Tag: Speeches

Steve Reed – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Steve Reed on 27 September 2022.

Let me start by sharing some happy personal news with you.

I might not be love’s young dream any more, but this summer, I got married.

Thank you.

Growing up gay, during a time of Tory-fuelled hate, I never thought I’d marry the man I love.

Why did I get my chance?

Because of this party and this movement.

Because together we fought for justice.

Because love trumps hate.

In the 80s, I protested outside Parliament against Thatcher’s vicious anti-gay laws.

In 2012, I voted in Parliament for equal marriage.

And now, and here’s the ring on my finger!

But, Conference, the fight for justice continues.

We are meeting today in the great city of Liverpool.

Thirty-three years ago, the gravest injustice befell this City when football fans followed their team to Hillsborough, and never came home.

There were 97 victims on that terrible day.

We all know what happened – a police cover-up. The gutter press smeared the dead. The establishment closed its ranks.

The families were left alone to fight for justice – no funds allowed for lawyers to represent them.

Margaret Aspinall lost her son James and she told me there can be no justice for those who died until we stop the same thing ever happening again.

She’s right.

That’s why Keir Starmer’s Labour Government will bring in a Hillsborough Law so victims of major tragedies get the same legal representation as the authorities that failed them.

Conference families of the Hillsborough and other tragedies since are here with us today. This moment is for all of you who have campaigned so long for justice.

Every victim of crime deserves justice.

Yet under this Tory Government, justice is denied.

They’ve taken thousands of police off our streets, closed hundreds of courts and trashed the probation system.

Prosecutions are so low that crimes as serious as burglary and fraud have effectively been decriminalised.

Under this Conservative Government only 1 in every 100 people accused of rape is ever prosecuted in court. Where’s the justice in that?

A girl who was raped aged 13 was forced to wait two years for her case to come to trial. Four days before the start date, it was postponed for another 9 months. Delays of this length are the norm not the exception in Tory Britain. Liz Truss – that is a disgrace.

Conference, Labour will put rape survivors first.

We will open specialist rape courts across the country to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls
and get the courts backlog down.

But we’ll go further.

The majority of men who kill their female partners have a history of domestic violence. Neither women, nor the police, have any way of knowing if a new partner has attacked women before.

And by the time they find out, it can be too late.

Campaigners, survivors, women’s groups have all told us the same thing – we need eyes on these violent men.

We’ve listened.

The next Labour Government will force convicted abusers to sign a Domestic Violence Register so they are no longer free to seek out fresh victims and abuse again.

The next Labour government will come down hard on criminals.

That’s a promise.

But we will also tackle the root causes of crime,

No child is not born bad.

Things happen in some young lives that lead them into crime.

All the evidence shows that tackling trauma from childhood can break the cycle and prevent a child from becoming a criminal or stop a criminal from reoffending.

Labour will use this understanding to reshape our criminal justice system – to stop crime at source.

Our old slogan ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ is about to meet the future.

Conference, Britain needs a fresh start to tackling crime.

Prosecute, yes. Punish, yes.

But never forget the need to prevent crime in the first place.

And never forget the victims.

This wedding band on my finger proves that together we can deliver justice.

But the fight for justice never ends – legal justice, climate justice, economic justice, social justice.

Justice for the family of little Olivia Pratt-Korbel

Justice for everyone who grieves.

The Labour Party is the party of justice.

We are led by a man who has dedicated his whole working life to justice.

And in Government, justice is what we will deliver.

Thank you.

27/09/2022
Emily Thornberry – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Emily Thornberry on 27 September 2022.

Conference, it’s a pleasure to be back in Liverpool.

But I must start with an apology. The last time I stood here in 2018, I was shadowing Boris Johnson. When our conference was cancelled in 2020, I was shadowing Liz Truss.

So, I don’t know what this curse is, but I apologise in advance for the catastrophic period in our national history that will be the premiership of Suella Braverman.

It could get worse though. We may need an emergency motion stating that Keir cannot under any circumstances make me shadow Jacob Rees-Mogg.

But whoever leads the Tories, we know they are hell-bent on tearing apart the society that we have sought all our lives to make stronger and fairer. That is why we are all in politics. That is why we fight to get into government.

But we can never build that society without the foundation of laws that apply equally to everyone, and a criminal justice system that enforces them; a foundation becoming weaker every day the Tories stay in office.

Think about the almost 99 out of 100 women who suffer the ordeal of being raped but never see their attacker charged, or the tiny minority who do, but have to wait three years for their day in court. Those figures should shame ministers, but instead they just shrug and let them get ever worse.

Think about the epidemic of fraud sweeping Britain, destroying lives and wrecking dreams, cheating workers out of their wages and pensioners out of their savings.

Asked about that seven months ago, Kwasi Kwarteng said that fraud was not the kind of crime “people experience in their day-to-day lives”, just the kind of insight and empathy which gets you promoted to Chancellor under Liz Truss.

But if the consumer fraud gangs are able to ply their parasitic trade with impunity, it is nothing compared to those committing corporate fraud.

In 2013, I published a report urging the government to tackle those companies committing fraud at the expense of their employees, their competitors, and all too often the public purse.

In the decade since I published that report, just seven companies have been convicted of corporate fraud. In that same period, 5,000 times as many people have been convicted of benefits fraud.

That shows this government’s double standards, but also their downright indolence. Faced with a complex challenge, they have simply waved the white flag to white collar crime, and stop trying to convict those responsible.

Another addition to their special club of criminal impunity, along with burglary, vehicle theft, street robbery, and to their eternal shame, rape and sexual assault.

But that will all change under a Labour government.

As Steve and Yvette will spell out, we will end the era of criminal impunity. We will give protection and security to women and girls, the elderly and the vulnerable. And we will send the message loud and clear to all those who prey on our communities, that we are coming for you.

That goes as well for corporate fraudsters. As I have set out in a new report today, we will change the law to make it easier to prosecute companies for fraud, and send the message loud and clear to unscrupulous bosses, that if you refuse to play by the rules, then we are coming for you too.

But when it comes to out-of-control individuals who consider themselves above the law, the biggest problem facing our country is not the criminals on the street or in the boardroom, but this current Tory government.

From Rwanda and Northern Ireland to Covid contracts and workers’ rights, this is a government which treats the law not as a guardrail to keep it on the straight and narrow, but a barrier to be torn down whenever it gets in their way.

That does not on its own explain the fact that so many crimes now go unpunished, or the record backlogs that have brought our courts to breaking point, or the collapse of legal aid as our guarantee of equality before the law.

But what it does explain is how those cracks can emerge in the foundation on which our society is built, and the government could not care less.

That is why, like every other crisis facing our country, we will only start to repair our justice system when we succeed in changing our government.

So let the message go out loud and clear from this conference to a Tory government that treats the law with contempt and threatens the foundations of our society, your own era of impunity is over.

Labour is stronger than ever, more united than ever, more determined than ever, and you’d better believe that we are coming for you.

27/09/2022
Anas Sarwar – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Anas Sarwar on 26 September 2022.

Can I start by thanking my friend and our next Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray.

And conference – I want to take this opportunity to say I honestly couldn’t do this job without the fantastic Jackie Baillie by my side.

So, let’s hear it for Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie.

Some would actually say she is the real boss.
Conference – when I spoke to you just over a year ago, Scottish Labour was a distant third place.

What progress we have made in a year.

At the council elections in May we knocked the Tories out of second place.

And, just like the successes we had across the country, we now have Labour administrations in our capital city, Edinburgh, and in East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Fife, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Lothian, and majority Labour-controlled West Dunbartonshire.

And in Glasgow, we gave Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP one hell of a fright. Less than 200 votes from winning.

But, let me be clear the Scottish Labour Party I lead doesn’t aspire for second place, we aspire for first place.

We’re back in the fight and we’re in it to win it.

Conference – last year we met in the aftermath of one national emergency.

A pandemic that exposed the fault lines and failures in our country after more than a decade of Tory austerity.

But it also revealed the strength and charity of our communities – who pulled together to help their neighbours in a time of need.

Again – and too soon – those ties that bind us together have been called on once again.

The cost-of-living crisis is a national emergency that needs a pandemic scale response.

As I’ve travelled round the country, I’ve listened to the heartbreaking stories…

I’ve met the father worried about how he is going to keep his house warm for his newborn. He’s not alone.

The mother who skips meals to ensure her children don’t go to school hungry. She’s not alone.

The family digging up their garden to plant vegetables because they can’t afford the weekly shop. They are not alone.

The business owner hit with eye-watering energy bills which means they aren’t sure they can stay open this winter. They are not alone.

This isn’t a minority issue – it’s a majority one.

Even people who would normally see themselves as comfortable are struggling to make ends meet.

All while oil and gas companies rake in billions in profit.

And the Tories slash taxes for those who need it least.

Because while Scots are struggling, neither of Scotland’s governments are doing anywhere near enough to help.

That is why across the UK we demanded an energy price freeze and a meaningful windfall tax.

In Scotland we’ve called for an emergency cost of living act which would:

Freeze rents and ban winter evictions
Cancel school meal debt
Slash the price of public transport and put all public transport back into public hands

Given the choice, both governments preferred the comfort of the soundbite to the difficulties of solving the problem.

Don’t believe the Tory spin – they have not frozen energy bills.

Bills will still go up and families will pay double what they did just nine months ago.

At the same time, they’re letting the big energy companies off scot free and cutting taxes for the wealthiest.

For the last year, Labour have set the agenda on the cost-of-living crisis.

While the SNP and the Tories tried to ignore it altogether.

Until it became clear they couldn’t.

Labour called for energy price rises to be cancelled.

Our opponents called for business as usual.

Until they couldn’t.

Labour called for a windfall tax for the oil giants.

The SNP sided with the Tories and refused to vote for it.

Until they backtracked.

And when Scottish Labour called for a rent freeze, the SNP and the Greens called it ‘unworkable’.

Until they gave in and introduced it.

Conference – if this is what we can achieve from opposition, just imagine what we will do in Government.

For the last 12 years we’ve had a Tory government which has actively sought to pit community against community.

They wasted billions of pounds of taxpayer cash on dodgy contracts, vanity projects, and giveaways to party donors.

They’ve cut stamp duty for second home-owners and made super tax deductions for the biggest companies.

They accept poverty and misery as the price worth paying for a society that redistributes wealth, but from the poorest to the wealthiest.

We were right to cheer the removal of Boris Johnson, who shamed the office of Prime Minister, but Liz Truss is worse than Boris Johnson.

He didn’t believe in anything, apart from himself.

Liz Truss is a right wing, ideological Tory. She is more dangerous than Margaret Thatcher.

Let’s be clear this a corrupt, lying, incompetent, failing, cheating, economically illiterate, morally bankrupt shower.

And the sooner we boot them out the better.

The truth is that far from being the great defender of the UK, the Tories are a gift to those who want to break us apart.

In Scotland, the Tories’ failings have allowed the SNP to double down on their campaign of division rather than face up to their own record of failure in Scotland:

More than 700,000 on an NHS waiting lists – that is 1 in 7 Scots waiting for appointments and treatment

More than 10,000 children and young people waiting for mental health appointment

20,000 fewer business in Scotland today than when the pandemic began

The highest drug deaths rate in Europe and our NHS on its knees despite the incredible efforts of the workforce.

After 15 years in power, the SNP have squandered every chance.

Broken promise after promise.

And left Scotland worse off than when they came to power.

Always someone else or something else to blame.

Conference, you know what I know, there is nothing progressive about Scottish nationalism.

It goes against the values of solidarity and social justice.

It is an ideology based on what divides us, not what unites us.

Times of crisis should force us to look with fresh eyes at the problems we face, unite our communities, and propose real solutions – ones that can help us today, and build prosperity in the future.

That’s what Labour is focused on.

Because while our opponents thrive on division, we know that real change comes when you pull people together.

But in Scotland and across the UK, our politics has lost sight of that.

I hate to break it to Liz Truss and Nicola Sturgeon, whether you voted yes or no, whether you voted leave or remain, your bills are going up.

For too long we’ve been led by parties which want to entrench us into camps and convince us to dislike and distrust one another.

Conference, ask yourself who benefits from the politics of division?

It’s not the family struggling to pay their bills.

It’s not the business fighting to stay afloat.

It’s not the student working to achieve their potential.

It’s not people trying to buy their first home.

The politics of division helps the Tories and the SNP win elections, not change people’s lives.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Our politics can be better.

Our country is better

Our people deserve better.

Because we in the Labour Party know we can only win by bringing people together – by giving them hope, not feeding their despair.

We know there is a majority in Scotland for being part of the United Kingdom.

But there is also a majority for change.

And crucially in Scotland and across the United Kingdom there is a majority to boot the Tories out of Downing Street.

Our job is to build a campaign and the coalition to deliver that.

Not a coalition of political parties.

Let me be clear, no ifs, no buts, no deals with the SNP.

It’s a coalition of the people to beat the Tories.

Working with our trade union colleagues and all those who believe in a fairer, greener future, it is our job to build that coalition to win.

Because that is why we are here.

That is what has motivated us to come from every corner of these islands to the great Labour city of Liverpool.

Our task, to win the next general election, is to end that politics of division and demonstrate how we change our county.

Because it isn’t enough that the Tories or the SNP deserve to lose – we need to deserve to win.

To do that we need to prove ourselves worthy of the trust of that majority who want to renew our United Kingdom.

So that we can:

Protect workers and invest in public services.

Unlock Britain’s potential–to create the high skilled high paid jobs of the future.

Support struggling businesses-to actually grow our economy.

Invest in green technology–to bring down energy bills and save our planet.

And take on the crony capitalists who rig politics in their favour.

And instead we will make Britain a country where ambition and merit matter again.

That is the difference Labour will make in power.

For more than a decade, the SNP and the Tories have stoked up bitterness, division, and anger – creating a politics of us versus them.

But conference, we know those days are numbered.

The occupiers of Downing Street and Bute House know the clock is ticking.

So, let’s be prepared for what lies ahead.

In the coming months and years, our opponents will get more desperate.

Their tone more irrational.

Their attacks on us more unhinged.

That is because they know, what we know…the next electoral contest will not be a referendum, it will be a General Election.

And conference,

Labour will win the next general election.

And Scotland will deliver the seats to get us over the line.

Scotland will elect Keir Starmer as its next Prime Minister.

Because only Labour can replace the Tories and change lives for the better.

Conference,

This is our moment to build a country where everyone is entitled to dignity,

This is our opportunity to set our country back on the path to prosperity.

This is our chance to help everyone achieve their potential.

The time for divide and rule is over.

The time for change is now.

Labour will deliver that change – and will build a better future.

And we will do it, together.

26/09/2022
Peter Kyle – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Peter Kyle, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 26 September 2022.

Conference, despite all the challenges, Northern Ireland is a thriving part of our United Kingdom.

Its creative industries go from strength to strength, entertaining and thrilling people across the world.

And it is a powerhouse in cybersecurity and financial services, in Europe and beyond.

But the politics of Northern Ireland is hurting.

The assembly and executive lie dormant, the divide between communities widens.

Progress has stalled.

This should worry us all – and would spur any decent government into action.

But not this one.

For months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed, there was no visit from the Tory prime minister.

No multi-party talks in Downing Street.

Not even a statement to Parliament.

Conference, the greatest threat to progress in Northern Ireland is not misguided policy.

It’s not even the lies told by this rotten government.

The biggest threat is Tory neglect.

The only hope of progress is a Labour government.

The Tories see problems as a chance for a row, to deepen division.

We see problems as a chance to solve the challenges that hold us back, to create new opportunities and bring people together.

That requires a leader capable of statecraft. Who knows hard graft.

Who shows people respect, even when they sometimes disagree.

That’s why I’m proud to have Keir Starmer as our leader.

He has the skills Northern Ireland needs to succeed.

Unlike Liz Truss, who creates more problems than she solves.

To imagine what Labour can deliver for Northern Ireland, just look at what we did deliver.

Next Easter we mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

That totemic moment in time when leaders from across political divides and communities decided a new future was possible.

It was only there to grasp because a Labour prime minister with his Northern Ireland secretary believed in their hearts that radical change wasn’t just possible, it was deliverable in that moment.

They put in the time.

They brought people together.

They pulled the impossible into reach and provided the opportunities that leaders in Northern Ireland, and the Irish Government, had the courage to seize.

Conference, we salute those who made peace possible, with a Labour government.

We thank Tony Blair and the remarkable, one-off talent of our Mo Mowlam.

We recognise the courage of David Trimble who we said goodbye to this summer, and John Hume.

They led their communities into an era defined by peace and growing prosperity.

Labour bequeathed the Tories a Northern Ireland that was increasingly at ease.

But they squandered it with their lies and neglect.

It was the Tories who proposed, drafted, negotiated and signed the Northern Ireland protocol into international treaty.

Yes, there are issues with it, but they can be solved.

We know that negotiation is the only path forward.

But a year has already been wasted.

A year in which politics in Northern Ireland has stumbled and the Tory government in Westminster looked the other way.

A Labour government would deliver rapid deals with the EU on the flow of goods, the sharing of data and making it easier for agricultural products to move around the UK and the island of Ireland.

We’ll fight hard for our interests using statecraft, diligence and graft – not the Tory way, which always seems to end, somehow, in breaking the law.

The difference in approach and ambition between the Tories and Labour couldn’t be starker.

Labour delivered peace, prosperity and confidence to Northern Ireland.

The Tories can’t even negotiate a prawn sandwich across the Irish Sea.

Conference, the people of Northern Ireland deserve better.

With Keir Starmer and a Labour government they will have it.

26/09/2022
Ian Murray – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Ian Murray on 26 September 2022.

It’s a pleasure to speak to you today.

Everyone says how great Liverpool is, but coming from a Scot, you know I really mean it.

Because the connection between this incredible city and my country runs so deep – shared values, the same weather, and the feeling that a meal isn’t a meal without something that has been deep fried.

Even just walking around Liverpool, you could be mistaken for thinking you’re in Glasgow.

And for a guy born and bred in Edinburgh I think that’s a compliment.

Of course, the footballing success of this city has been in partnership with some fantastic Scots.

None more so than Bill Shankly, born in Ayrshire, but made at Liverpool FC.

Kenny Dalglish, and Alan Hansen, legends of the game – even the current Scotland national team captain.

Despite what Ally McGovern might say, there is another team in this city, especially with the Scottish internationalist heroes from the past like Alex Young and Nathan Patterson from today.

But there’s something else both Scotland and Liverpool have in common.

The desire to kick out this corrupt and out of touch Tory government.

Our Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her wonderful speech earlier spoke about the Tories disastrous record.

Her big announcement that Labour would fund the ACORN carbon capture and storage project in Scotland is absolutely transformative.

There are few better demonstrations of “just transition”, with 20,000 high quality jobs at its heart, than supporting this technology.

It is something the Tories have relegated to a reserve list.

And at the last Scottish conference, I called on the SNP government to use their own Just Transition Fund to support the cluster but all we got were warm words.

Instead, the SNP continue to be more interested in stoking grievance than storing carbon.

Conference, I want to touch on just one of the many ways in which the Tories are failing our country.

And that is by failing to protect its very existence.

Because the biggest threat to the Union today is not the SNP – it’s the Tories.

And what was Liz Truss’ first priority? Cutting bankers bonuses and huge tax cuts for the richest.

Her administration is the most unfair, unjust and divisive government in our lifetime.

When she was elected Tory Leader, Liz Truss tweeted she would hit the ground – promise delivered.

They give money to those that don’t need it and nothing to those that do – paid for by those who can’t afford it rather than those who can.

So, it’s little wonder that many Scots see Westminster as beyond repair.

And make no mistake, the SNP thrive off of such disdain.

They don’t want to make devolution work.

They don’t want a Labour government.

Conference, let me be very clear – the SNP are not our friends – they exist for one reason only – to rip Scotland out of the UK.

And don’t forget, at the last election Nicola Sturgeon encouraged people in England to vote Green, not Labour.

So let me reiterate Keir’s message – No deals with the SNP.

None.

No, nay, never.

The only deal we want to make is directly with the Scottish people.

Our party was founded by a Scot.

Scotland has been integral to our movement.

That will never change.

Of course, we can’t resolve the imbalances in our country overnight.

There is a lot of work to do.

But it will be work that will be at the heart of the next Labour Government.

That’s why Keir Starmer asked Gordon Brown to oversee a commission into the UK’s future.

The commission is tasked with clearing up and clearing out the centre, so that the United Kingdom works for every part of it.

It will be a plan for reinvigorating economic devolution where we unleash the talents and contributions of all parts of the country. Growth for everyone, everywhere wherever you are.

Part of its purpose will not just try to convince Scotland to stay, but to make Britain such a good place to be that everyone, in all corners of our country, will want to be part of it.

I’m pleased to announce that Gordon Brown’s critical work is nearing completion and will be launched in the coming months.

Conference, let’s thank Gordon Brown in his own words ‘thanks for all you do’.

There is a clear message from this Labour Party to Scottish voters.

If you want rid of this Tory government then help us do it.

If you want a UK Government that works for Scotland then help us elect it.

If you want away from binary choice of separation versus the broken status quo then help us deliver it.

Over the last 18 months, the change that has taken place in Scottish Labour is remarkable, and unprecedented.

In the Scottish Parliament election, we overshot expectations and managed to prevent an SNP majority.

This May, we beat the Tories and got back into second place.

And I believe, at that election, Scotland will help elect a Labour government across the UK as we have done so with every Labour government since 1945.

At least then, I’ll have some friends on the train to London.

Conference, the person that has made that happen deserves every ounce of praise he receives.

He is the most popular politician in Scotland and is exposing the utterly deplorable record of Nicola Sturgeon every day. It’s my great pleasure to introduce my friend and the Leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar.

26/09/2022
Lisa Nandy – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on 26 September 2022.

Conference. Comrades. Friends.

We meet today in one of the country’s historic northern cities.

Where at the water’s edge so much of modern Britain was shaped.

Dockers who looked outwards to the world to build Britain’s wealth through difficult, often dangerous work and fought the longest battle for dignity, respect and fair reward in the history of Britain.

Those were the struggles that formed the backdrop to my childhood.

I grew up not far from here with a Tory Government that waged war on its own people.

Brought up by my mum when the Tories were attacking single mums.

With an Indian dad when they said Britain was being swamped by immigrants.

They came for us, they came for our jobs and they came for our community.

But we stood together, we fought together and we won together.

Now they’re at it again.

So when your boss earns £3.5m and gives themself a 32% pay rise – and you ask for a below inflation rise –you’re the one to blame for inflation.

And when you keep our country moving during a pandemic and then they cut your pay, threaten your job and refuse to get round the table to discuss it – you’re the one who’s militant.

Conference this country’s problem isn’t militant workers. It’s a militant government.

This is Tory Britain where the foundations of a decent secure life have been slowly eroded leaving us with an economy we work hard for every day – but doesn’t work for us.

Where the contribution of most people and most places has been written off.

So in towns across the country, too many young people, have to get out to get on.

Taking with them the spending power that once sustained our high streets, banks, buses and post offices.

People are left to grow old hundreds of miles from children and grandchildren.

And our cities are plagued by soaring housing costs, air pollution and strain on public services.

Now, Liz Truss says her government will grow our economy by turning the North into Singapore on Sea.

So they can stash their wealth in our towns and cities, pushing up the cost of housing and dodging tax.

Slashing taxes for big corporations so the rest of us can grind for a living in an Amazon warehouse.

Handing £55,000 to millionaires while people can’t afford to pay their rent, feed their kids and heat their homes.

More money for millionaires than the whole North of England.

In the words of Liz Truss – that.is.a.digrace

Conference. It’s time to stand up and fight again.

Not just to see off the Tories.

But to build the country I’ve believed in all my life – where everyone can contribute and everyone has a stake in our future.

It will be about the real wealth creators – the women and men who work in our shops, who drive our buses, who deliver our mail, who produce our food, who care for our families and teach our children – who make sure we have what we need to live every day of our lives.

To those people we say you are the foundation of our economy.

We believe that when people have a stake in the outcome, they work harder, they try longer, they think more creatively and they do more.

The people of our country are our great untapped asset.

Labour will tilt the balance of power back in their favour.

In the first 100 days we will end fire and rehire, repeal the 2016 anti- trade union Act and raise wages for the lowest paid.

And we’ll usher in a great rebalancing of power, with wealth, security and opportunity spread across the whole country.

They say you can power a modern economy using only a handful of people in a handful of places in one small corner of the country.

We say that’s like trying to fly a jet on one engine.

This country doesn’t belong to a few of them, it belongs to all of us.

So we will invest to bring clean energy jobs to the industrial and coastal towns across Britain, so that young people in places that were once the engines of Britain can power us through the next century like their parents and grandparents powered us through the last.

The road to net zero is paved with a million good jobs and we’ll bring them to Britain.

Empowering our brilliant leaders – Steve, Tracy, Andy, Marvin, Shaun – with new powers to drive growth in every part of Britain.

And handing power back to our people with a community right to buy land and assets – the football clubs, historic buildings and pubs that make a place home.

So those with skin in the game, who are in it for the long haul, will feel the whole system pulling in behind them.

That – Liz Truss- is how you grow the economy.

But I have learnt that progress is not inevitable.

If we want to live in a country where children don’t have to go to school too hungry to learn.

Where people with disabilities can live the richer, larger lives they deserve.

Where people don’t have to fear growing old without dignity or warmth.

If we want that country, we have to go out and fight for it every single day.

So I am asking you today to get ready.

Because together, with every person, in every place we’re going to rebuild this country from the ground up.

And I can say to you today that in Government I will make it my priority to tackle the housing crisis because nothing, nothing is more important than a home.

The Tories have turned housing into a racket.

Incentivising speculation and profiteering while millions languish on waiting lists in cold damp homes.

So we will mend the deliberate vandalism of our social housing stock.

Because the idea of a home for life handed on in common ownership to future generations.

Is an idea worth fighting for.

Council housing is not a dirty word.

So today, I can announce we will be the first government in a generation to restore social housing to the second largest from of tenure.

This will be our mantra.

Council housing, council housing, council housing.

We’re going to rebuild our social housing stock and bring homes back into the ownership of local councils and communities.

With home ownership opened up to millions more.

And for private renters we will tilt the balance of power back to you through a powerful new renters charter and a new decent homes standard – written into law.

Because security in your home, the right to make your home your own and most of all the right to live in a home fit for human habitation.

Is non-negotiable.

Because housing isn’t a market it’s a fundamental human right.

It’s tempting at a time of national crisis, to retreat and to play it safe.

That’s not who are.

It was with ambition, courage and conviction in the darkest times.

That out of the devastation of war, we built more council houses than any Government in history.

We built the NHS, the Race Relations Act, the Equal Pay Act and the Minimum Wage.

And rebuilt our great northern cities from the ashes of Thatcherism.

Conference, we led global action on climate change and flew the pride flag in countries where love is a crime.

A light on the hill at home and overseas.

And we are going to finish the job.

Because we know – we are the only party that knows – that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone.

So Conference let’s rise to meet this crisis in a great national mission to rebuild our country.

We have done it before.

We’re going to do it again.

And we will do it the only way that counts – together.

26/09/2022
Bank of England – 2022 Statement on the Collapse of the Pound

The statement made by the Bank of England on 26 September 2022.

The Bank is monitoring developments in financial markets very closely in light of the significant repricing of financial assets.

In recent weeks, the Government has made a number of important announcements. The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will reduce the near-term peak in inflation. Last Friday the Government announced its Growth Plan, on which the Chancellor has provided further detail in his statement today. I welcome the Government’s commitment to sustainable economic growth, and to the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility in its assessment of prospects for the economy and public finances.

The role of monetary policy is to ensure that demand does not get ahead of supply in a way that leads to more inflation over the medium term. As the MPC has made clear, it will make a full assessment at its next scheduled meeting of the impact on demand and inflation from the Government’s announcements, and the fall in sterling, and act accordingly. The MPC will not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its remit.

26/09/2022
Kemi Badenoch – 2022 Statement on Trade Negotiations with Israel and Canada

The statement made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, in the House of Commons on 23 September 2022.

The first round of United Kingdom-Israel free trade agreement negotiations took place between 12 and 20 September.

In parallel, the third round of United Kingdom-Canada free trade agreement negotiations commenced on 12 September and concluded on 16 September.

Following the death of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, these rounds proceeded, with appropriate adjustments.

The round of negotiations with Israel was conducted in a hybrid fashion; a small group of United Kingdom officials travelled to Jerusalem for in-person discussions, with further officials attending virtually from the United Kingdom. During this initial round, talks focused on gathering insights on key interests and priorities across policy areas as well as building a shared understanding of each other’s initial positions. Technical discussions focused on 29 policy areas in over 50 sessions.

A new agreement with Israel—with services and innovation at its heart—will build upon our existing trade and partnership agreement. It will cement our relationship with a rapidly growing economy and take our trading relationship to the next level. It will support United Kingdom jobs, and update outdated trade rules, unleashing our high-tech innovative economies.

The negotiations with Canada were conducted in a fully virtual format. Technical discussions were held across 26 policy areas across over 50 separate sessions.

Talks focused on reaffirming the United Kingdom’s positions, having tabled and presented text across the majority of chapters in the previous round. The United Kingdom’s negotiating team made progress on understanding areas of policy convergence and divergence with Canada. They agreed text where possible and in the United Kingdom’s interests and objectives to support economic growth.

The negotiations continue to reflect a shared ambition to secure a progressive deal which looks to build on the United Kingdom-Canada trade continuity agreement, and strengthens our existing trading relationship, already worth over £21 billion in 2021.

We are clear that any deals we sign will be in the best interests of the British people and the United Kingdom economy. We will not compromise on our high environmental and labour protections, public health, animal welfare and food standards, and we will maintain our right to regulate in the public interest. We are also clear that during these negotiations, the NHS and the services it provides are not on the table.

We are working towards holding a second and fourth round of negotiations with Israel and Canada respectively in due course.

Parliament will be kept updated as these negotiations progress.

26/09/2022
James Cleverly – 2022 Statement on the UN General Assembly

The statement made by James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 23 September 2022.

The Prime Minister led the UK delegation to the high-level segment of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly which took place in New York between 19 and 26 September.

The delegation travelled to UNGA immediately after attending the state funeral for Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The UN and its member states joined the global expressions of grief and respect following the death of Her late Majesty, with UN Secretary-General Guterres leading the tributes. Her late Majesty had a long relationship with the UN, from the founding meetings in London in 1946 through to her visit in 2010 when she remarked that the UN had become “a real force for common good”.

The Foreign Secretary represented the UK at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, attended a separate event on strengthening co-operation on accountability for atrocities committed in the conflict, and spoke at the launch of the First Lady of Ukraine’s foundation. The Foreign Secretary hosted a UK-Gulf Co-operation Council Ministerial and attended the Secretary-General’s global crisis response group meeting, as well as meetings focused on global food security and the Indo-Pacific.

He met counterparts from Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Ministers Ford, Ahmad and Goldsmith participated in a wide range of events focused on international development, education, the environment, prevention of sexual violence in conflict and various regional issues, and met a number of counterparts.

These events supported the Prime Minister’s and the wider delegation’s programmes—including a range of bilateral meetings and roundtables with business leaders in New York. The delegation engaged with Presidents Biden and Macron, as well as Prime Minister Jugnauth of Mauritius, Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, Prime Minister Lapid of Israel, President Nauseda of Lithuania, President Erdoğan of Turkey and President von der Leyen of the European Commission.

To mark the UK’s support for our Ukrainian allies, the Prime Minister joined the Ukrainian First Lady and the Ukrainian Prime Minister at an exhibition on accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine, maintaining the international spotlight on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. She also set out to the UN General Assembly how the UK would use its network of partnerships across the globe, such as the Commonwealth and organisations like the G7, to strengthen the principles of sovereignty and self-determination, and to promote freedom and democracy in all parts of the world.

26/09/2022
Tom Pursglove – 2022 Speech on Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

The speech made by Tom Pursglove, the Minister of State at the Home Office, on 23 September 2022.

I have listened with close interest to the debate today, and I thank the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for setting out her case in the way she did, albeit that I disagree with considerable elements of it. I will set out the case from the Government’s perspective as to why that is. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the points that have been raised, as I also did in my recent letter to the hon. Lady.

Let me state at the outset that the Government are committed to a fair and humane immigration policy that welcomes those who arrive legally and, crucially, that maintains the integrity of our border and works in the interests of the people of this country. Each week, we see more people arriving in the UK after crossing the channel on small boats, putting their lives at risk and yet more money in the pockets of the evil people smugglers who exploit them. That cannot be allowed to continue, and I have set out the arguments on that many times on the Floor of the House.

Our immigration system must encourage compliance with the immigration rules, as well as protecting the public. Immigration detention is an essential part of effective immigration control and management. It is used sparingly, with 95% of people who are liable for removal from the UK managed in the community while their cases are progressed. We continue to support people to leave voluntarily wherever possible. That work happens day in, day out. It is important that the immigration removal estate can respond to changes.

We need to ensure sufficient resilience and capacity in the right locations for the men and women it is necessary to detain for the purpose of removal. That is why the April announcement on tackling illegal migration made it clear that the removal estate would be expanded. Our plans for the site of the former Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Oxfordshire are part of that expansion. I should emphasise that it would be wrong to characterise the plans as a simple reopening. We accept that by the time the centre closed in 2018 it needed significant investment, although it is worth noting that the last report by the local independent monitoring board in 2018 found the centre to be well run.

Under our plans, we will invest in significant improvement to the site, with a clear focus on welfare and safety. The new centre will provide decent, safe and secure accommodation for up to 400 men in detention. I can confirm that it will not be for the purpose of detaining families. Although planning is in the early stages, the intention is to use a mix of refurbished buildings and new-build accommodation on an area within the secure perimeter of the existing site. The refurbished part of the new centre will house approximately 160 people, compared with almost 300 in the previous centre. The refurbished accommodation will reflect current best practice, with most rooms being dual occupancy. Rooms in the new-build accommodation will all be dual occupancy.

All IRCs in England have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses, commissioned by NHS England and delivered to the equivalent quality standards of services in the community. As in other IRCs in England, NHS England will commission healthcare services for the centre. In a previous ministerial capacity I visited Derwentside in County Durham, and there has been a lot of learning from the experience there. I hope it provides some reassurance to say that a bespoke healthcare offer appropriate to the site will be developed to meet the need that exists.

On riots, escapes, self-harm and suicide at the former Campsfield House centre, I want to emphasise that in developing the site, our focus is on dignity, welfare and safety. Significant improvements have been made to detention in recent years, with a programme of reforms introduced following Stephen Shaw’s 2015 and 2018 reviews of welfare in detention, to which the hon. Lady rightly referred. His reports, and others by external bodies including His Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, have informed both our strategic and tactical approach to detention.

The new IRC will not be operational until at least late 2023. Our plans are at an early stage, and we are committed to listening to local and other voices. My officials have written to local stakeholders and are listening to their views. We have already met with the local parish council, and we will continue to engage with it and others over the coming months.

On planning and procurement of services, we are reaching out to the local planning authority and we have made it clear that we will go out to the market to procure the services to run the site. We are looking both for value for money and for good quality, safe and secure accommodation that meets the needs of the residents in the facility. We have held a market engagement event with interested potential bidders, and there has been a good level of interest in delivering the services.

I want to be clear that we do not and cannot detain people indefinitely. It is not lawful to do so. The law is clear that we can detain people only where removal is a realistic prospect within a reasonable timescale, or initially to establish their identity or basis of claim. That is set out in both legislation and domestic case law. Over time, the Government have necessarily adapted their strategic approach to the use of immigration detention, in response to the international challenge of illegal migration and the need to break the business model of the evil people smuggling gangs. Decisions on the appropriateness of an individual’s detention or continued detention are always made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope I can offer some reassurance on the hon. Lady’s point about age-disputed children and the particular case that she referred to. In some cases, individuals who are detained subsequently claim to be children. When this occurs, they will usually be afforded the benefit of the doubt and released into the care of social services until a further assessment of their age has been made, unless their physical appearance and demeanour strongly suggest that they are significantly over 18, or other evidence shows that they are an adult.

I also refer the House to the measures on age assessment in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which will make a considerable difference in helping to identify, and make appropriate decisions about, the age of those who claim to be children. We will deliver those reforms at the earliest possible opportunity. We will make progress on this, because we recognise the significant safeguarding concerns that arise, in both directions, when there is a need to identify a child’s age. I was disappointed that the hon. Lady and her colleagues were not supportive of the 2022 Act, which was in many respects arguably designed to expedite cases. It aims to ensure that people are not in detention for any longer than is necessary, to end the cycle of claims and appeals, and to end the efforts made on occasion to frustrate proper removal from our country.

Of course, we want to provide certainty on individual cases as quickly as possible, and to maintain a fair immigration system in which those with a right to be here are properly cared for as quickly as possible and those who have no right to be here are removed without needless delay. That is what the reforms aim to achieve; I hope that the hon. Lady and her colleagues change their view when we enact them.

We have a series of detention safeguards, including the detention gatekeeper, case progression panels, and our “Adults at risk in immigration detention” policy, to ensure ongoing proper scrutiny of detention decisions. People are provided with written reasons for their detention when they are detained, and then at least every 28 days thereafter. That includes information about what steps have been taken in progressing their claim to remain in the UK, and/or in relation to their return.

Individuals in immigration detention can apply for bail at any time. The use of detention is subject to rigorous scrutiny, including by the independent monitoring boards, His Majesty’s inspectorate of prisons, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and, of course, the courts. To pick up on the point about visiting, as is the case in detention facilities around the country, visiting is permitted and appropriate arrangements will be made to allow that to happen. I am certainly willing to raise with officials the voluntary work done in the hon. Lady’s community to facilitate those visits. I thank those involved in helping to organise visitation in her area.

I know that the hon. Lady had concerns about local employment when the previous centre closed, and particularly about the impact on the jobs of those who worked there when it closed. I am sure that we are in agreement on the benefits of opening a new centre for jobs in the area. The recently opened Derwentside facility provides around 200 jobs in that area. I fully expect that the reopening that we are discussing will provide several hundred jobs in the hon. Lady’s area, which is not insignificant.

Initial estimates of the operating costs were in the region of £170 million over the lifetime of the contract, as we said in the prior information notice that we published on Wednesday 21 September. Actual costs will be known only when the procurement is concluded, but the approach being taken will ensure value for money, and we anticipate that costs will be lower than that initial estimate. In addition to the operating costs, there will be building and refurbishment costs.

I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution today. We have begun engagement with the council and other key local stakeholders to ensure that we have a full understanding of the impact of our plans. This debate has been a welcome opportunity to hear some of those views. We will of course reflect on what we have heard as we develop the plans. I am always happy to speak to colleagues from across the House about immigration matters that are relevant to their constituencies, and that most certainly applies to this project. More widely, we will continue driving forward the reforms needed to make our immigration system fairer and more effective. That is what the public expect, and what we are determined to deliver.

26/09/2022