Keir Starmer says Labour can deliver change and national renewal in conference speech – UK politics live | Politics

Starmer tells the story about visiting the house in the Lake District where he used to holiday as a child, and not being recognised by the owner.

A protester interrupts him. Starmer says the protester must think they are at the 2019 conference.

Starmer says he does not accept that people concerned about immigration are the same as the people who rioted over the summer.

He says the debate about immigration is not about the worth of migrants. It is about control.

It’s about control of migration. It’s always been about control.

That is what people have voted for time and again.

They weren’t just ignored after Brexit.

The Tories gave them the exact opposite, an immigration system deliberately reformed to reduce control.

Because in the end, they are the party of the uncontrolled market.

Now, don’t get me wrong, markets are dynamic.

Competition is a vital life force in our economy.

This is a Labour party proud to say that we work hand in hand with business.

But markets don’t give in control – that’s almost literally their point.

So if you want a country with more control, if you want the great forces that affect your community to be better managed, whether that’s migration, climate change, law and order or security at work, then that does mean more decisive government, and that is a Labor argument.

Taking back control is a Labour argument.

Starmer says he accepts the immigration is too high.

I have always accepted that concerns about immigration are legitimate.

It is – as point of fact – he policy of this government to reduce both net migration and economic dependency upon it.

I have never thought we should be relaxed about some sectors importing labor when there are millions of young people, anxious and highly talented who are desperate to work and contribute to their community.

And trust me, there are plenty of examples of apprenticeship starts going down at the very same time that visa application for the same skills are going up.

So we will get tough on this.

Starmer says Labour also wants to see more homes built, and that dealing with asylum claims will mean accepting that some people have to have their asylum claims granted.

If we want home ownership to be a credible aspiration for our children, then every community has a duty to contribute to that purpose.

If we want to tackle illegal migration seriously, we can’t pretend that there’s a magical process that allows you to return people here unlawfully without accepting that process will also grant some people asylum.

And Starmer says the Labour wants to see more pylons erected.

If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground. Otherwise, the burden on taxpayers is too much.

Starmer confirms the government will legislate to tackle benefit fraud.

If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop the benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.

Starmer says he understands why people are unhappy about the winter fuel payments cut.

But he says, with prices kept low, NHS waiting lists cut and the triple lock secured, “every pensioner will be better off with Labour”.

Starmer says people ask what they will get from the difficult decisions that lie ahead.

He claims he will answer that directly.

I know that the cost of living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives, and that people want respite and relief. They may even have voted Labour for that reason.

So first, let me be clear.

Our project has not and never will change.

I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people, and that is exactly what we will do for Britain.

But I will not do it with easy answers.

I will not do it with false hope. Not now, not ever. That’s how we got here in the first place …

And the truth is that, if we take tough, long term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do – higher economic growth so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future, waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community, stronger borders, more opportunities for your children, clean British energy, powering your home – than that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.

Starmer accuses the last Tory government of refusing to fix the problems facing the country.

As a result, people do not trust politicians.

You may call it populism. Many people do, but I prefer to call it the politics of easy answers, because at its core, that’s what it is, a deliberate refusal to countenance tough decisions because the political pain is just too much.

As an example, he cites the Rwanda policy.

Starmer says the government is making the same promise to other people at risk of homelessness: young care leavers, victims of domestic abuse.

They will have the security they deserve.

They will have a roof over their heads.

Starmer is talking about his missions.

He understands “the power and responsibility of government”, he says – “the way it can make or break a life”.

As chief prosecutor, looking into the eyes of victims, “trust me, you learn what government can and must do”.

He refers to crime victims, and the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

They have all shown that the difference between service and government – true service is service that listens to people, he says.

Starmer turns to another injustice. He says the government will house all veterans in housing need.

Starmer pivots to the Middle East.

He says Labour is calling for restraint and de-escalation, a ceasefire in Gaza, a secure Israel and a two-state solution.

He says Labour must show what politics can achieve.

Above all, they must have faith “in practical solutions that work”.

Easy answers “may well move a crowd, but do not move a nation forward”.

Starmer lists some of what the government has achieved.

And he promises “a Britain that belongs to you”.

Change must mean “nothing less than nothing renewal, not a return to the old days, nor a new path entirely, but a rediscovery in the full glare of the future of who we are”.

No one doubts that the UK is a great nation, he says.

A nation known for our creativity and our artistic skill, our scientific genius and, of course, our pragmatism – qualities that combined with the industry and pride of working people have not just rewritten our own story, but that of the world.

We could do that again.