Keir Starmer bats away hecklers as he gets personal during Labour Party conference speech
Sir Keir Starmer batted away hecklers during a mammoth speech in which he used his personal experiences to show off his human side as he announced a key climate change policy.
Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, introduced Sir Keir before his conference speech by thanking the Labour leader for helping prosecute his murderers when he was a barrister.
During the 90 minute speech, which was his first in-person conference address since he became leader, he hit out at the government, referenced his parents throughout and announced a plan to retrofit millions of homes.
Following five days of ups and downs in Brighton, including successfully getting a new way of voting for a leader through, he put Labour forward as the next party to lead the country.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer being heckled
But he was also heckled by those who may be bigger fans of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who has criticised Sir Keir at fringe events this week.
However, he brushed them away by saying “shouting slogans or changing lives, conference?” – to which he got cheers from the audience.
He spoke of not being from a privileged background, of his father being a tool maker in a factory and his mum being a nurse in the NHS and her getting a rare arthritic disease for which he could “hardly convey to you the emotion of seeing your mum in that condition”.
For a leader who has often been accused of failing to show off his personality and any emotion, it appeared important for Sir Keir to connect on an emotional level with Labour members, who listened intently.
He also spoke of being a lawyer and chief prosecutor and how that has helped his approach to politics.
John and Penny Clough, the parents of murdered nurse Jane Clough, were in the front row of the audience and Sir Keir told of them coming to him to get justice for her and how they changed the law – and how crime “will always be a Labour issue”.
Doreen Lawrence introduced Sir Keir
Sir Keir said Labour would fast-track rape and serious sexual assault cases and toughen sentences for rapists, stalkers and domestic abusers.
Recognising he came into politics “late in life”, the Labour leader said he was not a career politician and said he was nothing like Boris Johnson, who he said was waging war on traffic cones while he was prosecuting Stephen Lawrence’s murderers.
He also said in 2010 he was helping put terrorists behind bars while Mr Johnson was defending the right not to wear a cycle helmet.
“It’s easy to comfort yourself that your opponents are bad people, but I don’t think Boris Johnson is a bad man, I think he is a trivial man,” he said.
“I think he’s a showman with nothing left to show, I think he’s a trickster who has performed his one trick.”
Sir Keir was cheered as he set himself apart from the Tories
He promised Labour will “always fund the NHS properly” and would shift the priority of the NHS away from emergency care to prevention, including funding mental health as much as physical health.
“Labour will guarantee that support will be available in less than a month,” he said.
That would include recruiting 8,500 more mental health professionals and ensuring every school has specialist support and communities have mental health hubs.
Another of the Labour leaders key promises is on education and Sir Keir used a famous Tony Blair slogan (“education, education, education”) as he said: “Education is so important I am tempted to say it three times.”
He said Labour will launch the most ambitious school improvement plan, including ensuring children leave school with good qualifications and who are ready to work.
Delegates hold up a red cards as a group of hecklers attempt to interrupt the keynote speech of leader of the British Labour Party Keir Starmer at the annual party conference in Brighton, England, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Theatre, drama and music will not be allowed to collapse, he said as he mentioned he had music lessons with Fat Boy Slim at school.
On the economy, Sir Keir said Labour would support small businesses and invest a minimum of 3% of GDP in science and research and development.
He said the finances inherited from the Conservatives “will need serious repair work” but the approach to taxation will be governed by taxpayers getting the best value for money.
Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet ministers have announced a raft of new policies this week and he added to that by saying climate change – which got a big clap – would be tackled by retrofitting 19 million homes over a decade to save families more than £400 a year on energy bills, with a £6bn a year investment.
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Starmer wants ‘serious’ plan for government from his party
And he hit out at Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, saying the SNP and the Tories “exploit the constitutional divide” so he was worried about the future of Wales within the Union.
After his speech, the Labour leader was joined by his wife, Victoria, on stage and they left the conference hall to the Fat Boy Slim song “Right here, right now” – plus a standing ovation.
Politics
No job for Tom Tugendhat in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet as Chris Philp appointed shadow home secretary
Tom Tugendhat is not serving in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet, it has been revealed – as the new Tory leader continued her appointments today.
Former Home Office minister Chris Philp has been awarded the job of shadow home secretary, the last of the key posts to be announced.
A Conservative source told Sky News Mr Tugendhat was offered a job and turned it down.
Unveiling a host of appointments today, Ms Badenoch, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party last weekend, confirmed that Ed Argar would be the shadow health secretary, while James Cartlidge will take on the role of shadow defence secretary.
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Former business minister Kevin Hollinrake will shadow Angela Rayner on the housing brief, while Victoria Atkins will take on the role of shadow environment secretary.
Claire Coutinho, who was the energy secretary under Rishi Sunak, will continue in the opposition version of the role.
Helen Whately has been appointed shadow work and pensions secretary and Andrew Griffith, the former economic secretary to the Treasury, is the new shadow business and trade secretary.
Ms Badenoch, who became Conservative leader on Saturday, started officially appointing her shadow cabinet on Sunday evening.
Yesterday Dame Priti Patel made a comeback to frontline politics after the new Conservative leader appointed her as shadow foreign secretary.
Former shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, who ran in the Tory leadership race and is considered more of a moderate than Ms Badenoch, was also made shadow chancellor.
The move has been interpreted as Ms Badenoch making an effort to unite the party following its bruising election defeat, which saw it reduced to just 121 seats.
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Badenoch: ‘It is time to renew’
Robert Jenrick, who lost out to Ms Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, is the new shadow justice secretary, while Laura Trott, who previously served as chief secretary to the Treasury, was appointed shadow education secretary.
Now the Conservatives are in opposition, the shadow cabinet’s role is to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government and offer alternative policies.
Other roles that have been confirmed today include Stuart Andrew as shadow culture secretary, Gareth Bacon as shadow transport secretary, Andrew Bowie as shadow Scotland secretary, Alex Burghart as shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Mims Davies as shadow Wales secretary and shadow minister for women.
Former transport minister Jesse Norman has been appointed as shadow leader of the Commons while Richard Fuller is the new shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Alan Mak is the new shadow science secretary.
Read more:
Who’s who in Kemi Badenoch’s new shadow cabinet?
University tuition fee rise branded ‘morally wrong’
During the Conservative Party leadership race, Ms Badenoch suggested that all six MPs who ran against her for the top job – Mr Jenrick, Mr Tugendhat, Mr Stride, Ms Patel and James Cleverly – would be offered a job in her shadow cabinet.
Mr Cleverly, who came third in the leadership race, said on Friday he would not be joining Ms Badenoch’s top team.
It is understood Ms Badenoch will appoint the remainder of the team later in the week and on a rolling basis.
There are several new candidates who could potentially become the next chair of the SEC.
Politics
University tuition fee rise branded ‘morally wrong’ – as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defends increase
The education secretary has said no decision has been made on whether university tuition fees will increase with inflation each year.
Bridget Phillipson has announced the maximum cap on tuition fees in England will go up in line with inflation from April 2025.
The cost of tuition will increase by £285 to £9,535 next year – the first rise in eight years.
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There will also be a rise in maximum maintenance loans to increase in line with inflation, giving an increase of £414 a year to help students with living costs.
However, the education secretary did not say if the rise would continue after that.
Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Ms Phillipson admitted she did not know what would happen with tuition fees after April 2026.
“We’re going to look at this and the maintenance support and the sector overall as part of the reform that we intend to set out in the months to come,” she said.
“So no decision, no decision has been taken on what happens beyond this.”
She said the government will be looking at “what is required… to get our universities on a more sustainable footing… but also to deliver a better deal for students as a part of that”.
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University tuition fees to increase
The minister said she also “intends to look at” uprating the threshold at which students need to start paying tuition fees back in line with inflation.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said the tuition fee rise was “economically and morally wrong”.
She said: “Taking more money from debt-ridden students and handing it to overpaid underperforming vice-chancellors is ill conceived and won’t come close to addressing the sector’s core issues.”
Read more:
Who’s who in Badenoch’s new shadow cabinet?
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The National Union of Students (NUS) said students were being asked to “foot the bill” to keep the lights and heating on in their universities and to prevent their courses from closing down amid the “crisis”.
Alex Stanley, vice president for higher education of the NUS, said: “This is, and can only ever be, a sticking plaster.
“Universities cannot continue to be funded by an ever-increasing burden of debt on students.”
Universities have been making up for fees being frozen since 2017/18 by taking in international students who pay more.
However, student visa numbers have fallen after the previous government made it more difficult for them to come to the UK recently, so universities can no longer rely on the fees.
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