- 2 years ago
Watch in full: Angela Rayner pledges higher wages in Labour Party conference speech. Source: Reuters
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00:00 Good morning Liverpool and welcome. I love a good standing order, it brings me
00:05 back to my union days. This year's conference comes at a momentous time for
00:11 our party and a pivotal moment for our country just days after Labour's huge
00:17 win in Rutherglen.
00:27 Annas my friend we are all so proud of the positive campaign you and Michael ran.
00:33 Years of hard work led to the people of Rutherglen putting their faith in Labour
00:39 this week, a watershed moment. Now conference, no offence, but I hope this is
00:47 the last speech you'll hear from me on this podium before a general election.
00:52 Because just like you I am sick of being in opposition. When you elected me three
01:01 and a half years ago it was the honour of my life, but you didn't elect me to be
01:07 Deputy Leader of the Opposition, you elected me to be Deputy Prime Minister
01:12 of a Labour government.
01:15 [Applause]
01:25 A Labour government that will transform people's lives like the last Labour
01:30 government changed my own. Now we have a great week in store but it comes after
01:36 one where we saw the chaotic face of today's Tory party. They've had quite a
01:42 year since we last met. The leader who lost to a lettuce, the Chancellor who
01:48 forgot his own tax return and forgot to declare it too, Gavin Williamson forced
01:53 to resign because he turned out to be a bully, who knew? Dominic Raab also forced
02:01 to resign as a bully, I think everyone knew that one except the Prime Minister
02:05 apparently, and there's the Home Secretary sacked as a threat to national
02:10 security, the same Home Secretary reappointed next week, I think they call
02:15 that time served. Apparently she believes in the rehabilitation of offenders after
02:22 all.
02:35 And now we have a Prime Minister refusing to hand over his WhatsApp
02:39 messages, I assume Jacob Rees-Mogg's also refused to hand over his carrier pigeon.
02:46 Conference, throughout all of it the Prime Minister simply can't stand up for
02:53 the country against his party. He's apparently planning another reshuffle,
02:59 maybe that's why he thinks we're offering him seven different bins for
03:03 different kinds of rubbish.
03:07 And of course at their conference Liz Truss was back, but one thing did become
03:17 clear last week, we all know that he's just Ken in her Barbie world. And what a
03:25 contrast we are to the Tories, with Keir at the helm, Labour's shadow cabinet is
03:31 hungry for change. And I might be a little bit biased, but I think my team
03:37 are shining stars. I lead a formidable frontbench with Matt, Sarah, Flo, Paula,
03:43 Mike, Nav, Mary, Sharon, Sue, Amwaj and Justin and Imran leading on the New Deal
03:49 for working people.
04:00 At conference I also want to pay tribute to the woman who paved the way for
04:05 Labour's bold housing and levelling up vision with grit and determination, Lisa
04:10 Nandy.
04:12 The reality is that Labour is already delivering in power, from our elected
04:27 mayors to our local authority leaders or the Labour government in Wales. Our
04:32 movement has never been so unified, so focused around one aim, to give Britain
04:40 its future back. But the Tories also have one singular focus, to desperately cling
04:49 on to power. That's why the Tories levelling up project was dead on arrival.
04:55 You cannot level up from the top down. The Tories only know how to centralise
05:01 power and hold wealth where it benefits them. And it's under their watch the
05:07 places that once built Britain have been abandoned. Communities crumbling, high
05:12 streets emptying, rising crime. Streets that were once bursting with pride, shut
05:19 down, boarded up, denied a brighter future, rents skyrocketing, mortgages
05:25 soaring where work doesn't pay. It's that lingering sense that Britain is broken,
05:33 collateral damage from the swing of the Tories wrecking ball. For the
05:39 Conservatives, growth isn't for everyone. It means the jobs for the boys, a free
05:45 ride for vested interests, the super-rich, the non-doms, water bosses. But our proud
05:52 United Kingdom that once spearheaded the industrial world was not a trickle-down
05:57 nation. It was a country where innovation and growth rose up from the ports, the
06:03 factories, the warehouses in Hartlepool, Humber and Teesside. In my lifetime, growth
06:11 used to be in the hands of the workers and communities that built Britain. From
06:15 their graft came wealth. But today, working people are grafting while
06:22 ministers in their ivory tower in Whitehall. The truth is, and I'm not
06:28 afraid to say it, it's a responsible government that recognises their role in
06:34 providing stability in people's lives. But stability has been smashed at the
06:40 hands of this Prime Minister, who in his conference speech spent an hour rallying
06:46 against plots and controversies that don't exist, worshipping at the altar of
06:51 Liz Truss, a government that has gone off the rails quite literally in the north.
06:57 The Prime Minister's speech didn't even mention housing once. No doubt
07:05 that's because his housing policy is the same as his new smoking policy,
07:09 increase the prices year on year so eventually no one can buy.
07:15 The truth is, looking down from his private jet, Rishi Sunak can't understand
07:27 why young people can't get on the housing ladder. Don't forget, this is the
07:32 man who boasted about snatching taxpayers money from deprived areas and
07:36 funnelling it into wealthy ones. He tells working people they're just lacking
07:42 aspiration, they aren't working hard enough. All the while people are kept up
07:48 at night by the pit in their stomach, whether their paycheck will cover the
07:53 bills or be enough to keep the roof over their heads, or whether their children
07:58 will ever earn enough to be free from the same anxiety which keeps them up at
08:03 night. That's because Rishi Sunak and his party have taken a sledgehammer to the
08:09 foundations on which a good life can be built and now the simple things in life
08:15 are crumbling. A decent job, a secure affordable home and a strong community.
08:23 Simple things this government has snatched away from working people.
08:29 And conference, we can't go on like this any longer. The Tories are not only
08:36 talking Britain down, they've dragged us down and they're holding us back and
08:41 this is why Labour's first and most important mission in government is to
08:47 grow the economy. Growth under a Labour government will be in all places for all
08:54 people. Growth in the hands of the communities and the people that built
08:58 Britain. To once again provide a decent work, secure home and strong communities
09:04 to truly level up our country. Building a strong community doesn't mean making
09:12 everywhere look the same, it means real choices, putting people's hands, giving
09:18 powers to our elected local leaders, the people who know their communities best.
09:24 New devolved powers on skills, employment support, transport and of
09:30 course new housing. This is how Labour will give local people control of their
09:35 futures and we know this can and will work because the march to devolution of
09:42 the last Labour government has been an almighty success. Our mayors Sadiq, Andy,
09:48 Steve and Tracy continue to champion locally controlled transport, delivering
09:53 cheaper tickets at a time where everything else is more expensive. Mark
09:57 Drateford, our First Minister of Wales has shown the power of devolved
10:02 leadership on skills with bold action to ensure that young people across Wales
10:07 have access to work, education and training. Conference we seek power,
10:15 we seek power so we can hand it back to the people. That's the Labour way, it
10:22 belongs to them not us but that also means recognising who is in the engine
10:29 room of Britain's economy. Labour has a long and proud history of being the
10:35 party of working people and the party for working people.
10:50 We believe everyone deserves a fair day's pay for a fair day's work and to
10:56 have enough spare at the end of the month to enjoy the fruits of their
11:00 labour, for bread and yes roses too. But under the Conservatives too often work
11:06 doesn't pay. The Tories low-wage economy, stagnant productivity and tumbling
11:12 business investment, everything about this is bad for workers, bad for
11:17 businesses and bad for our economy. Now conference I'm proud that the last Labour
11:25 government created the national minimum wage. Back then the Tories hated it, they
11:30 said it would crash the economy, how wrong they were. But so much of Labour's
11:37 progress has since been reversed. Young adult workers are getting a raw deal
11:42 when their bills are as high as everyone else's. There's no doubt we need to raise
11:48 the floor on wages and build lasting change but it's only Labour that can
11:54 make that work.
11:57 With a genuine living wage that working people can actually live on, we will
12:11 change the low-pay commissions remit so that the minimum wage will for the first
12:15 time take account of the cost of living. Conference and I've heard some rumours
12:21 that we'll be watering down our new deal for working people. Be in no doubt, not
12:27 with Keir and I at the helm. We will ban zero-hour contracts, end fire and rehire
12:34 and give workers rights from day one. We'll go further and faster in closing
12:41 the gender pay gap, make work more family-friendly and tackle sexual
12:46 harassment and we won't stop there.
12:50 We'll ensure that unions can stand up for their members, we'll boost collective
13:00 bargaining to improve workers pay, terms and conditions and make no mistake this
13:06 is an agenda that will deliver hand in hand with a trade union movement as we
13:12 will work with businesses too because they know a good modern labour market is
13:17 good for growth. Conference, Labour's new deal for working people is our plan to
13:24 boost wages, make work more secure and support working people to thrive. This is
13:31 how Labour will make work pay and this is what Keir has asked me to do and this
13:37 work has already started but it can only be completed with Labour in power and as
13:45 Deputy Prime Minister I will personally table the legislation implementing our
13:51 new deal within a hundred days of taking office.
13:56 And let there be no doubt about my determination and I have no fear of
14:13 winning that argument in an election either. Last week the people of Rutherglen
14:20 and Hamilton West voted to make work pay. Let's give the people of our whole
14:27 country the same chance to do the same.
14:32 But conference good wages and protections aren't enough if every penny
14:45 goes simply on keeping a roof over your head, if you live in damp cramped housing
14:50 or have no home at all. Safe secure affordable housing is no longer the
14:57 foundation on which people can rely. That foundation of a good life, decent wages,
15:02 strong communities and affordable homes crumbles in Tory Britain. Too many people
15:09 are stuck paying unaffordable private rents or living the nightmare of a home
15:14 wrapped in flammable cladding whilst leaseholders linger in a system left
15:19 over from the Middle Ages. The dream of home ownership is slipping away.
15:25 As more than 1 million families wait for social housing. Over the last 13 years
15:33 Tory ministers sold or demolished more than double the number of social homes
15:40 that they delivered. Families who need a council house are often stuck in
15:46 cramped temporary accommodation or at the mercy of private landlords and this
15:52 summer Michael Gove handed back almost two billion pounds destined for
15:58 affordable housing to the Treasury because he couldn't spend it. A Labour
16:04 government would right this wrong. We know a secure home is like a secure job
16:10 is a game-changer and crucial foundation for a good life. That's why we will get
16:17 social homes built brick by brick, building not just homes but also
16:23 communities and I'll get my hard hat and high vis on if I have to.
16:29 (applause)
16:31 I pledge to you today Keir and I will deliver the biggest boost in affordable
16:41 and social housing for a generation. And conference that includes council housing.
16:50 (applause)
16:52 (applause)
16:54 Conference the Tories look down on people living in social housing. Well I
17:04 say let's stare right back and never be ashamed. A council house changed my life
17:11 and so here's what Labour is going to do. We'll start by salvaging the system that
17:17 the Tories have taken a sledgehammer to. Where the Tories have snatched billions
17:23 from affordable housing, Labour will unlock government grants to deliver new
17:27 homes by making the affordable homes program more flexible so that every penny
17:33 gets out the door to build the homes that people need. And by working with our
17:38 local leaders who know their areas best will use these funds more effectively.
17:44 And second we will strengthen the rules to prevent developers from wriggling out
17:49 of their responsibilities and we will speed up the building of new social and
17:54 affordable housing. We'll do this by reforming the planning system. Elected
18:02 local leaders will be given the powers they need to stand up to vested interests
18:07 in building new developments for a specialist government take back control
18:11 unit that will work with them to rebalance the scales and conference we
18:17 will provide stability and certainty for the affordable and social housing market
18:23 so their confidence is there to invest. Affordable and social council houses
18:31 aren't just a nice add-on, they're fundamental to securing decent homes for
18:37 all. A hammer to smash the class ceiling and a linchpin of the economy. They are
18:45 quicker to occupy and build and to get the growth that we need and create
18:49 reliable well-paid and highly skilled jobs in the process. But that's not all.
18:56 Labour will achieve rental reform where the Tories have failed for four and a
19:02 half years.
19:05 [Applause]
19:12 Finishing the job by banning no-fault evictions.
19:20 [Applause]
19:27 And we'll give first-time buyers first dibs on new developments in their
19:32 communities with a comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme for those who
19:36 don't have access to the bank of mum and dad and we'll end the medieval leasehold
19:41 system with root and branch reforms.
19:46 [Applause]
19:54 We will deliver planning reform to build the houses the next generation so
20:00 desperately needs. It's Labour that is the party of home ownership because we
20:07 understand what it means to make your home, to start a family and to get on in
20:13 life. And I know the difference a decent wage and secure home can make.
20:19 It was a Labour government that introduced a minimum wage that improved
20:23 my income. A Labour government built the council houses, I got the keys to my
20:29 first home to security. A Labour government that introduced equal pay and
20:34 I started to save money. The Labour government took me from a council estate
20:40 to the parliamentary estate.
20:44 [Applause]
20:54 And conference that's where my Labour values come from and my confidence to
21:00 succeed. Ever since those days to all the people who have underestimated me
21:06 throughout my life I've always said watch this space. So I say to anyone who
21:14 feels written off and looked down on I've got your back. Labour is on your
21:21 side.
21:34 Conference the Tories last week not only showed that they were not on your
21:39 side they showed they're not fit to govern. It's not just that they don't
21:43 have a plan frankly they don't have a clue and they can't solve the country's
21:48 problems because they are the problem. They've broken Britain.
21:55 [Applause]
21:59 And they've left working people paying the price. We don't just know Britain
22:06 can be better than this we have a plan to make it better. Not short-term
22:11 sticking plaster solutions but a mission driven government. So you'll see that
22:17 plan from us this week. A different kind of economy where better living standards
22:23 for all are how we drive growth and why we will drive growth. That repairs and
22:30 revives our broken public services and provides a secure job, decent pay, strong
22:36 communities and a home of your own. The foundations on which a good life is
22:43 built. Conference earlier I quoted one of the great anthems of our movement. It
22:51 was a woman trade unionist Helen Todd who first demanded bread and roses too.
22:57 A century ago she wanted the right to vote and something worth voting for. In
23:04 her words that bread and roses be the heritage of every child that is born in
23:09 this country in a government of which she has a voice. Conference our mission
23:15 as a movement is the same now as it was then so let us fulfill it. Let's make it
23:23 our legacy for every child in this country once more and let us be the
23:28 government where they can find their voice and follow their dreams. Thank you.
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