Tag: Speeches

David Lammy – 2024 Speech at the UN Summit of the Future

The speech made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, in New York on 23 September 2024.

Mr President, I stand here as a man of multiple identities.

A Londoner. A patriotic Brit. A lawyer.

Proud of my African, Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian heritage.

A committed multilateralist, who believes in the importance of the United Nations.

I agree with my great predecessor, Ernie Bevin, when he said in 1945:

“Our eyes should be fixed upon the United Nations… All nations of the world should be united to look that way.”

The purposes and principles of the UN remain as indispensable today as in Bevin’s time.

Our task is to recapture that founding spirit so that when we reach the UN’s centenary, their legacy endures.

But we cannot ignore the challenges we face. More conflicts than at any time since 1945, costing the global economy over 900 billion dollars, and creating the most refugees and displaced people on record.

Geopolitical tensions arising. Progress against the Sustainable Development Goals stalling. Trust in multilateralism faltering.

The Pact for the Future and this Summit offer a chance for Member States to show responsible global leadership, to engage with the rapid changes of our age, and go further in meeting the needs of everyone – especially the most vulnerable.

As I know all too well, countries of the Global South suffered great injustices in the past. And I have heard repeatedly how frustrated partners are by the unfairness of the global system.

We cannot ignore these frustrations. We must act.

First, as the Secretary-General has said, we need greater collective efforts to prevent and end conflict. For Britain, that means upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and supporting an end to the fighting in Sudan.

It means robustly challenging Member States who violate the Charter, rejecting a world in which might makes right.

It means a more representative Security Council.

It means supporting the international rule of law, and applying it equally and fairly which is why Britain has proposed the outstanding Professor Dapo Akande for election as a judge at the International Court of Justice.

Second, we need urgent action on the climate and nature crisis.

With this new Government, Britain is renewing our ambitions at home, aiming to deliver clean power by 2030.

And I am determined that we also reconnect abroad, building a Global Clean Power Alliance, championing creativity and reforms to unlock international climate and nature finance, particularly from the private sector, and bolstering efforts to protect at least thirty per cent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030.

Third, countries like Britain must modernise our approach to development.

This Government believes partnership, not paternalism, is the way to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

Making best use of technology and innovation. Putting indigenous people and local communities, including women and girls, at the centre of decision-making on development programmes.

Driving faster reform of the global financial system to strengthen the voice of the most vulnerable and tackle unsustainable debt.

Friends, action on conflict, climate and poverty. Delivered by a reformed multilateral system. This is the path to peace and prosperity on a liveable planet.

All over the world, in every war zone, every refugee camp, the UN is there. A beacon of hope and humanity to which, as Bevin said, the gaze of all nations should turn.

This Summit must direct the world’s eyes towards that beacon once again. And Britain is proud to support it.

Thank you.

October 2, 2024
Lisa Nandy – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 24 September 2024.

Thank you so much, Imogen.

An Olympic Gold Medallist and a Junior Doctor. Here to inspire and to serve, to allow people to dream, to change lives and never take no for an answer.

She absolutely sums up the spirit of our country.

And we need that spirit and that conviction after 14 dark, divisive years.

Successive Tory Governments running down our rich and proud heritage in arts and music and the right of every child to it.

At the stroke of a pen: enrichment funding in schools, gone.

Libraries, theatres, youth workers, gone.

That lifeline for young people, broken.

The promise of a generation inspired by sport, broken.

This is what cultural vandalism looks like. And Conference, it ends today.

No more of their violent indifference to the things that matter most.

Because the rich, diverse culture in our country is not just how we grow as people but how we make and shape a nation.

Conference, we are a better country than the Government we’ve had and we are going to give voice to that country again.

Because the history of Britain is the history of people like Imogen – ordinary, extraordinary people, doing extraordinary things.

Building the rich cultural inheritance that gives our lives meaning, handed down through the generations.

Every Labour Government in history has been animated by a passion for the arts, sport, music and culture which help us grow as people and grow as a nation.

It was the Attlee Government that created the national parks out of a conviction that clean air and recreation belong to us all.

It was Herbert Morrison who brought the Festival of Britain to every corner of the country.

It was the Wilson Government who created the first ever Arts Minister – Jennie Lee – whose motto ‘arts for everyone, everywhere’ enriched lives in every single part of our country.

And the Blair Government, through the amazing Tessa Jowell, who brought the London 2012 Olympics to Britain and inspired a generation of young people like Imogen to go on, dream big, achieve big and inspire the next.

And opened up, with the support of Chris Smith, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, our national museums and galleries to the nation, returning them to the people to whom they belong.

We’ve never accepted that the chance to live richer, larger lives belongs only to some of us. And Conference we never, ever will.

We face a choice as a country and as a government. To be the last guardians of this chapter, or the first pioneers of the next.

So with our fantastic team – Chris, Steph, Fiona, Vicky and Kim – change begins now.

We will be the light on the hill to open up those opportunities to a generation again and put people back at the centre of their own story.

Where their contribution is seen and valued and they can live richer, larger lives again.

And we won’t waste a minute. In our first few weeks, we’ve announced the Football Governance Bill to put fans back at the centre of their clubs and we’re taking action on rip-off ticket touts because culture belongs to everybody.

With Yvette, we are delivering youth hubs, so young people can decide what they want and need in their own communities, because we see their potential not just problems.

And resetting our relationship with our amazing civil society – the charities, the trade unions, the community groups who have been a lifeline in the darkest of times.

They were silenced by the Tories. No more. Our Government believes they are essential partners in the country we seek to build and they have not just a right, but a duty to speak out.

And we won’t stop there.

We are about to kickstart the charter review to ensure the BBC survives and thrives well into the latter half of this century.

And we’re working with the TV industry to ensure it becomes far more representative of the country, with decision makers who hail from every nation and region.

We’re about to kick off a review of the Arts Council to ensure arts for everyone, everywhere because we will never accept that culture is just for the privileged few, to be hoarded in a few corners of the country, and we will never accept there is a trade off between excellence and access.

We will hand back power to communities to reclaim their cultural assets and historic buildings so they have a vibrant future, not a forgotten past.

We will put young people back at the heart of their own futures, through a plan that they will write, because every young person matters, and with this Labour Government theirs is a generation that will be heard.

And we will put rocket boosters under tourism, film, gaming – growing creative industries in Sunderland, Blackpool, Birmingham and Dundee, alongside our amazing Mayors and Councils so, people in every part of our country have not just good jobs in their own community, but the chance to write the next chapter of our national story.

And most of all, most of all, when they erased culture and creativity erased from our classrooms and our communities.

Running down the arts subjects, narrowing the curriculum and slashing council funding so parts of the country became cultural deserts.

They choked off choices and chances for a generation to be able to imagine and create the lives and the country they believe in.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote: ‘Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and, at last, you create what you will’.

We’re going to reignite the imagination of the next generation.

Because a complete education is a creative education.

And that is why Bridget and I have kickstarted a review of the curriculum to put arts, sports and music back at the heart of our schools and communities where it belongs.

It is our ambition that when, in five years’ time, we turn to face the nation again, we will face a self-confident country that can celebrate the rich diversity and inheritance of our communities and all the people in them.

Where everybody’s contribution is seen and valued, and they see themselves reflected in our national story.

Never let them tell you that it can’t be done.

We are the party that gave the world the first ever Climate Change Act, the NHS, comprehensive education, and the Race Relations Act.

We flew the Pride Flag over our embassies in countries where loving who you love was a crime. The light on the hill for people at home and overseas.

It has been a long hard slog back to power through a dark and divisive decade.

But by opening up the arts to everyone, everywhere the lives of children you will never meet, whose names you will never know, will be changed forever because of what we have done and what we are going to do together.

This is the difference every Labour Government has made in power. It is written into our DNA. We change lives and we give our country its confidence back.

And Conference, it is thanks to each and every one of you in this room that the fourth ever Labour Government in history will do it again.

Thank you very much.

September 26, 2024
Yvette Cooper – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, on 24 September 2024.

Pooja, thank you. Thank you for your words. Thank you for your courage.

It is just two years since Ronan was killed, but Pooja has not stopped fighting for him since.

Fighting for Ronan. Fighting for other children, for other mums and dads.

Because no parent should have to go through this unimaginable pain.

So Pooja, we salute you, we support you, and now we are in government we will back you in your fight to save young lives.

Ronan’s teenage killers ordered the ninja sword online.

No checks. No questions asked.

Lethal weapons put straight in the hands of children.

So this Labour Government will bring in new laws to crackdown on dangerous online sales and the gangs who draw children in, alongside new youth hubs to steer young people away from violence – a teenage Sure Start to build hope in the future.

And we will make it a mission for our whole country to halve knife crime in a decade.

And yes, this Labour Government will pass Ronan’s law – a ban on ninja swords.

This Labour Government will.

It’s fifteen years since I’ve been able to say those words at a Labour Party conference.

All those years we said things but couldn’t do them.

So don’t let anyone tell you politics doesn’t matter.

Because six months ago, our party tried to ban ninja swords, but we didn’t have enough MPs to win that vote.

Because of the election – because of the change you campaigned for – now we do.

Ten years ago, I called for buffer zones around abortion clinics, but we weren’t in government. We couldn’t make it happen. Now we can and yes we have.

Because no woman should be harassed on the way to a healthcare appointment that is her legal right.

It can be hard to trust in change when things have felt so tough for so long.

And a year ago at this conference, I warned about the depth of the damage the Tories had done in 14 years.

How they’d taken a wrecking ball to the criminal justice system so criminals laugh at the law.

How they left communities to fracture so criminals and extremists step in.

Conference, eight weeks ago, when the unbearable news broke about a horrendous attack in Southport on little children at a summer dance club, from all across the country our hearts went out to the loved ones of little Alice, Bebe and Elsie. And that’s where all of our thoughts should have stayed.

The following day I met the police officers, paramedics and firefighters who were first on the scene that day, and whose bravery in the face of such trauma saved many young lives.

But within hours the same Southport police were under attack, facing missiles, bottles, and bricks.

The most shocking, violent insult to a grieving community and the police officers protecting them.

A total, total disgrace.

In copycat violence over the following days, stirred up from a safe distance by the grifters and the agitators online, we saw looting of shops, attacks on mosques, a Citizens Advice bureau torched, an asylum hotel set alight, and people targeted on the streets of Britain because of the colour of their skin.

And here in Liverpool, on County Road, the burning of Spellow Library.

A place where children go to read left in ashes.

And I spoke to some of those children who live around the library in Walton.

One told me how scared she was that night, how her mum switched off all the lights in the house, and told her to stay quiet and sit on the stairs as bins were set alight along her street.

Don’t anyone tell me that was protest.

Don’t tell me that was about immigration, or policing, or poverty.

Plenty of people have strong views on immigration, on crime, on the NHS and more, but they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police.

They don’t set light to buildings with people inside.

It was arson.

It was racism.

It was thuggery.

It was crime.

And, you know, it happened because criminals thought they would get away with it.

They saw the cracks in the system, the impunity that built up through the Tory years.

And when they decided to run riot those early August days, they thought no one would stop them.

They were wrong.

With Keir Starmer’s leadership, this Labour Government made clear that we would back our police, not blame them.

We would stand up for our courts, not undermine them.

We would pull our communities together, not divide them.

We stood up for the rule of law, decent people stood up for their communities, and, together, we put the disorder down.

But I’ll be honest I’ve been shocked by the response from some of those in political parties on the right who once claimed to care about law and order.

After rioters attacked the police, they should have given full-throated backing to our brave officers.

Instead, too often we’ve seen them undermine the integrity and authority of the police, even making excuses for the mob.

If you remember, back in the run up to Armistice Day last year, disgraceful slurs made against the police which made it harder for them to do their job were treated as a sacking offence for a Tory Home Secretary.

A year on, those same slurs have become an article of faith for every Tory leadership contender.

It is shameful what that party has become.

The Tories, with their mates in Reform, are just becoming right wing wreckers.

Undermining respect for the law, trying to fracture the very bonds that keep communities safe.

They have nothing to offer but fear, division and anger.

But that’s not who we are.

That’s not what Britain is about.

Our country has always championed respect and the rule of law.

That’s what this Labour Party will always stand up for – the party of law and order, now a Government of law and order once more.

And nor will we let disorder and violence silence a serious debate on immigration.

Something that has been missing for too long amidst the chaos, the gimmicks and the damaging, ramped up rhetoric.

A serious government sees that net migration has trebled because overseas recruitment has soared while training has been cut right back, and says net migration must come down as we properly train young people here in the UK.

A serious government sees an asylum system in chaos and say we have to clear the backlog and end asylum hotels.

And a serious government looks at the criminal gangs who are profitting from undermining our border security while women and children are crushed to death in crowded, flimsy small boats and says they’ve got away with it for too long – we will not stand for this vile trade in human lives.

A serious government knows that immigration is important, and that is why it needs to be properly managed and controlled so the system is fair – so rules are properly respected and enforced but we never again see a shameful repeat of the Windrush scandal that let British citizens down.

So in three months, we’ve set up the Border Security Command, launched new investment in covert operations, high tech investigations to go after the gangs, with proper enforcement and returns.

And instead of spending £700 million and employing 1000 people to send four volunteers to Rwanda, we are boosting our border security instead.

Because the best way to do that is to work with countries on the other side of our borders, not to just stand on the shoreline shouting at the sea.

So from our border security to our national security – combatting changing terror, state and cyber threats – to the security and safety of our local streets, we know that security is the bedrock on which communities can come together, and on which all the opportunities Labour has always fought for are built.

You don’t get social justice if you don’t have justice.

And respect is the very foundation of our democracy.

And those Labour values are at the heart of all we do.

And they are at the heart of our mission for safer streets.

Where across the country where for too long rising town centre and street crime have been driving people away from our high streets, corroding the fabric of our communities.

So this Labour Government will bring in new powers on antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and off-road bikes and we will put neighbourhood police back in our communities and back on the beat.

And yes, after years of Co-op and USDAW campaigning, this Labour Government will introduce a new law on assaults on shopworkers, because everyone has the right to work in freedom from fear.

And you know Conference, it is long overdue.

At long last this government will treat violence against women and girls as the national emergency it really is.

When Raneem Oudeh called the police four times the night she was killed, no one came.

So in Raneem’s name, this Labour Government will put domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms.

Overhaul protection orders and go after dangerous perpetrators who put lives at risk.

New laws on spiking and online image abuse.

A radical, ambitious Labour mission – for the whole of Government, for the whole country – to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Because we cannot, and we will not, let the next generation of women and girls face the same violence as the last. Our daughters deserve better than this.

And why do we do all this?

For the same reason that communities came together here in Liverpool and across the country to clear up the damage that rioters had done.

To rebuild the broken mosque wall in Southport.

To find a new Citizens Advice centre in Sunderland.

To clean up the streets.

Because the simple belief that we all share is this: our streets do not belong to the gangs, yobs, and thieves. Our streets do not belong to the racists, extremists and thugs. And our streets will never belong to the stalkers, abusers or rapists.

These streets belong to us all. And it is time to take them back.

So Conference, of course the work is hard.

As a poet once said, ‘our sleeves will grow ragged from rolling them up’.

But if you need hope that together we can deliver, just look down the road again at Spellow Library.

After the fire, a young Mum from Netherton, here with us this morning, Alex McCormick, started a fundraiser.

Donations have poured in from all over the world, thousands of books, hundreds of thousands of pounds.

And already the Labour Council, Mayor and community are restoring and rebuilding Spellow Library, better than ever before.

So when Alex said: “Let’s show the world what community in Liverpool really means”.

She did her city proud, and she did our country proud.

Up from the ashes, a symbol of hope.

A model of what our country can do.

So leave the politics of fear, division and decline to others.

The politics of hope is ours.

The future belongs to us all.

Let change begin.

Thank you Conference.

September 26, 2024
Hilary Benn – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 23 September 2024.

Good afternoon, Conference.

It is an honour to address you today as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in our new Labour Government, and a privilege to be working with such a great team. Fleur Anderson, Ruth Anderson and our PPS Matt Rodda.

The last Labour holder of this office to make the journey from opposition into government was the late, great, Mo Mowlam.

Just consider what she, what that Government, faced in May 1997.

Northern Ireland was still bitterly divided.

Numerous rounds of multi-party talks had shown promise, but not yet succeeded.

At times, the obstacles seemed insurmountable and the threat of violence ever-present.

And yet 11 months later, in April 1998, the impossible was made possible – in the words of Seamus Heaney ‘Hope and History’ rhymed – as the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Something few people who had lived through the Troubles thought they would ever see.

Peace.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of those giants whose courageous political leadership made it happen. And be in no doubt. This Government will always uphold the Good Friday Agreement in letter and in spirit.

Northern Ireland has been transformed, but as always new times bring new challenges.

I pay tribute to the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, and to the whole Executive at Stormont, for the positive start they have made since devolution was restored in February.

Stability is the foundation of everything, and with itand their Programme for Government, the Executive can make the most of the opportunities and address the challenges. The longest NHS waiting lists anywhere in the United Kingdom, the pressures in education, the lack of affordable childcare and the demands on the Police Service of Northern Ireland, whose officers do so much to keep people safe, not least during the terrible disorder we saw last month.

There are no easy answers. The Executive, like all governments, must live within its means.

We will support the Executive as it seeks to transform Northern Ireland’s public services.

We get that the Executive needs to be able to plan for the future, so we will take forward discussions on a long-term fiscal framework.

We understand the importance of investment in growth, including through City Deals like the one for Belfast which is roaring ahead and the Derry/Londonderry and Strabane Deal that wesigned last week which will bring huge investment to the North West.

And we will work with the Executive to see all parts of Northern Ireland flourish.

Now, let’s be clear. The UK’s departure from the European Union, and the reckless approach of successive Tory governments, has created a problem in Northern Ireland.

So this Government will take all necessary steps to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market, maintain the open border on the island of Ireland and uphold our international agreements.

We will implement the Windsor Framework – pragmatically and in good faith.

And we want to negotiate an SPS and veterinary agreement with the EU, not least because it would help smooth the flow of goods across the Irish Sea.

Conference, there is another Tory wrong that falls to us to put right.

I have met many families who lost loved ones in the Troubles. I have found it difficult to listen to their stories. Imagine what it is like for them as they recount yet again the sheer brutality of what happened and some tell of the passing of the years without finding answers.

The Tories’ Legacy Act has rightly been rejected by victims and survivors’ groups, all of the Northern Ireland political parties and the Irish Government, and that is why Labour will repeal and replace it.

And, we will of course make sure that the ICRIR – the Independent Commission whose job it is to find those answers for families – is compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

We will consult widely in doing so, recognising that this will involve really difficult conversations, and many will hold different views about the best way forward.

But history teaches us that it is only by coming to terms with the past that we can move forward to the future.

And what a future – what an opportunity now beckons for Northern Ireland – not least because of its integral place in the UK market and its access to the EU Single Market.

It is home to bedrock and cutting-edge industries.

From shipbuilding to agriculture.

Composite aircraft wings to electric and hydrogen buses.

A growing television and film industry, world leadingcompanies in cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Thriving services, great universities and a dynamic voluntary sector.

As I travel around, I am so impressed and inspired by the creativity, skill and enterprise I see in people right across Northern Ireland, and I want others to see that too so that they come and invest in the jobs and prosperity of the future.

Conference, the Agreement reached in April 1998 did not solve everything.

It was, by its very nature, a compromise. As Mo Mowlam said during the negotiations “Everybody is going to get something. No-one is going to get 100% of what they want.”

And in accepting that, everyone involved – and all of us across these islands – got something that was far, far more valuable.

An end to violence and the dawn of a new era.

So, in that spirit and with hope, let this generation show the same determination as those political giants in whose footsteps we follow as, together, we seek to forge a better future for Northern Ireland.

Thank you very much.

September 26, 2024
Ed Miliband – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on 23 September 2024.

It’s great to be here in Liverpool.

I want to start by thanking my brilliant ministerial team, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Phil Hunt, Sarah Jones, Michael Shanks and Kerry McCarthy.

And let’s hear it for Charlie for his brilliant speech.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the work you did at the election to sweep away the Tories that failed the British people over 14 long, wasted years.

The governments of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak.

Consigned to the dustbin of history thanks to your hard work.

And lets thank our leader Keir Starmer who led us out of the wilderness and to election victory.

But friends, we fought that election, not for ourselves, but with one simple idea: things can, and must be better for the British people.

We must build a country that puts working people first once again.

And just look at what your Labour government has been able to do on energy in a few short weeks.

The onshore wind ban in place for 9 years under the Tories, swept away in 72 hours under Labour.

Cheap, clean solar power, blocked for years under the Tories, unlocked in the first week of a Labour government.

Offshore wind trashed under the Tories, roaring back under Labour with the most successful renewable auction in history.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And I’ll tell you something else that has changed.

Now this may surprise you, but the last Tory government believed in public ownership of our energy infrastructure, but only if it was by foreign governments.

We believe the British people have the right to own and benefit from our natural resources.

And friends, we’re making it happen

Great British Energy, demanded by this conference, at the heart of our manifesto, overwhelmingly backed by the public now being delivered by your Labour government.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And friends, my message today is this:

We’ve only just started.

Of course, the country faces hard times.

There is no doubt the Tories have left Britain in a complete mess.

But hear me when I say this – because we are Labour, tough times mean we don’t lower our sights, we raise them.

Why? Because for every family in poverty, every young person denied opportunity, every community locked out of prosperity, the challenges they face after 14 years of the Tories demand more ambition from us not less.

So our inheritance is a call to greater action and a decade of national renewal.

And at the election, there was an argument about our country’s future.

The Tories and their friends on the right said we should turn away from the climate and clean energy.

We said no, and we won the argument.

And I’ll tell you why. Because the British people know that our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower is the way to put energy policy back in the service of working people.

For social justice, economic justice, climate justice.

So as Charlie said, the Tory energy failure has left us exposed as a country with the British people paying the price.

At the mercy of global fossil fuel markets.

That is why energy prices will rise once again on October 1st.

And there is only one way for us to fix the Tory mess: our mission for clean power by 2030.

Onshore wind, solar power, offshore wind, nuclear, tidal, hydrogen, carbon capture.

An armoury of clean power.

While the Tories left us weak and vulnerable, this Labour government will break the power of the petrostates and dictators over our energy policy.

In words that will sound familiar, we can, we must, we will Take Back Control of our energy.

And we will bring this opportunity to your area with our local power plan for local neighbourhoods.

Solar panels on your local school, housing estate, community centre.

Turbines.

Batteries.

Thousands of projects across Britain.

Tackling fuel poverty.

Led by Labour local authorities.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes

And we’ve only just started.

We all know that the poorest people in our country often live in cold, draughty homes.

Many rent from private landlords, below decent standards.

Friends I say it is a Tory legacy.

It is a Tory scandal.

It is a Tory outrage.

This Labour government will not tolerate it.

So I can tell you today: we will end this injustice.

Decent standards for private rented homes.

Warmer homes, lower bills.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And because being Labour means in tough times we raise our sights and don’t lower them, I can today announce that we will go further.

With Angela Rayner, we will ensure that every family living in a council house, every family living in social housing of any kind will have a right to these standards too.

Over 1 million people lifted out of fuel poverty.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And our mission, our energy policy, is about delivering economic justice too.

Clean energy is the biggest economic opportunity of our time.

But for years, our country has been failed by the Tory fly-by-night, short term, free market nonsense that failed British workers.

But friends, no more.

Under this Labour government, as Rachel Reeves so brilliantly said this morning, industrial policy is back.

We care about what we make, where things are made and who makes them.

And I promise you this: I will use every lever we have to win jobs and build new industries for Britain.

Great British Energy, the National Wealth Fund, the British Jobs Bonus.

And let’s spell out what this future means: jobs building carbon capture and storage.

Jobs Manufacturing electrolysers for hydrogen.

Jobs constructing the next generation of nuclear power stations.

Jobs manufacturing for floating wind.

Using the skills of our North Sea workers, and to decarbonise our country.

A plan to re-industralise our country.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And here’s another difference:

There can no longer be the belief, as there was under the Tories, that these new industries could be a union-free zone.

As I said to the energy companies on day 1 of my appointment: decent pay, good conditions, workers and unions must be at the heart of these new industries we build.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

And just as we will do right by today’s generations in our energy policy, so we will do right by past generations that powered our country.

Across Britain, hundreds of thousands went down the mines.

Too often they paid the price in ill health, and even with their lives. I know it from my own constituency.

We owe them the greatest debt.

But we know there is unfinished business.

The scandal of the mineworkers’ pension scheme.

And so this Labour government will honour the promise in our manifesto to finally deliver justice to mineworkers and their families.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

Social justice, economic justice and climate justice too.

The greatest moral obligation we have is to do right by our children, our grandchildren and the generations to come.

The Tories used to say that because Britain was just 1% of global emissions, that was somehow an excuse for inaction.

And under them, Britain shrank and deserted the global stage.

We say: never again.

We can only keep future generations safe if we show global climate leadership.

Using the power of our example at home to demand that others act too.

That’s why later this week, Keir and I will be representing you on behalf of the British government at the United Nations, with one clear message.

Britain is back in the business of climate leadership.

Getting serious about shifting away from fossil fuels.

Demanding every major company must have proper climate plans.

The first major country to set the goal of clean power by 2030.

Just as we were the first government in the world to deliver a Climate Change Act in 2008.

That is what we mean by climate leadership.

That’s the difference a Labour government can make and will make.

Social justice.

Economic justice.

Climate justice.

And my friends as we face the big challenges of today, tough times, let’s take inspiration from the Labour governments of the past, on whose shoulders we stand today.

Think for a minute of what they achieved in their time despite all the difficulties they faced.

In 1945, our party, Labour, created the NHS despite inheriting a country ravaged by war.

In 1964, our party, Labour, built the future, despite a legacy of 13 Tory wasted years.

In 1997, our party, Labour, created the minimum wage, rebuilt the NHS and established Parliaments for Scotland and Wales, after 18 years of decline and division.

There is a lesson here, those who went before us did not lower their sights, they raised them.

Now this is our chance, in our time, to write a new chapter in the history of our great country.

That is our obligation to the British people.

Every day in government a chance to change Britain.

And I want to end on a more personal note.

I lost the General Election in 2015.

In tough times you sustained me. You kept me going. And now you have given me the chance to serve.

I will not let you down.

Friends, Labour is back.

Britain is back.

And we have indeed only just started.

Thank you.

September 26, 2024
Steve Reed – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 September 2024.

Thank you very much Shabana, and good afternoon Conference.

Can I start by thanking my fantastic Ministerial team who were arrayed before us at the front of the hall. Emma, Sue, Daniel and Mary who’s not with us. She’s on her way to address the UN General Assembly about our ambitions for nature.

Conference, so many of our earliest and happiest memories are about exploring the great outdoors.

As a kid, I loved splashing about in the waves on a beach. Watching the fish and crabs darting around a rockpool. Climbing trees in the woods at the end of our road.

But parents today worry their kids may not have the same chances. Our rivers and seas are polluted. We see fewer birds and butterflies in the garden.

Nature is in trouble.

Ask people what makes them most proud to be British and our beautiful countryside is right up there.

This ‘green and pleasant land’ celebrated in poetry and song is our shared inheritance and our shared identity.

But after fourteen years under the Tories, half our bird species and a quarter of our mammal species are at risk of extinction.

Our once-pristine waterways are overflowing with raw, toxic sewage.

There are many times in history when Labour’s had to clean up the Tories’ mess. But never quite as literally as this.

The Tories boasted about their bonfire of the regulations as they shredded the rules that protect us. This led to abuses in so many sectors, including water regulation.

The Conservatives just stood back and watched as raw sewage polluted our rivers and customers’ money was funnelled into multimillion pound bonuses and dividend payments while our sewage system crumbled.

I’m calling time on all that today.

This government of service will fix the foundations and clean up our waterways.

Money ringfenced for investment will be spent on fixing broken water infrastructure and refunded to customers if it’s not.

We will ban the multimillion pound bonuses water bosses paid themselves for overseeing repeated illegal sewage dumping.

Bosses who cover up what’s going on will face personal criminal charges – including jail time.

And we’ll power up the regulator with more staff and give them the teeth they need to prosecute the polluters – and it will be paid for by the polluters themselves.

The work to fix our broken sewage system starts immediately with tens of billions of pounds of private-sector investment that will create good, well-paid jobs in every single part of our country.

That’s the biggest-ever investment in our water sector and the second biggest in any part of the economy during the lifetime of this government.

We’ll back our farmers in the fantastic work they do to feed our nation. And we’ll work with them to restore nature and stop animal waste, fertiliser and pesticide pollution running into our waterways.

We will protect bees, butterflies and the pollinators that sustain healthy ecosystems.

We’ll plant more trees along our riverbanks to help the land hold more water and stop flooding.

And we’ll plant three new national forests as we restore the woodlands that are the lungs of our planet, inhaling carbon and breathing out clean air.

As life returns to our waterways, we’ll celebrate with nine new national riverwalks and open up more of our countryside for every family to enjoy.

We’ll end the throwaway society by creating new jobs reusing and recycling materials as we work towards a circular economy that protects nature and our precious climate.

Conference, this is where change begins.

We’ll clean up our rivers, back our farmers, restore habitats for wildlife, and end the throwaway society.

There’s no foundation we have to fix that’s more important than nature because everything else depends on it. The next generation must have the same chance we had to look up at the night sky and wonder.

Our legacy will be to give our children back the natural world that is their birthright.

Thank you.

September 25, 2024
Ian Murray – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Ian Murray, the Secretary of State for Scotland, on 23 September 2024.

Conference – it is a privilege to be here in Liverpool as just one of Scottish Labour’s 37 Members of Parliament.

Let me just say that again – 37 Scottish Labour MPs.

Conference, they are all fantastic and they will do wonderful things in their communities

Each of them will do wonderful things in their communities and for Scotland. Thank you to each and every one of them.

Dare I say I’m as happy as Larry. Although, as some of you may have heard, he isn’t always happy to see me.

In his final campaign visit to Scotland, the Prime Minister, first time saying that as well reiterated what he first said back in 2020, that “the route to a Labour government runs through Scotland”.

By voting Labour, Scottish voters kicked out the Tories and put Scotland at the heart of government. It is the privilege of my political life to serve in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, working alongside the brilliant Kirsty McNeil as Scotland Office minister and Melanie Ward as PPS.

We’ve got Martin McCluskey in the Whips office, Douglas Alexander serving as Trade Minister, and of course Energy Minister Michael Shanks, whose seismic by-election victory in Rutherglen a year ago kick-started our most successful general election campaign in a generation.

But conference – none of this was inevitable. There is nothing in the political rule book which says a failing government must give way to the opposition.

We won in Scotland because we planned and executed a winning strategy – which promised what the Scottish people demanded- change. It began with Keir Starmer changing our party to put it back in the service of working people.

And it was powered by the energy, enthusiasm and maybe a wee bit of dancing of Anas Sarwar. Our campaign was implemented meticulously by a world class team of Scottish Labour staff and activists, led by our fantastic Scottish General Secretary, John Paul. John Paul thank you to you and your team.

As co-chair of the Scottish campaign, along with that indefatigable legendary Dam of Dumbarton, Jackie Ballie, I was so proud to see that hard work pay off. Jackie Thank you for everything you did.

Conference – we should be proud of our success. It took us 14 years to get rid of one of Scotland’s two failing governments but the real hard work started the day after the election to get rid of the other one.

There are only five hundred and ninety-two days until Scots return to the polls. Or 591 sleeps as my daughter would say.

And as wonderful as July’s result was, we can take nothing for granted.

Those who voted for Labour in Scotland on the 4th of July voted for change because they had been let down badly by their two governments.

They did not ‘come home’ to Labour.

They chose us in the hope and expectation that we will deliver for them.

And that is what we must, and are determined, to do.

We know it will not be easy but there is a real sense of this Labour purpose to the tough choices that will need to be made to fix the foundations. By fixing those foundations we can build that brighter future for every part of our country.

And as the Prime Minister, the Chancellor just before lunch and Anas Sarwar have said repeatedly there will be no return to austerity. And I want to say that again – there will be no return to austerity.

My team and I in the Scotland Office will play our part. Supported by the most dedicated and professional team of civil servants, we have reset the relationship with the Scottish Government.

There are many, many, many things on which Labour and the SNP will never agree, but grown-up politics means two governments working together. It’s what most Scots expect and what we will deliver.

But Conference, I will also not shy away from calling out the tragic failure of the SNP. 860,000 of our fellow Scots stuck on NHS waiting lists. 10,000 of our children with no home to call their own.

The worst attainment gap between the richest and the poorest pupils on record. Tax decisions this year that cost more than they raised, with working people paying more but getting less, while the SNP make £500m cuts to services, all to pay for their financial incompetence.

The Scottish people deserve better – and my department The Scotland Office has a crucial role in changing things now.

The Scotland Office has four priorities to help deliver our governments’ missions.

Economic growth. Green energy. Brand Scotland. And of course Tackling Poverty.

I want to see the Scotland Office working directly with the Scottish government and local governments in Scotland to drive growth in every community.

Powering that growth will be GB Energy to create jobs, drive down bills and ensure our existing world class energy workforce can lead and benefit from these new industries of the future.

GB Energy will be owned by the public, and, Conference I can exclusively announce today, headquartered in Scotland.

We will also drive growth by promoting Brand Scotland. From shipbuilding, science and salmon to scotch, culture and services, we’re the best in the world, and by selling Scotland to the world we can unlock jobs and all of that investment.

Gordon Brown once spoke of prudence with a purpose.

And all that work to grow our economy, to go green, and promote our brand, has a purpose too – to tackle the scourge of poverty.

To raise wages, protect and invest in public services and ensure everyone in life has the security of good work and the opportunity to succeed.

Conference, lifting people out of poverty is what Labour Governments do. It’s in our DNA. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.

The financial inheritance we knew about will be challenging, compounded by the £22 billion black hole we didn’t know about – another act of astonishing economic vandalism from the Tories that they’ve just walked away from with no responsibility.

But the economic inheritance we face isn’t just fiscal. It is also structural. It is also industrial. The foundations of Scotland’s industrial economy are incredibly fragile. We have seen that in the last month.

None of this is a coincidence. It is a consequence of more than a decade without an industrial strategy for Scotland.

Scotland has a strongly industrial past – and it will have a bright industrial future which guarantees jobs and wealth for families for generations and generations to come if we get the transition to net zero right.

Our plan is a good one. Rooted in Labour values and with a clear purpose.

It is a plan which will begin to deliver the change Scotland, remember that phrase – and set the conditions for success in 592 days’ time – when the people of Scotland will have the chance to vote for change.

To elect a Labour government in Scotland which works hand in glove with Keir Starmer’s government; and make my friend Anas Sarwar our next First Minister.

Conference, change in Scotland began on the 4th of July. The opportunity to deliver lasting change is in all our hands. Let’s take that opportunity and let’s deliver it.

September 25, 2024
Jo Stevens – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference
The speech made by Jo Stevens, the Secretary of State for Wales, on 23 September 2024.

Thank you.

Conference – it’s a huge privilege to address you for the first time as the Secretary of State for Wales.

And, as the first woman to be Labour Secretary of State for Wales.

I’m so proud to be working alongside my friends and colleagues, Eluned Morgan and Dame Nia Griffith, in a new era for Welsh Labour and for women’s representation at the top of Welsh politics.

We earned a resounding mandate at the General Election.

27 of 32 Members of Parliament in Wales are now Labour MPs.

And there’s not a single Tory MP left in Wales.

That result is in large part because of the dedication of members, volunteers, trade union friends and Party staff, in this room and across the country.

So I want to say, thank you for pounding those pavements, for every door you knocked and every conversation you had.

You have helped deliver on the once in a generation opportunity to have two Labour governments at both ends of the M4, working together to deliver on the priorities of people across Wales with a mission-driven government.

But with that special opportunity comes a huge responsibility to deliver, and to do so quickly.

And that’s what I want to talk about today.

Because, Conference, the inheritance the Conservatives left us is worse than we could have imagined.

A £22bn black hole in the public finances just for this financial year.

Pie in the sky commitments that the Tories made to the people across Wales with no money to pay for them.

A toxic legacy of distrust between both governments.

And a Wales Office that had been deliberately led to by-pass Welsh government.

But even in those difficult circumstances we’ve already found ways to demonstrate the difference two Labour governments can make.

We’ve fundamentally reset the relationship between the UK government and Welsh government.

Eluned and I are forging a new partnership based on respect, cooperation and delivery.

We’re securing a sustainable future for steel in Wales – the lifeblood of so many in our communities.

In just ten weeks this new Labour government negotiated a better deal with Tata that:
- secures the immediate future of Port Talbot
- lays the foundations for future investment
- and enhances protections for the workforce in Port Talbot, Llanwern, Trostre and Shotton
But I’m all too aware it remains a difficult time for affected workers, their families and our steel communities.

Under the Conservative government, not a single penny of the money promised to support our steel communities went out the door.

Just a month after taking office, I was proud to announce the release of £13.5m in support.

We’re putting a safety net in place because this Labour government will always back workers and businesses, whatever happens.

Working with Transport Secretary Ken Skates, we’ve announced we will boost the number of trains running on the North Wales mainline by 50%.

That will be a key improvement passengers will see on the platforms – not some half-baked promise that never leaves the station.

We’ve established the publicly owned GB Energy – which will supercharge the strides the Welsh Government has already made.

Our investment will unleash the potential we have for clean power in Wales. From new nuclear in Ynys Mon, to Floating Offshore Wind in the Celtic Sea and development of ports at Milford Haven, Port Talbot and across south Wales.

We will seize the golden opportunity of this new industrial revolution for Wales, drive down energy bills for good and place Wales at the forefront of the industries and jobs of the future.

But we know there’s more to do to deliver the positive change in people’s lives we promised.

And that’s why, today, I am proud to announce a new partnership between our two Labour governments, to drive down NHS waiting lists on both sides of the border.

UK government will take inspiration from Wales on dentistry, where reforms have unlocked almost 400,000 appointments in the last two years.

And the Welsh Government will benefit from best practice shared by NHS England, as my colleague Wes Streeting oversees the roll out of new, more productive ways of working across England to deliver 40,000 extra appointments every week.

This is the beginning of a new way of working together that will help improve outcomes in both nations, and deliver on our missions.

And it has only been possible because a changed Wales Office under Labour has a strong voice across government.

I will always be our fiercest advocate in Westminster, leading a recharged Wales Office and a brilliant team of Welsh Labour MPs.

From Penarth to Pembrokeshire to Prestatyn. Reaching into every part of Wales and back across Welsh and UK governments to make sure Wales gets what it needs.

We will deliver on our missions to create wealth from every community for every community.

Because, conference, this job is personal for me.

I was born in Wales.

I grew up in Wales.

And now, as a privileged member of this new Labour government, I’m ready to deliver for Wales.

Thank you very much.
September 25, 2024
Anas Sarwar – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Anas Sarwar, the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, on 23 September 2024.

Conference, thank you for that wonderful introduction, and what a year it has been!

In the twelve months since we last met, we no longer have a Tory government.

We now have the fewest Tory MPs in modern political history.

We have seen the SNP beaten in Scotland.

And we now have a UK Labour government that has started the journey for change.

And we have crucially – for the first time in 14 years – a Labour Prime Minister.

A Prime Minister that understands Scotland, cares about Scotland and is determined to deliver for Scotland.

And for the first time ever we have a female Chancellor in Rachel Reeves, who made a fantastic speech earlier today and made it clear: there will be no return to austerity with a Labour government.

And in Scotland, we delivered a political earthquake.

With a record swing to Scottish Labour.

Our share of the vote went up 16 per cent.

Meaning we now have not one Scottish Labour MP – we now have 37 Scottish Labour MPs – putting Scotland at the heart of a Labour government.

Thirty seven. Let’s see them. Stand up and take a bow.

Thirty seven fantastic champions for Scotland.

And, friends, we have Ian Murray – who for so long was the sole Scottish Labour voice at Westminster – who is now the voice for Scotland around the cabinet table.

Scotland led the way in delivering a Labour government and delivering a Labour Prime Minister.

And Scotland led the way in delivering the change the UK needs.

Because friends, the importance of the election victory cannot be overstated.

Just think about how the last couple of months would have panned out differently had the Tories stayed in power.

When far-right thugs took to the streets of the UK, Keir Starmer and his government faced them down and made it clear that the politics of hate has no place in our country.

When a £22 billion Tory black hole was discovered, Rachel Reeves acted quickly to protect the public finances and to protect working people’s pockets.

And just think what would have happened if the Tories were still in power.

Thank goodness we now have a serious Labour government with competence, compassion, and decency at its heart.

After 14 years of Tory chaos, we have a Labour government standing up for our values. Labour’s values.

So no more will the politics of division and prejudice rule in our country.

The time has come for the politics of decency, of compassion and above all, hope.

This is the change that we have begun together.

And this is the brighter, better United Kingdom that we are building together too.

In Scotland we led the way in making this change happen.

Scotland is part of Labour’s history but we are also part of Labour’s present and, most importantly, Labour’s future.

As Keir has said during the election – there is no change without Scotland.

And there is no Labour without Scotland.

But the truth is that the story of Labour’s revival is only half-written.

You see Conference – for lots of you, there was only one incompetent government to get rid of.

But in Scotland we were stuck with two.

So at the General Election, we got rid of one incompetent government.

And in 2026 we finish the job and get rid of the other one.

That’s the next stage of change for Scotland.

Because as we speak, nearly one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list.

Thousands have been driven into private healthcare.

Drugs and alcohol deaths remain stubbornly high.

Rough sleeping persists and homelessness is at record levels.

The education attainment gap remains.

And the economic flatlining has damaged businesses.

How does the SNP government react?

It hikes taxes on working people and doubles down on the politics of blame and division.

Working Scots left to pay the price of nearly two decades of SNP failure.

Working Scots left to struggle to get medical care because of two decades of SNP failure.

And working Scots having to watch public services crumble before their eyes because of two decades of SNP failure.

Because when Scotland most needs change, when it needs fresh leadership and new ideas, all the SNP offer is internal division and outward incompetence.

The same tired people in power peddling the same old excuses.

But frankly, the time is up for the SNP.

Because they are a party that has lost their vision and lost their way.

And above all, they have lost their ambition for Scotland.

Because, Conference, Scotland is a country of enormous potential and is brimming with talent.

But we are still held back by an SNP government that is failing Scots on a daily basis and has nothing but decline and division to offer to the people.

But for me, and for Scottish Labour, Scotland is the best country in the world.

Our potential is limitless – just like the ambition and vision of our people.

We have the expertise, we have the skills, we have the natural resources, we have the work force and we have the entrepreneurs that we need to deliver a decade of renewal.

But this requires a government at Holyrood that is ready and willing to work with others to make this happen.

That’s why the new UK Labour government is already acting now to deliver the change Scotland needs.

A UK Labour government with Scotland at its heart has got straight to work.

Delivering the energy transition with GB Energy.

A publicly owned energy generation company headquartered in Scotland.

And from looking at Michael Shanks’ face, he can’t wait to get on with the job of delivering GB Energy and transforming people’s lives.

Creating thousands of jobs and making sure Scotland leads the world in clean energy.

We have started action to transform the world of work with Angela Rayner’s game-changing New Deal for Working People.

And we have made the Scotland Office Scotland’s window to the world, not selling Scotland to the Scots, but selling Brand Scotland to the world.

Delivering investment for our country, boosting exports and creating more jobs.

Because Scotland is tired of being held back.

It’s time to turn the page on division and decline.

And this – Conference – is the change Scotland needs.

At the general election, as I say, we did half the job.

But in 2026, it is our chance to finish the job by electing a Scottish Labour government that works for everyone in Scotland.

And as we look towards the 2026 Scottish Parliament election I want to be clear.

Others might want to talk Scotland down, but I and all of Scottish Labour are relentlessly positive for the future of our country.

Because Scotland’s best days lie ahead of us.

Things can and they will get better.

We will make Scotland the best country in the world to live, to learn, to work and to do business in.

We will unlock the potential of our workers and natural resources by making Scotland a world-leader in green technology.

We will save our NHS by transferring power away from the managers and the bureaucrats and towards doctors and nurses.

And we will get our economy back on track by supporting businesses and workers to thrive.

This is what is on offer – a fairer and healthier future with Scottish Labour.

I believe a different future is possible.

A future that I am determined to see delivered for the people of Scotland.

A brighter and more prosperous Scotland.

And a Scotland where everyone is helped to thrive.

This is what we offer.

That is the change we need and that is the change we will deliver.

Scottish Labour – the party of change and hope.

Conference – that is the future we will deliver together.

Thank you.

September 25, 2024
Wes Streeting – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 25 September 2024.

Dave has worked in the ambulance service for nearly thirty years.

But nothing could have prepared him for what he faced on Monday the 29th of July.

He arrived on the scene in Southport to find children who had gone to dance to Taylor Swift, and the adults whose sole purpose was to bring joy to their young lives, lying bleeding, some tragically dying.

The result of an unimaginable, senseless, mindless attack.

I listened to Dave describe the split-second decisions he had to make, of who to treat, in what order, to give them the best chance of survival.

And I heard how the whole NHS team came together: security rushing children through busy hospital corridors; technicians mobilising blood supplies; reception fielding calls from panic-stricken parents; and surgical teams fighting to save those young lives.

Those heroes represent the very best of the NHS, and we owe them a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

Conference, I can’t tell you the weight of responsibility I feel to make sure that the National Health Service that has been there for us since 1948, is there for the next century and beyond.

And I tell you, I will not let you down.

But the truth is, Conference, right now the NHS is letting people down.

Let me tell you about Claire, who messaged me on Instagram.

She is a stage four cancer patient.

When she felt pain two years ago, she struggled to get diagnosed.

Her employer provides private health insurance, and for the first time in her life, Claire used it.

Had she stayed with the NHS, Claire is certain she’d be dead.

Instead, she’s been able to live her life to the full, including getting married in Ibiza.

Every cancer patient deserves world-class care.

But for every person like Claire, who was able to go private, there are thousands more who can’t.

That cruel lottery is the legacy of 14 years of Conservative neglect.

That is the two-tier system of healthcare that Labour will end.

And that is why we must reform our NHS.

It starts with honesty.

So I asked Lord Darzi – a cancer surgeon with 30 years’ experience – to lead an independent investigation into our National Health Service.

The results are grim.

100,000 toddlers and babies left waiting for six hours in A&E last year.

Cancer – more likely to be a death sentence here than in other countries.

Nearly three million people off work sick.

Waiting lists at record highs.

Patient satisfaction at a record low.

And the fundamental promise of the NHS, that it will be there for us when we need it, has been broken.

Broken by a decade of underinvestment; by a disastrous Tory top-down reorganisation; and by ditching the reforms made by the last Labour Government.

All of this meant that when the pandemic hit – our NHS was on its knees, and hit harder than any other comparable healthcare system.

It’s not that the Tories didn’t fix the roof while the sun was shining, they doused the house in petrol, left the gas on, and Covid just lit the match.

That’s why millions are stuck on waiting lists.

That’s why ambulances don’t arrive on time.

That’s why you can’t see your GP.

Never forgive, never forget, never let the Tories do it again.

I know the doctor’s diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear. But if you don’t have an accurate diagnosis, you won’t provide the correct prescription.

And when you put protecting the reputation of the NHS above protecting patients, you’re not helping the NHS – you’re killing it with kindness.

So I say respectfully, but unequivocally, I won’t back down.

The NHS is broken but not beaten, and together we will turn it around.

Make no mistake, the Tories had a plan for the NHS: mismanaged decline; a status quo so poor, people are forced to raid their savings to go private; a crisis so bad that seven in ten people now expect charges for NHS care to be introduced.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again.

Over my dead body.

We will always defend our NHS as a public service, free at the point of use, so whenever you fall ill, you never have to worry about the bill.

We can only deliver recovery through reform.

Without action on prevention, the NHS will be overwhelmed.

Without reform to services, we’ll end up putting in more cash for poorer results.

That’s the choice.

Reform or die. We choose reform.

Since the general election we’ve hit the ground running.

We inherited the farce of newly qualified GPs facing unemployment.

Patients can’t get a GP appointment, while GPs couldn’t get a job.

We cut red tape, found the funding, and we’ll have 1,000 more GPs treating patients.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

We are banning junk food ads targeted at children.

The first step towards making our country’s children the healthiest generation that has ever lived.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

Strikes have crippled the NHS, cost taxpayers billions and saw 1.5 million appointments cancelled.

My predecessor, the previous Conservative Health Secretary hadn’t even bothered to meet the junior doctors since March.

I called them on day one, met them in week on, and in just three weeks we negotiated a deal to end the strikes.

That’s the difference a Labour Government makes.

Ending the junior doctor strikes was central to our commitment to deliver 40,000 more appointments a week.

But as well as getting staff back to work, we need to get them working at the top of their game.

We’re sending crack teams of top clinicians to hospitals across the country to roll out reforms – developed by surgeons – to treat more patients and cut waiting lists.

And I can announce today that the first twenty hospitals targeted by these teams will be in areas with the highest numbers of people off work sick.

Because our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission too.

We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work.

That’s the difference a Labour government makes.

But Conference we can’t fix the NHS without fixing the crisis in social care.

And we can’t fix social care without the people who work in it.

I loved what Keir said yesterday about his sister, a care worker.

About his determination to make sure that when she walks into a room and tells people what she does for a living, that she receives the same respect as the Prime Minister.

As the Secretary of State for Social Care, I won’t let Keir down or fail more than a million care professionals like his sister.

Angela and I will deliver a New Deal for Care Professionals: a Fair Pay Agreement, to improve pay and conditions and give staff the status and respect they deserve – our first step towards building a National Care Service.

Every day in this job I see the scale of the challenge. But I also see something else: the potential of our NHS.

The Tories’ biggest betrayal wasn’t that they left the NHS unable to care for us today.

It’s that they left it totally unprepared for tomorrow.

Advances in genomics and data mean the healthcare of the future will be more predictive, more preventative and more personalised than ever before.

Detecting from birth a child’s risk of disease so we can act to keep them well; spotting cancer earlier, saving countless lives; treating patients with targeted medicines.

To make these advances a reality for the many not the few, we need a universal health service, free at the point of need – able to share data, partner with innovators, and adopt new technologies at scale.

Such a service would be unique in the world.

Conference, the good news is, that service already exists – it’s called the National Health Service.

And our job is not just to get the NHS back on its feet, we must make it fit for the future. And that is what our ten-year plan will achieve.

Conference, if we get this this right, we will end two-tier healthcare in our country for good.

So that preventative care, precision medicine, personalised treatment are no longer just for the few, but for the many.

That fairer future is possible. But only if we act today.

An NHS running on fax machines can’t seize these opportunities.

But a reformed NHS can.

From analogue to digital, from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention

Reform is not just possible, it is happening.

From AI detecting skin cancer and cutting waiting times to weight loss jabs slashing the risk of heart attacks for diabetes patients.

But Conference, to seize that potential we have to reform the NHS to make it fairer.

When the wealthy receive a diagnosis, they already know the best surgeons and can push to get the best care. But working people can’t.

If the wealthy are told to wait months for treatment, they can shop around. But working people can’t.

And if they pay top dollar, the wealthy can be treated with cutting-edge equipment and technology. But working people can’t.

Our ten-year plan will give all patients – rich and poor alike – the same information, the same choice, the same control.

Now I know there are some on the left who cringe at this. Who view choice as somehow akin to marketisation.

But our party has always believed that power should be in the hands of the many, not the few.

That public services exist to serve the interests of the pupil, the passenger, the patient above all else.

That world class services shouldn’t just be the preserve of the wealthy.

So starting in the most disadvantaged areas, we will ensure patients’ right to choose where they are treated, and we will build up local health services so it’s a genuine choice.

And where there’s capacity in the private sector, patients should be able to choose to go there too, free at the point of use, paid for by the NHS.

Because working people deserve to be treated on time, just as much as the wealthy.

Conference, when we look around our country today, it’s easy to be pessimistic. But the public have turned to us to give them hope. So here it is: we are in the foothills of a decade of national renewal.

10 years in which our country and our health and care services will change enormously.

The NHS transformed into a Neighbourhood Health Service.

A digital health service powered by cutting-edge technology.

A preventative health service that helps us stay healthy and out of hospital.

And a new National Care Service, ensuring people can live dignified and fulfilling lives

That’s the change that lies before us.

It will take time and it won’t be easy.

We will have to fight loud opposition, cynicism, and vested interests.

But Conference, bring it on.

It is up to us to prove that politics can be a force for good again.

So let me to say to every one of you in this hall and to the millions of dedicated staff in health and social care across our country.

We are the generation that will take the NHS from the worst crisis in its history to build an NHS fit for the future.

We are the generation that will build a National Care Service worthy of the name.

The NHS there for us when we need it.

With world class care for the many, not just the few.

That’s the change Britain voted for.

That’s the change we’ll deliver together.

And Conference, that change has already begun.

Thank you.

September 25, 2024