Keir Starmer speech at the USDAW National Conference

Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the Labour Party, speaking to the USDAW National Conference in Blackpool today, said:

"Thank you Jane for that introduction and those kind words. And thank you Paddy, for all your support – for your union, for our party, and for me personally.

And Paddy, you've been a good friend to me through thick and thin, and I intend to be a good friend to you through thick and thin.

And thank you USDAW, for all the work you're doing - to secure the Labour victory the country desperately needs this year.

Starting, of course, this Thursday, with the chance to elect Chris Webb - Blackpool's first born and bred MP in over 60 years.

Conference, it's a privilege to be here in Blackpool. Just look at this building. What an honour to be in this magnificent ballroom.

In a town that has hosted so many vintage moments in Labour Party history. Dennis Healey's famous speech in 1976. Tony Blair's first speech as leader in 1994 – his clause four moment. Bill Clinton – in this room, in 2002.

And most importantly of all, of course, who could forget, Ed Balls jiving to ‘Great Balls of Fire' on Strictly. At least it wasn't the Gangnam Style.

Anyway – it's a pleasure to be here. Of course, I addressed you via Zoom during the pandemic. But this is my first USDAW Conference as Labour leader in person.

Conference, nobody misses those Zoom conferences less than me. Giving a speech to a screen is such an odd business.

And yet I would like to start today with the same message I offered three years ago, to say thank you all, face-to-face, for the sacrifices you made keeping our country going during that period. 

Conference, this is a room that long before those terrible times, knew that the retail sector is the lifeblood of our communities. That retail workers are key workers. And that your work is critical national infrastructure.

And the industry that - quite literally - puts food on Britain's kitchen table.

And that's why your ‘Save Our Shops' campaign is so important.  Because for many people who may have taken your work for granted, the pandemic tore down a veil.

It showed this country exactly who made up its backbone. The carers, the couriers, the teaching assistants, the nurses. And yes, in our shops and supermarkets, our warehouses and delivery vans, the retail workers of Britain.

You stood for us, and we must stand for you.

And for this party in particular – we must serve you. That's why this has been a period of change for the Labour Party. The reason we've had to change the party.

When I received the enormous honour of leading Labour four years ago. I set myself this mission. To make Labour once again a party of national service.

Not a party content just to sit on the sidelines, comfortable with placards and protests. But a party that fights for the privilege to represent and serve working people. That pursues power on their behalf – that is Labour's clause one.

And it's not just who we are for – it's what we are for. 

The distinctive Labour argument. A partnership.  That we serve working people as they drive our country forward. A purpose that is now written through our plans for this country,

A plan that can get Britain's future back. Drag politics in this country back to service. So together - we tilt Britain back towards your interests.

A Britain where new homes, new infrastructure, new investment gets our economy growing again.  Where a publicly owned energy company harnesses clean British power, not foreign oil and gas.  Where every primary school runs a free breakfast club, and our children get mental health support when they need it.

Where we rescue our NHS by cutting the waiting lists and ending the 8am scramble at your GP surgery. And where we rebuild the fabric of our society from the ground up.

Back the pride and potential in every community. With vibrant high streets, better access to face-to-face banking, and a total crackdown on the anti-social behaviour that blights our towns.

And not just our towns. Also our workplaces. Your workplace.

Conference, I worked in criminal justice for a good portion of my life, so I choose my words carefully.  But nobody in Britain should be in any doubt about the scale of the crime wave on our high streets at the moment. The epidemic levels of shoplifting and the persistent plague of antisocial behaviour.

You know, some people say to me this is petty. “Petty crime” they say. “Low-level” crime. And perhaps, for them it is. 

But they don't work in your shop. They don't walk in your shoes. Don't see the damage this does to your community. 

Take Chris. He works for a large retailer in Carlisle.  And he told me that he feels like the Government has, in his words, essentially decriminalised shoplifting and abuse to retail workers.

30 years he's worked in retail. He's never seen it like this.

Neither had the women working in the Co-op in Milton Keynes. They took me aside to tell me in no uncertain terms about the abuse they were facing.

And then there's Dan, who works in a community store just outside Edinburgh. Dan wrote to me in the run-up to Christmas and said that, in just a few weeks, he had seen people shouted at, sworn at, spat at.

And even, on two separate occasions,  threatened with knives. Up to 12 times a day he says his store is targeted by shoplifters – he's not trained for that. Nobody is.

Feeling totally disrespected and humiliated, because you can't even do your job, without facing abuse, threats, and even violence.

Nobody should have to put up with it. You should not have to put up with it.

So today I am putting shoplifters on notice. You might get away with this under this weak Tory government.

But if Labour takes power, we won't stand by while crime takes over our streets.

We'll put thirteen thousand extra neighbourhood police on the beat. 

We'll scrap the Shoplifter's Charter - the £200 rule that stops the police investigating theft in your workplace.

And we will legislate to make sure assaulting and abusing shopworkers is a standalone criminal offence.

Because you deserve to feel safe at work.

And look - we welcome the Government accepting our position on this. We've been campaigning on it for quite a while.

But not as long as this union. No - Usdaw's Freedom From Fear campaign set the agenda on this issue over a decade ago.

So, there is no doubt where the political credit for this consensus belongs. It belongs to you. This is your victory. And I promise you today, Labour will deliver.

But of course – protection from abuse at work, that is the bare minimum you deserve.

And the ambition of this Labour Party is so much higher than that. Because if we do have the privilege to serve this country in government, then make no mistake.

We will embark on the biggest levelling-up of worker rights this country has seen for a generation.

That's what our New Deal for Working People will achieve. And I should take this opportunity to thank Paddy for being such a strong advocate for our New Deal.

Because Paddy understands – as you all do – that it's about dignity and respect. Everyone deserves that at work – don't they?

My dad was a toolmaker, he worked in a factory. And he always thought, back in the 80s, that some people in society looked down on him for it. Disrespected him. Didn't value his work, his contribution.

To be honest, it weighed him down. I saw how it chipped away at his self-esteem. And I know some people still feel like that now. Millions perhaps.

Many of them - the same people we were clapping and thanking in the pandemic.

Working people who, not only wonder whether this is a country that respects and values their work, but that now in this cost-of-living crisis, also find themselves working harder and harder just to stand still.

Conference, that is not the Britain I want to lead. No, in a country like ours, it should be a given that hard work is fairly rewarded.

It should be a given, that whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, however you contribute, you are treated with dignity and respect at work.

That's why we will end fire and rehire, make parental leave a day one right, scrap zero hour contracts, strengthen statutory sick pay, boost collective bargaining, and make work pay with a real living wage.

And another thing - where large organisations with numerous stores, try to implement redundancy proceedings without collective consultation rights because, as they argue, the individual stores are below the twenty staff threshold. Labour will stop that.

Of course, we hope that your employer never needs such powers. But if they do, if your employer does get in trouble, with a Labour Government you would be protected by new collective redundancy rights,

That's a Labour pledge. 

And I want to be crystal clear about why we offer that. Why we are offering more rights and protection for working people across the board.

It is about respect and dignity – of course it is. The social justice this movement has always stood for. But good work is not just a moral imperative, it is also an economic argument.

We do this for growth. And we must argue for it on those terms. Because good employers know that they have nothing to fear from this new deal.

And I can't stress enough how much that's reflected in the conversations I have with business leaders. The whole atmosphere has changed.

I mean – only the other day, a survey by the Chartered Management Institute found that 80 per cent of managers believe that strengthening workers rights is beneficial for productivity.

And they're right – aren't they?  I mean think about your workplace. Think about how people respond when they feel respected.

When they can bring their whole self to their work, because they are treated fairly, with dignity. The shoulders and the spirits lift up. I'm sure you've all seen that in your workplace.

But now think about the opposite. Think about what it's like to work when you're wracked with fear about the future. Not sure if you've got a shift next week or not. 

Or if your contract gives you no protection – no security – to stand up for basic rights at work. No real safety net to support you or your family in times of sickness and poor health.

Conference, which of these examples do you think is better for productivity?

It's not rocket science. And yet for 14 years the Tories have carried on with the same old mindset. A belief that growth is handed down from the few to the many.

That it requires your terms and conditions to be pushed down. And that government should just get out of the way when it comes to managing the economy.

A Prime Minister who looks at his graphs and spreadsheets, stares blankly as wages, growth and productivity all flat-line, and yet can only offer more of the same. 

Repeating Liz Truss' spending spree disaster, with a completely unfunded £46 billion tax cut for national insurance.

Now, at PMQs two weeks ago, I asked the Prime Minister three times to rule out cutting the state pension to pay for it.

Three times he refused.

Now, I think people who are on the state pension, or trying to plan their retirement, have the right to know Rishi's secret plan to pay for his reckless promise.

Will the Tories raise income tax? Or hike the retirement age to 72? Will they means test the state pension? Or slash pension benefits?

People who have worked hard all their lives deserve to know the answer.

After 14 years of stagnation. A period that has left the average British family £8,800 poorer than in other advanced economies.

Economies like France, Germany, and the Netherlands, that have better collective bargaining, stronger workers' rights, and a fairer share of wealth across their country.

You don't have to take this anymore. For years, if not decades, working people have been told that fair pay, good work and dignity are barriers to growth,

But they're not, and we will prove it. Labour will make work pay, Labour will get Britain building again, Labour will hold out the hand of partnership to business.

And together, we'll invest in our future, a new direction on growth, from working people, for working people, higher living standards for every family and community.

That is our mission on growth.

And conference, an absolutely crucial part of that mission, is the rejuvenation of our high streets.

One of the great privileges of the job I do, is getting out and about across Britain. And I don't think I've been anywhere that doesn't value and want a vibrant high street.

Seriously –ask anyone how they feel their community is doing economically, and nine times out of ten – they will tell you about their high street.

That's where community is grown, if that makes sense. The beating heart of a place, a source of pride.

You can't reduce their value merely to profit or the products they sell.  So, if we are ambitious about growth in every community, if we want an era of genuine national renewal, then we have to turn around the decline of Britain's high streets.

Now this is a key test. And there's no good reason why, together, we can't do it.

Because I haven't visited a single community that has no ambition for their high street. All they need is a government that matches their ambition with a credible plan.

That sees the pride and potential we could unlock together.

So, let's take back our streets from anti-social behaviour. Crackdown on late payments which choke off cashflow for small retailers. Set-up new banking hubs so every community has access to face-to-face banking. 

Let's make sure economic stability is the foundation for everything we do. Accept the constraints of good financial management. Understand how important this is to make sure prices don't spiral - as they have done under the Tories.

Let's keep our tax rates competitive, reform and replace business rates, level the playing field between the online tech giants and the high street businesses in your town.

And let's back every community with new ‘right to buy' powers. Give people the control they need over their high street. Take over the empty, boarded-up shops. And fill them with new stores, new pop-ups, new cafes and bars.

Unlock the pride and potential in every community. That is the Labour way.

And conference, it's a shared undertaking. National renewal is a partnership. I'm not here to tell you everything will be easy if Labour is elected. It won't be.

There's no easy path out of the hole the Tories have dug for our country. And don't make the mistake of thinking that they've given up either, or that they can't win.

That's not how this works. Politics in our times is volatile. And when it comes to saving their own skin, that is a cause, perhaps the only cause, they will never stop fighting for.

So, we need to be disciplined, focused, meet their attacks with the credible hope of a long-term plan.

Because – if you want a new deal for working people. If you want tougher action on the crime that blights your workplace. If you want a rejuvenated high street.

Or even just a government you can trust to always put the country first.

Then I have to say, there are votes up and down the country this week, including right here in Blackpool, where you can make that choice.

And show Britain is ready for change with Labour.

Because after all the chaos and division, this is what we need now. A coming together behind a credible long-term plan that can get Britain's future back.

With higher growth, safer streets, an NHS back on its feet, cheaper bills in your home, more opportunities in your community, dignity and respect in your workplace.

A country once again driven by public service, no longer held back by the chaos and decline of Tory rule, but united in pursuit of national renewal with Labour.

That is the choice this year. That is the chance we have. It's time to get Britain's future back.

Thank you."