Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Speech at Labour Party Conference 2025
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Speech at Labour Party Conference
2025 ***CHECKED AGAINST DELIVERY*** Thank you, Thank you,
conference. Thank you Figen, thank you Pooja for
leading by example, so powerfully shown on that video just now. And
Margaret – thank you so much for that introduction. I know
it wasn't easy. Even more so after the unimaginable loss of
losing James… Even after all the obstacles –
deliberately...Request free trial
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Speech at Labour Party Conference 2025 ***CHECKED AGAINST DELIVERY*** Thank you, Thank you, conference. Thank you Figen, thank you Pooja for leading by example, so powerfully shown on that video just now. And Margaret – thank you so much for that introduction. I know it wasn't easy. Even more so after the unimaginable loss of losing James… Even after all the obstacles – deliberately put in your way… With this Hillsborough Law… You and the other families, some of them with us this afternoon, and other campaigners… Have served a degree of justice… For James… For the 97… But also - for thousands of people that you will never know and that you will never meet… Who will never now have to go through what you went through. Thank you, thank you… Margaret, I remember meeting you and the many families… Nearly fifteen years ago now… With Bishop James Jones. I was humbled. To be able to campaign, after such loss… As a father of a daughter aged, 14… A son aged 17, who goes to football with me… One year younger than James was. I honestly don't think I would have the courage to do the same. But I was also struck at that first meeting. By meeting some families… They had never felt able to speak about what happened that day. Perhaps because… They thought that people like them would never be heard. Conference - this party was founded to hear working class people like that… To look directly into the eyes of their suffering… Even when the state turns its back.
It's not just a promise delivered. It is also a recognition… That whether it's Hillsborough… Grenfell… Windrush… Horizon… The Grooming Gangs… Infected Blood and so many more… The British state consistently refused to see injustice… Because of who the victims are. Because they're working class… They're black… They're women and girls. And so, Margaret… I know we can never undo the pain – for you and all the other families… But we can show… That in the Britain that we are building… The state will see… The state will listen… The state will be accountable to working people… Because now - injustice has no place to hide. That's national renewal, conference… Government and working people… Working together to drag us out of decline… Building a new Britain. Now it's an urgent task… We can all see our country faces a choice… A defining choice… Britain stands at a fork in the road. We can choose decency… Or we can choose division… Renewal or decline... A country - proud of its values, in control of its future... Or one that succumbs, against the grain of our history… To the politics of grievance. It is a test. A fight for the soul of our country… Every bit as big as rebuilding Britain after the war… And we must all rise to this challenge. And yet we need to be clear… That our path… The path of renewal… It's long… It's difficult… It requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy… Decisions - that will not always be comfortable for our party. Yet at the end of this hard road… There will be a new country… A fairer country… A land of dignity and respect… Everyone seen… Everyone valued… Wealth creation in every single community... Working people in control of their public services… The mindless bureaucracy… That chokes enterprise… Removed - so we can build and keep building… Clean British energy – powering our homes… Technology – harnessed to drive us forward… Our flags - flying proudly… As we celebrate difference and oppose racism… Thank you, conference… The basic, ordinary hope of a better future for our children – restored for millions… And through that – a Britain that has rediscovered the belief, the togetherness, the pride… To take control of its future… That's what we're building, conference… That's national renewal… A Britain built for all. But there is another path. We can call it the path of decline – but in truth it leads to ruin… To chaos… To Britain being poorer in every sense. And it's a tempting path. Because it asks nothing of people. Makes no demands. Suggests no difficulties. All you need to do to is listen to politicians who tell you… There's a quick fix… A miracle cure… Tax cuts that magically pay for themselves… A wealth tax that somehow solves every problem… The Brexit lies on the side of that bus… ‘Click here for your new country'. We can all see these snake oil merchants… On the right… On the left… But be in no doubt, conference… None of them have any interest in national renewal. Because decline is good for their business. I mean – think about it… When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage… Say anything positive about Britain's future? He can't. He doesn't like Britain… Doesn't believe in Britain… Wants you to doubt it just as much as he does… And so he resorts to grievance. They all do it. They want to turn this country… This proud, self-reliant country… Into a competition of victims. Saying to you, to working people… “Don't trust in each other” “You can't fix this”… “This is not a great country”. But it is, conference. It is a great country… It will always be a great country… A decent, pragmatic, tolerant, reasonable country… That throughout history… Has stood its ground… Stuck by its values… And built its future without fuss… That's the Britain I'm fighting for, conference… A nation of resolve… A land of respect… A Britain built for all. Conference, I welcome the new US initiative to bring peace to the Middle East… I strongly support efforts to end the fighting… Release every hostage… And urgently scale up aid into Gaza. All sides must now come together to bring this initiative into reality. Because we must restart the hope of a two-state solution… A safe and secure Israel… Alongside the long-promised Palestinian state… A state that this country now recognises. Conference, thank you Conference, thank you… Conference, I will never give up on diplomacy… And I will never doubt British values. Rules that protect those in need… Respect for difference, under the same flag… The freedom to live and let live… I will never doubt – that these values make us strong in a world that preys on weakness. How could I? The progress, the prosperity, the peace I've seen throughout my life… The journey I've been on… From a working-class background to this… I owe everything to this country and its values. But working people – they are losing faith. They're ground down… Politics has made them question Britain. And can you blame them? They've been nothing but patient… They lived through austerity… Brexit… Covid… Played by the rules… Kept their side of the bargain… But time and again - politics ducked the challenge of renewal. Their high street… Their pubs… Their youth clubs… The places that shape a life… That create a common memory… Struggling against the tide of decline. That is why we must never – never… Find ourselves defending a status quo that manifestly failed working people… That's what I say to people who think it would be ‘nice'… If we could just go back to politics before Brexit or the crash. And this does go back that far, conference. The Global Financial Crisis is when we were exposed… When a new Britain should have been born. Complacent. That's the only way to describe it – complacent. We placed too much faith in globalisation. The establishment – across so many institutions… In hock to its lazy assumptions… That immigration is all we need to give us the workers… Infrastructure will always be there because we built it decades ago… The world always on hand to give us the goods… “It doesn't matter if our industry leaves”… “Doesn't matter if we don't train our young people”… Doesn't matter… If wealth creation is hoarded by just a few communities. Well, conference – look at our world now. Because in our age of insecurity… We can see now that it does matter. We do need to put our security first… We do need to unlock the potential of every community… We do need a more a muscular state… Freed - from the red tape that stops us building… Growing our economy from the grassroots… Renewing every town and city on these islands. It comes back to growth – so much of it comes back to economic growth. In fact – I'll say it now, so there is no doubt. The defining mission of this government… Is to grow the economy… Improve living standards… And change the way we create wealth… An economy that grows, not just from the top… But from the grassroots. Because growth is the pound in your pocket… It is more money for trips… Meals out… The little things that bring joy to all our lives… The peace of mind that comes from economic security. But it is also the antidote to division... That's the most important aspect of national renewal. The way you grow an economy… Not just how much… But who and where benefits… That can either build a nation… Or it can it pull it apart. And in the world we must face… The threats we must defeat… Britain needs an economy that unites. Every person… Every community… Every great nation on these islands… Standing together, as so often in our past… Facing down the threats of a volatile world. And it is a choice. You can exploit asset bubbles to distract from stagnating wages. You can balance the books by cutting long-term investment. You can cut taxes for the few… While dismantling the infrastructure for the many… But the affordable homes – that we built… The libraries – that we opened… The Sure Start centres that gave so many families a better start in life. “All in it together?” - that's what they said… Come on… The country they created – still all around us… Old and young… North and South… Scrapping over the crumbs… Draining the well of responsibility - the patriotic responsibility… That we owe to one another. But there's another choice, conference. You can choose industrial policy… Government and business… Bringing the future closer… British graft backed – everywhere… From the steelwork in Scunthorpe… To the datacentres in Essex… And the wind farms of South Wales. You can choose to unleash British enterprise… Strip out bad regulation… Confront the blockers… That strangle a thriving private sector… The most important thing we need for every community… To stand more proudly on their own feet. You can choose to challenge the outdated dogma… And say - with one clear voice… That public investment does not crowd-out the private… We should invest more outside of London and the South East… And that a more secure labour market… With stronger worker rights… That will be better for productivity. And conference, you can choose to rebuild our public services… Choose investment over austerity… That's the choice we made at the last budget… A hard choice… Difficult decisions on taxation… But conference – that's the choice that we made. Now, I want to thank every business in our country on this issue. We asked a lot at the last budget - I know that. I do think, in the long-run… Fixing our public finances… Investing in new infrastructure… Helping our public services off their knees… That will be better for growth. But equally important, because of your contribution… We've taken a huge step on the path of renewal… A firmer foundation to take our country forward. More security, more respect, more opportunity… A Britain built for all. A Britain built for all. Every decision, every decision, conference, every decision we took this past year… It's all been in pursuit of that mission… Changing the way we create wealth… Reforming public services… Giving people more control over our future. Take our investment in defence… Undeniably good for growth… Vital for national security – and the whole of the continent…
Just look at the new deal to build Norwegian Frigates… That doesn't happen without our investment… A decade of shipbuilding on the Clyde… That heritage, that pride… Secure for future generations.
That it didn't matter. But we want to build them here – in Britain… We want to invest in that reputation, in those skills, in the talent of Glasgow and the Clyde. Now conference, five days after that deal… I went to the shipbuilding yard on the Clyde. I went to the canteen, where the workers were having their lunch. I stood in front of them and I said ‘thank you'. Thank you for your hard work and your reputation that allowed us to win that deal… They were being judged against other countries… France, Germany and the US… And they won. They were proud. They said to me that this was the answer to the mantra they heard… People that said British shipbuilding was dead. They told me how much it meant to them and their community. And they were proud because they knew exactly what those frigates were for. And they were proud to contribute… Proud that their community was chosen by an ally… Looking for a partner… To defend our continent from Putin's aggression.
Or take our investment in childcare. Thirty hours free…
A massive difference to the cost-of-living… Thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working parents... Because - we made tough decisions… Tough Labour decisions – at the last budget. Now, this will help parents and carers back to work, especially women… And that is good for growth. But fundamentally it's for the children. Last year, Bridget and I went to a primary school in Nuneaton… And we got talking to the reception teacher. And she said some kids arrive at reception reading books… Others are virtually still in nappies There are similar stories right across the country. Inequality at aged just four… That is baked in for life. So our childcare provision is a game-changer… Giving every child the best start in life… Every single child equal at the starting line of their education... That's national renewal, conference. That's why we made the tough decisions… And I make no apologies if they tilt towards working people… Because it's working people who paid the price of Tory decline.
Fired up Great British energy… Stood up for British Steel… New protection for renters… Sick pay for the least well off… Fire and rehire – finished… Zero hour contracts – scrapped… Record investment in Scotland and Wales… Rebuilding our schools… New homes, new towns, new trainlines… Publicly-owned of course… Spreading prosperity right across Britain… And a proper living wage, conference… The culmination of a long journey for our movement… The mark of a Britain built for all… Thank you conference.. And conference, extending free school meals, conference… 100,000 children lifted out of poverty… The first step… The first step our journey to end child poverty… We have walked that road before… And we will walk that road again. Because a Britain where no child is hungry… Where no child is held back by poverty… That's a Britain built for all. But there is another cause that we must now also take up, conference. And it strikes to the heart of what we stand for… And who commands our respect. People like my dad. I think by now you know what he did for a living! But then again – do you… Do you really know the skill… The craft… The precision that goes into tool-making?
Undervalued by the nation… Because he worked with his hands. And I can see why.
I went to Leeds University… Had a good time – it's a good place to have a good time is that, Leeds! And then when I came back… I officially became “the first in my family to go to university”. I was put on that pedestal. Working class families will know exactly what I mean. I thought about this… When I visited those frigates on the Clyde. The apprentices - they took me on board… They showed me how they were rewiring it… Miles and miles of wire…
Really complicated…
I thought about my sister… A care-worker… She works with adults with Down Syndrome. It's amazing work… I know I could never do it like she does… Also – vital for our country. And then I think about my brother… He was failed – he had difficulties learning… But he was badly failed by the education system… Put to one side… Barely even seen.
I want every child to have the same opportunities that I had… You hear that in Westminster a lot. But that's not me. No, what I want… Is a Britain where people are treated with the dignity they deserve… For making different choices…
Choices we should value… Choices that deserve our respect.
While you will never hear me denigrate the aspiration to go to university…. I don't think the way we currently measure success in education… That ambition to get 50% of kids to uni… I don't think that's right for our times. Because if you are a kid… Or a parent of a kid… Who chooses an apprenticeship… What does it say to you? Do we genuinely – as a country - afford them the same respect? Because we should… But I can't help feeling that my dad was right. So, conference… Today – I can announce… We will scrap that target and replace it with a new ambition… That two-thirds of our children should go either to university… Or take a gold standard apprenticeship.
That further education… So long a Cinderella service… Ignored - because politicians' kids don't go there… We will make it a defining cause for this Labour Government… With higher standards in every college… The quality of teaching – raised… More apprenticeships… More technical colleges – technical excellence colleges… Qualifications linked to jobs… Rooted in their communities… And, as Rachel announced yesterday… A new guarantee… Training, work support or an apprenticeship… For every young person struggling to find work… That's young people – backed… The class ceiling – smashed… The grafters - finally included in our country's highest aspirations… That's national renewal… That's a Britain built for all. That's what I stand for, conference. And let me tell you…
And I have had enough… Of lectures…
Who want to shred our public services… Level-down worker rights… Crash the economy like Liz Truss… Politicians who lied to this country… Unleashed chaos… And walked away after Brexit… Who equivocate on Putin and Ukraine… Who even now - go to America… And grub around for money… Talking this great country down… No…
Because Labour is the party for working people… Labour is the party of national renewal… Labour is the patriotic party…
Wembley. The old Wembley, actually. I was there. It's that semi-final. Electric… We're all singing with one voice. Football's coming home. Now – of course, it didn't actually come home. No cheering Anas!
It did feel like something was stirring in England, that night. An England that belonged to our grandparents and our history… But also to our children and our future. North and south… Black and white… Old and young… An England - united… By a flag that stood for all.
I think the union does have some limits! But I can say… I can say I'm not just proud of the Union Jack and the cross of St. George… I'm also proud of the Saltire… Of the Red Dragon… Proud of our union… This astonishing relationship between four great nations… Four different nations, yes… But four nations that time and again… Have been through the fire, together… Built so much, together… A country forged by the solidarity of working people… So let's fly all our flags, conference… Because they are our flags… They belong to all of us… And we will never surrender them. And let's unite our country behind them. Because this is no time for dividers… This is the time for bringing the whole country together… It's how we will fight next year's elections… As patriots of our great nations… That's who we are… Who Eluned is… Who Anas is…
A campaign to renew Wales… Renew Scotland… And Renew Britain. But then that's just the point… Because for me, patriotism is about love and pride… About serving an interest that is more than yourself… A common good. And the question I ask, seriously, of Nigel Farage and Reform… Is do they love our country? Do they want to serve our country – all of it… Our beautiful, tolerant, diverse country… Every region, nation and city… Or do they just want to stir the pot of division… Because that's worked in their interests.
In our brilliance… In all the innovative wonders of our economy… From clean energy to the creative arts?
Do they say – as Farage said about Jaguar Land Rover… They deserve to go bust? And conference, when push comes to shove… Do they really want to fix our problems and renew Britain? Or – as we've seen time and again… Whether it's the SNP… The extremes of the left… Or Reform and the Tories now… Do they actually want Britain to fail? I think we know the answer to that question. So let me also say this. Because while we must come together to fight Reform, with everything that this movement has… We must go into that battle armed, not just with words and condemnation… But with action. And that means tackling all the problems that they prey upon… All the problems. Soon after I became an MP… I went to Oldham for the byelection there. I was taken to a street to meet a woman… Who I was told had strong views on immigration. I knocked on the door. She invited me in. We had a cup of tea… And a rich tea biscuit. And then, as we sat there she got out her photo album and showed me pictures… Of her at the wedding of her Asian neighbour. She was proud that she was her neighbour and her friend. Now – I'm not the most patient person, as my family will tell you. I started thinking – what is going on here. And then we finally got to it. And she told me that a group of men from Eastern Europe had recently moved into her street. They sat on her wall. Didn't put the rubbish out at the right time. And spat on the ground. To her that broke the little but important rules of her street. She didn't like it. Then I realised what was really happening. And conference – what was really happening… Is that she – an ordinary, working class, woman in Oldham… A Labour voter… Felt that she had to prove to a Labour politician… That she wasn't racist… Before she could even bring up the issues in her community. Now – I carried that story with me through all the bad years, conference…
Yet conference there are still some people…
I have to say to those people very directly…
The British people are not unreasonable…
What people want from politics – that hasn't changed.
Now we should always say plainly – and with pride…
But conference, conference… secure borders are also vital for a decent, compassionate country.
So mark my words we will stop this…
But there is a line – a moral line.
We've seen that trick, conference…
Free speech is a British value – and we have guarded it for centuries.
It doesn't get easier from here.
Take our NHS.
Appointments you choose…
And then conference – there's Melanie.
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