The annual conferences of the two major parties this year could hardly have been more different. The Conservative event was marked by furious feuding. People queued to hear a former prime minister insisting that her policies, which had crashed the economy, were right, while the party leader focused on rejecting the record of all his predecessors. By contrast, the Labour conference was firmly on message. Shadow ministers speeches all supported the leader, and there was little dissent in any of the policy debates. Nobody wanted to discuss Brexit, nor did they want to get sucked into the culture war traps, which they believe the Tories are setting, around small boats and trans rights. There is no doubt that Labour members believe that they are on course for government, and they don’t want to do anything which could rock the boat.
However, ever since Keir Starmer became leader of the Labour party there have been criticisms that he is uninspiring, that people do not know what he stands for, and that the party has no policies. The latest Find out Now poll shows Labour more trusted than the Conservatives on all the major policy issues, But when, on the eve of the conference, a YouGov poll asked voters: “generally speaking, do you think that Keir Starmer is clear or unclear about what he stands for?”. Only a third thought “clear”, and this was only true for half of Labour voters. This conference was the opportunity to rectify this.
As Keir Starmer himself has said, people know they don’t want the Tories, but “why Labour”. His answer to that is in two parts: the key policies, and his values.
What are the policies?
The party does not lack policies. It has adopted five “missions”:
- Get Britain building again
- Switch on Great British Energy
- Get the NHS back on its feet
- Take back our streets
- Break down barriers to opportunity
These are deliberately general, signalling direction, not offering specifics. The speeches by shadow ministers and the leader put some flesh on those bones, but the election is still probably a year away, and a lot can change what is possible. In addition, the report of the party’s National Policy Forum, which was approved by Conference, includes over 600 specific policy proposals, argued through by working groups over the last year. Many of these are detailed, technical issues, important to particular people, but of little interest to most voters.
But what people were really asking for was a strong clear narrative about what a Labour government would be like, and what were its big priorities. In response, there were some big policy ideas. Starmer’s speech promised:
- To build 1.5 million new homes. Reforming planning law to create planned new towns, rather than adding estates on the fringes of existing towns, with inadequate surgeries, schools and public transport.
- To create a publicly owned Great British Energy, to get us to 100% clean energy by 2030, and ensure energy security.
- To boost NHS capacity with the takings from abolishing non-dom tax status, to clear the backlogs and to shift the focus of the NHS from hospital care to prevention.
- To create a National Wealth Fund to enable government to partner with business, to invest in the green industries of the future and restore national infrastructure in all parts of the UK.
- To reform skills provision to prepare people for the industries of the future.
The underlying argument was that government can be a force for good in all parts of the UK, and that a Labour government would ensure long-term stability to enable business to invest and people to see a positive future. Starmer insisted that all this would be done within the “fiscal envelope” laid down by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor. Borrowing would be only for investment, and any additional day-to-day spending would only happen when economic growth increased government revenues.
Who is Keir Starmer?
The leader’s speech is always the highlight of the conference. Starmer’s had big policy items, but more importantly it aimed to define the values which would drive a Labour government. One big theme was “service”. Government should
“never forget that politics should tread lightly on people’s lives. Our job is to shoulder the burden for working people, carry the load, not add to it … a government which takes care of the big questions so working people have the freedom to enjoy what they love. More time, more energy, more possibility, more life”
Unusually, there was an explicit focus on social class. Starmer stressed his own working-class background, and the sense that many people feel excluded from the decisions which shape their lives. He argued that Conservatives are not liars: they genuinely believe the things they say. But because they are so isolated from the lives of real people they fail to understand the impact of the decisions they make. He also made an explicit appeal for support to Conservatives who feel that their party has abandoned its traditional values – “conserving, the Union, the rule of law and family life”.
Unlike Sunak, who rejected the record of all his predecessors, Starmer paid tribute to the achievements of three previous Labour prime ministers – Attlee, Wilson and Blair – all of whom, he argued, inherited a struggling country and made it better. He suggested that the challenge facing an incoming Labour government next year will be as great as any of those.
Will the conference change things?
Party conferences do not generally make much impact on the voters. Polls rarely move much afterwards, and this one was overshadowed in the news by events in the Middle East. But conferences can energise the activists, to unite or divide, and to take the key messages (or the internal quarrels) back to their communities. Labour is consistently well ahead in polls, but much can change in a year.
The leader’s speech was long, and reminded members of the underlying values of the party, and their aspiration for a better and fairer society. It was packed with phrases and soundbites which can resonate with voters and members. In the coming months we will be hearing “a Britain built to last”; “we are the healers”; “the NHS off its knees” again. But he also emphasised the scale and difficulty of the challenges, and some will wonder whether this can be achieved within the agreed fiscal envelope.
However, the speech still lacked a clear overall structure and message. There is still a risk of offering too many ideas and policies, individually popular but without a strong unifying thread. It was intended to be an answer to the question “why Labour”. It started the answer, but there is clearly more work to do to shape a simple story people can remember.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that the party has changed, the shadow cabinet believe that they are preparing for government, and the activists believe they have a good message to sell. Whether they can do that remains to be seen.
