Keir Starmer has set out his vision for the nation in his 2021 Labour Party conference speech.
In a feature film length speech, which marked the first time the leader addressed the whole party in this manner after last year’s conference was cancelled due to coronavirus, Starmer spoke about why he got into politics in the first place, the problems he believes are plaguing society and how Labour would “fix them”.
Although it was criticized for being too long and hounded by hecklers, the speech did well.
Let’s take a look at the highlight reel:
Opening song: Right here, Right Now, Fatboy Slim
Much is made of the song a politician chooses to walk out to when delivering their conference speech and people may speculate that choosing a 90s track showed that Starmer is more New Labour than he will ever admit. He later said that he took music lessons with Fatboy Slim when he was in school. Perhaps the experience had left an impression.
“Sunday was particularly nerve wracking then the results started coming through… Arsenal 3, Tottenham 1!”
The Labour Party made changes to give MPs more power in choosing leaders. Although the controversial reforms mean that candidates must now get support from 20% (up from 10%) to be eligible for the selection paper, the party’s supporters claim it will help them win elections.
Starmer made a joke about this argument, and he put his One Major Personality trait (liking football), at the forefront and centre of his speech. Good stuff.
“Level-up? You can’t even fill up!”
Starmer next attacked the Conservative government regarding the ongoing petrol shortage. He mocked Johnson’s slogan and policy and said the party was blaming everyone else except themselves.
“It’s been important to get our own house in order and we have done that.”
Removing himself from the past. Starmer thanked those who supported the party but did not vote for Conservatives in 2019. He welcomed those returning to the party and said he would not go to elections without “a serious plan” for the country, in what seemed a clear dig at former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Jeremy Corbyn addresses an audience at a fringe event for political festival The World Transformed
(Getty Images)“At this time on a Wednesday it’s normally the Tories who are heckling me. It doesn’t bother me then and it doesn’t bother me now.”
During his speech, Starmer was repeatedly heckled. Starmer was able to handle the heckling well and was not deterred. “Shouting slogans or changing lives conference?” He said it later in response to even more hecklers. The crowd cheered and supported him.
“I’m not from a privileged background, my Dad was a toolmaker but in a way so was Boris Johnson’s.”
Starmer then went on to explain his family history and the reasons he holds the beliefs he holds today. He said “family and work” were two key values important to him and that his upbringing gave him a “deep respect for the dignity of work”. “Good work and fair growth will be the priority of a Labour government,” He said this while taking a delightful dig at Johnson.
“That is why under my leadership the fight against crime will always be a Labour issue.”
Starmer then spoke about his upbringing and moved on to discuss the policies that a Labour government led by his premiership. Starmer, who has worked in crime for many years, touched on the first topic and stated that a Labour government would pass tougher sentences for stalkers and rapists as well as domestic violence victims. He also stated that he would not tolerate anti-social behavior.
It has been said that Starmer emulated Tony Blair with this policy but this was all the “tough on crime” without the “and the causes of crime”.
“I don’t think Boris Johnson is a bad man I think he is a trivial man. He is a showman with nothing left to show.”
Starmer also criticized Johnson and the government. Starmer said that Johnson was writing newspaper columns while he was prosecuting terrorists and appeared on television to make quips. Starmer also said Johnson was not strict enough when Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock breaking coronavirus rules and that he acts as if rules don’t apply to him. “Politics has to be clean, wrongdoing has to be punished,” He stated.
“A Labour government will always fund the NHS properly.”
To policy. Starmer attacked the Tories for their handling of the pandemic, but claimed that it was worsened by their management of the NHS over the past 11 years. He said their reforms were “pointless” and made “cracks” that Covid “seeped into”.
“Labour would shift the priority of the NHS away from emergency care towards prevention”He said that and promised that mental health support would be made available within one month.
Starmer also spoke highly of the importance of technology in medicine.
“Education is so important I’m tempted to say it three times.”
Starmer also spoke of the importance education, a nod to Blair. “I want every parent in the country to be able to send their children to a great state school,” He said.
He ridiculed government plans to reintroduce Latin into schools but instead spoke of the importance and practicality of music, drama, and accessing career advisers. He wants every child to have the chance to play sports and for them to leave school “ready for work and ready for life,” whatever that means.
“Make Brexit work”
Starmer, as in his pamphlet criticized the Tories’ slogan politics and stated that they had no real plans for the country.
But Starmer did have a slogan of his own, paying mocking homage to Johnson’s “get Brexit done” and moving the country away from the Brexit debate despite his previous calls for a second referendum.
“I do see a way forward after Brexit,” he said, though said the Tories had “botched” the exit.
“The economic inheritance from the Tories will be appalling,”
Starmer changed the script. Conservatives are fond of claiming Labour governments will harm the economy. He criticised their tax changes and Universal Credit cuts and said Labour would offer “value for money”.
As briefed to the press as a key line, “Labour will be back in business” He stated.
“Too often in the history of this party our dream of the good society falls foul of the belief that we will not run a strong economy… under my leadership we are committed to both,” he said.
“Time is short and we have a duty to act”.
Starmer then spoke about climate change including installing “wind turbines” and creating “green jobs”. Whether Greta Thunberg would have found that part a bit “blah, blah, blah”, we don’t know.
Verdict
Like in his essay, there was a lot of stuff to be excited about in Starmer’s vision for Britain and he spoke with integrity.
However, his policies and messages were hidden in a lot more waffle than he wrote in his essay. This meant that viewers had to search for them.
Starmer has often criticized Johnson for his punchy comms and lack of substance. Starmer has the latter but, if he is to become the next Prime Minister, he must also master the former.
Here’s what other people had to say about it: