Keir Starmer’s speech to the Jewish Labour Movement’s One Day Conference

Thank you conference. It’s great to be here at JW3 today among friends.

This year promises so much.  The weight of the past fourteen years finally lifted from our shoulders. The opportunity to unite our country and begin the hard work of national renewal.

I think you all know by now, I’m not the sort to get complacent. You have my word, we’ll leave nothing to chance. We’ll stay focused, disciplined and ready to earn each and every vote. Wherever you plan to campaign for Labour, I urge you all to do the same.

This isn’t a done deal, but look at how far we’ve come. Hasn’t the hard work, the endeavour so many of us have toiled for, started to bear fruit?

From top to bottom, a changed Labour Party. No longer a party of protest. No longer in thrall to gesture politics. No longer ashamed to meet the gaze of the British people because of what was being said and done by people in our movement, to members of this community.

Those days are done. They’re gone, they’re never coming back. We have changed irrevocably.  Labour is a party of service once again. 

Now, there is always more work to do on this. The culture of an organization, and the values of a movement like ours don’t stand still. They’re alive, and you change them with your actions every day. 

That’s what we learnt the hard way in those darker times. All I asked for, when I became leader was the space to show you what we would do. You gave that to me and I will forever be grateful.

I also said that the test for me was always whether those who we had hurt would feel safe enough to come back. Look round this room today, The Jewish Labour Movement, Luciana, Louise and Ruth, all standing together again.

It’s not for me to say whether we’ve passed that test.  I know there are many members of this community who still need to see more from us, and the work goes on. But I am proud of the steps we have taken so far, proud of the journey that JLM has led the party on.

Whether you left or stayed, you were all fighting for our values and I will never be able to thank you enough.

“Saving the party” is one of those phrases people in Labour often overuse. It gets thrown away, glibly. But in all candour - we know that this is exactly what you did. Therefore any future success the party enjoys, this year or any year, any achievements, the Britain we will build, together with the British people, that is also down to you. So on behalf of the Labour Party, again, I say thank you.

Because that spirit, those values you were fighting for, they’re not just what the Labour Party must be, they’re also what politics can and should be. And in the volatile world we see around us today, with the political opponents we must face, we must nurture those values every day. We must commit, no matter the challenges or the political convenience to a politics of the common good.

A politics that brings the people and communities of this country together behind a plan but also understands that a nation is not just a collection of individuals. There are also things we owe to each other as equal citizens, like dignity, understanding, and most of all respect. A respect that might ask you, without shame, to moderate your political wishes out of respect for the different wishes of others even if – in fact especially if – you are in the majority.

That’s what national unity means, and over the decades – it’s worked. Britain’s modern diverse democracy is envied around the globe. Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs – we all live side-by-side and this is so ordinary it’s barely remarked upon.

Inter-faith marriages are common. The freedom of religious expression is uncontroversial. People celebrate each others’ festivals as naturally as they do their own, and even if they don’t there is an atmosphere of respect in our communities for the things other people hold dear.

A pride in our distinctive traditions, but a commitment to contribute to that common good. We don’t often stop to reflect on how unusual this is, how it presents an existential challenge to people, all around the world, who say this cannot be done, you can’t live side-by-side, that won’t work. No, I say, proudly, with every political fibre in my being We can, we do and we will that is the British way, and my Labour Party will always fight for it.

But look, I know that when we talk about these values, minds will immediately turn to the horrific events of October the 7^th. And more precisely to the pulse of fear that is still beating in your community in its aftermath. We need to be a bit careful here I never want to encourage the idea that British anti-semitism was born the day after October the 7^th. We know in this party, bitterly, that this just isn’t true. That Jewish buildings, businesses, synagogues, schools, Jewish children, have long needed the protection of the Community Security Trust.  This is an old hatred, not a new one.

But nonetheless, after October the 7^th we can all see that it’s taking a new shape.  And, at a higher level these events also show a bigger truth about politics in our era. We live in volatile times, with a rising geopolitical temperature, an age of insecurity and conflict, all around the world with fault-lines that run directly through British communities.

Labour has to be ready for that. We have to draw deep on those values of respect, because when we’re at our best, we are at the vanguard of social cohesion, resisting division, trying at every level of the party to understand each other.

It’s not a new test. We are the party that organised in working class communities, in cities like Glasgow or Liverpool. Cities once divided by religion and sectarianism, but which, over time, we helped bring together towards that politics of the common good. This is why we had to fight so hard to restore our party back to service. It’s why our journey on antisemitism was urgent and unapologetic. This is our role. 

So I want to say to the Jewish community who looks upon these events, and can see hate marching side by side with calls for peace, people who hate jews, hiding behind people who support the just cause of a Palestinian state, we see what you see. And we understand that to be targeted for who you are, and attacked for things beyond your control, for your children to be afraid to walk the street or go to school is the greatest anxiety that a parent or a community can face.

So let me assure you we will never let anti-semitism sneak back into the Labour Party undercover. I see no greater cause in my leadership than this. This is my role.

I’ve dragged my party away from that abyss and I will never let Britain go anywhere near it either. This country will be safe for you and your children.

But again – there is a bigger lesson for politics as well. I trust the Government to protect Jews. Institutions like the Community Security Trust enjoy cross-party support, and the Prime Minister has reached out during these events as well. 

Nonetheless, the character of politics under his watch, even after he finally sacked his Home Secretary, I think it leaves a lot to be desired. And frankly – on this, I worry about the future of the Conservative Party. I worry about where it might go because the politics of division don’t help the Jewish community, and they’ve never helped the Jewish community. They don’t help any minority groups. That’s what I mean by fighting for the common good.

A politics that chooses instead to constantly search for this week’s common enemy, it’s not just exhausting in terms of the amount of energy it takes up, it’s a sentiment that can easily boil over. If it does, you need to manage that, bring it back because some things are bigger than your own political fortunes.

I’m not sure the Tories can be trusted on that anymore. I don’t know if they see the consequences. At very best, they’re careless, they can’t see why a politics that casually adopts phrases like “the will of the people” might scare minority groups. But it’s a fear I know this community lives with, its a burden of history, and an understanding of how dangerous the world can become, quickly.

Without that sense of respect and common understanding. You know, there is a phrase about the history of anti-semitism, that it is a “light sleeper”. And we all, as progressives, dream of a day when it is put to sleep once and for all. As we do about ending Islamophobia, homophobia, racism and discrimination of any form. But I also think that in a world like ours the fight against all these injustices does benefit from a quieter politics. A politics that treads lightly on all our lives, a more respectful politics, one that doesn’t shout so loudly that it risks, inadvertently waking these horrors up. That’s a choice.

We can turn the noise down, we can have a different character to our politics and we can choose respect, unity and service in everything we do. It’s a mindset.

It’s also the mindset we will need when approaching Israel and the Middle East, because make no mistake, if we are successful, if we have the privilege to serve this country in government, we will have to fight for the two-state solution in ways we haven’t done for years. The era of lip service and complacency must end.

With that, we will all need to find a way to reach out from our own experience. Peace never makes little demands. And that will be true of Israel, as well.  To be blunt, it already is. The need for a sustained ceasefire is clear. The bloodshed in Gaza must stop urgently. We need a humanitarian truce now, and not as a short pause but as the first step on the road away from violence. To return all the hostages to their families. End the killing of innocent civilians. Provide full humanitarian access into Gaza, and the medicine, water, fuel and food people need – urgently – to stave of the threat of a devastating famine.

None of that can happen while rockets fly over Israel and bombs land on Gaza, but until we see that on the ground, it is hard to move towards what we all want, which is the prize of the two-state solution. A safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state…

Two peoples who share more than a history of blood and suffering. Two peoples who commit to the common good of security. Two peoples who can look at their children and see a future where they worry about the things we worry about. 

“What will they do with their life” “Will they be happy” “Will they find someone they love and who loves them” Rather than the terrible fear and anxiety that clouds their future now.

That hope may be fragile but it is still there, just about. There is a power in that and we must cling to it, because there is always power in hope. It is the fuel of change, the oxygen of a better future, and this year, in Britain it belongs to you.

The power to shape the future of our country will rest in your hands, as it will for millions across our country. That’s the power of politics as well. This year, in the general election, you will knock on doors And you will hear countless times that politics doesn’t change anything.

But it’s still the best way to change our country for the better. It’s success or failure, written into the walls of every community in this country. The hospital your children were born in, the home you live in, the wage in your pocket and the opportunities in your town, along with the sense of pride, or unease, when you walk down your street. That’s all politics.

Bringing our party back to service, that’s politics. Bringing communities together, that’s politics. Ending the era of Tory decline with Labour renewal, that is politics. 

The Tories want to drag this country down to their level. We need to be ready with the confidence to say no. 

We can change Britain, we must change Britain, we will change Britain. The character of politics will change overnight, and we have a plan for a new Britain with higher growth, safer streets, more opportunities in your community, cheaper bills in your home, our NHS back on it’s feet and a politics restored to service.

No more Tory division. No more Tory decline. A decade of national renewal. That’s the choice for your community, that’s  the choice for Britain, that is how we get our future back.

Thank you.