Starmer seeks to restore pride in Britain amid plans to take on Reform

Sir Keir Starmer put controlling immigration, growing the economy and restoring pride in Britain at the heart of his plan to take on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

The Prime Minister said securing the borders was a “reasonable demand”, but he hit out at people including Mr Farage who cross a “moral line” on the issue.

Sir Keir said Labour was the “patriotic party” and sought to reclaim the UK’s flags after a summer in which they had become the focus of a culture war.

The Prime Minister said he believed in a Britain with “the grit of the Lionesses, the swagger of Oasis, the strength of the Red Roses”.

Sir Keir went into conference with his party trailing Reform in the polls ahead of crunch elections in Scotland, Wales and English counties next year, and with his position in No 10 being questioned.

He used his party conference address in Liverpool to set out his vision for a “new country”, a “land of dignity and respect”.

But that meant addressing the concerns of voters who had drifted to Reform – with economic growth a key “antidote to division”.

The speech comes after a turbulent period which has seen unrest outside asylum hotels and the continued flow of migrants across the English Channel in small boats.

The Prime Minister said there is “a moral line, and it isn’t just Farage who crosses it”.

He added: “Controlling migration is a reasonable goal.

“But if you throw bricks and smash up private property that’s not legitimate – that’s thuggery.”

Free speech was a “British value” but did not allow people to “incite racist violence and hatred”.

He continued “this party is proud of our flags”, but “if they are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism”.

And anyone who argues that “people who have lived here for generations” should now be deported is “an enemy of national renewal”, the Prime Minister added.

He said the “politics of grievance” – a term he has used repeatedly to attack Mr Farage – was “the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are”.

Calling for the public to “unite around a common good”, Sir Keir said they were engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”.

Urging people to fly their flags, he said he would “fight with every breath I have” for the “tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know”.

In his 54-minute speech Sir Keir:

– Replaced an ambition for 50% of youngsters to go to university with a new aim of two-thirds of young people going to either university or doing a “gold-standard apprenticeship”.

– Set out plans for an “online hospital” for England, offering patients consultations with specialist doctors from their homes.

– Said the long-awaited Hillsborough Law would mean “injustice has no place to hide”.

Labour’s conference has been dominated by attacks on Reform, with Sir Keir claiming Mr Farage “doesn’t like Britain”.

“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 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.”

But the Prime Minister acknowledged deep-rooted problems in British society, tracing them back through Brexit to the financial crisis of 2008.

“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.”

He said a new model of economic growth, spread around the country and lifting living standards for all was needed.

Just hours before Sir Keir’s speech, official figures showed the UK economy grew by just 0.3% between April and June, marking a steep fall from 0.7% in the first three months of the year.

Sir Keir said achieving growth was the “defining mission” of his Government, adding: “Growth is the pound in your pocket, it is more money for trips, meals out, the little things that bring joy to 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.”

He promised a “muscular state” prepared to intervene to boost growth and protect jobs.

Mr Farage claimed Sir Keir’s attacks on his party had put the safety of Reform’s politicians and activists at risk.

The Prime Minister has previously branded Reform’s plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain for immigrants legally in the UK as “racist”.

In his response to Sir Keir’s conference speech, Mr Farage said the Prime Minister’s language “will incite and encourage the radical left”.

“I’m thinking of Antifa and other organisations like that. It directly threatens the safety of our elected officials and our campaigners, and, frankly, in the wake of the Charlie Kirk murder, I think this is an absolute disgrace.”

He said Sir Keir’s speech was “a desperate last throw of the dice from a Prime Minister who is in deep trouble”.

Mr Farage said: “I now believe that he is unfit to be the Prime Minister of our country.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister could have used his speech to own up to the mistakes he’s made on the economy, admit the country was living beyond its means and set out a plan to avoid further punishing tax hikes this autumn, but he did not.”

Trades Union Congress general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Prime Minister was right: for too long the economy has been stacked against working people. It’s time to turn the page.”

The Mainstream group associated with potential Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham said it was “unclear” whether Sir Keir could deliver on his promise to transform the country.

Luke Hurst, national co0ordinator of Mainstream, said: “If you are going to build up Reform so much as the enemy, then you have to be certain you can deliver on economic growth and public service change to knock them down.

“Even after today’s speech, it’s unclear that Labour has thought through how to really transform the country.”