on any longer. This cannot be a re-run of the 1980s. That’s what they want.

Liz Truss has torn away the veil – they aren’t even pretending anymore.

The battle is here - a battle with all the usual signs of Tory decay. The crumbling public services. The run on the pound. The questions about how we keep the lights on and the brutal hit to the living standards of pensioners, families, and the poorest in our society, will be turned back on us.

So Congress, have no doubt about what’s coming. 

Take nothing for granted. This winter will be brutal. We must do everything we can to look after people.

But the Tories will not give up on power, that’s not who they are.

Our country is crying out for decisive leadership and Labour will provide it.

We will work every day to earn the trust of the British people.

Meet their ambitions for real change, walk towards a better future and put this Tory trickle-down nonsense back its box, once and for all. That’s the choice for Britain. 

A Tory Party that has lost control of itself and the economy. 

Or a Labour Government that delivers fair pay, good work, and prosperity for all. 

A country where aspiration is rewarded, a clean energy superpower, a fairer, greener, more dynamic Britain, where working people get the rights, respect and security that they deserve. 

That’s the Labour choice.

Thank you Congress. Thank you.