00:00Hello. Hello. Good morning.
00:05Whatever honeymoon period the new government were hoping for,
00:08Zakir Starmer will have wished he could at least get through the Labour Party conference before it's ended.
00:14After only weeks as Prime Minister, he has faced criticism over freebies,
00:19being too downbeat on the future, and has lost ground in the polls.
00:23My favourite subject at school was actually music.
00:28But today, the stage in Liverpool was his, and a chance to change the tune.
00:33The last time a Prime Minister delivered the Labour conference's keynote speech was Gordon Brown, back in 2009.
00:40Look at what we have achieved together since 1997.
00:45The winter fuel allowance. Our economic future must be green.
00:50It's a ruthless determination to raise standards in every school.
00:54We have to step up the protection of our borders against terrorism and illegal immigration.
00:59We will work for peace and stability for the peoples of Israel and Palestine.
01:05Getting the deficit down while maintaining and indeed improving front-line services, and that is the Labour approach.
01:17Fifteen years on, many of those issues may sound familiar to Zakir.
01:21Early on in his speech, he delighted the conference with a whistle-stop tour of the government's early achievements and pledges.
01:28Planning. Reform. Doctors back in theatre.
01:32New solar projects. New offshore wind projects.
01:35The onshore ban lifted. Great British Energy launched.
01:39One-word hostage judgement ended.
01:42A border security command. A national wealth fund getting Britain building again.
01:47The Renters Reform Bill stopping no-fault eviction.
01:50And the Railway Services Bill.
01:52Giving railways back into public ownership.
01:55And we're only just getting started.
01:59A crackdown on knife crime. A real living wage.
02:03A modern industrial strategy.
02:05A ten-year plan for our NHS.
02:08Devolution to our nations, regions and cities.
02:11The biggest levelling up of workers' rights in a generation.
02:14More teachers. More neighbourhood police.
02:16More operations. Rebuilding our public services.
02:19Change has begun.
02:24The Prime Minister's first announcement was a fitting and timely one for the setting.
02:28Telling the conference that a Hillsborough law will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the disaster,
02:34in which 97 Liverpool fans were fatally injured.
02:38A law for Liverpool. A law for the 97.
02:42A law that people shouldn't have had to fight so hard to get.
02:46That will be delivered by this Labour government.
02:52Ahead of his departure for New York and the UN General Assembly,
02:56the Prime Minister restated his call for de-escalation in the Middle East
03:00and the recognition of a Palestinian state.
03:03So I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel.
03:09Again, again, all parties to pull back from the brink.
03:16I call again for immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
03:19The return of the security.
03:21The hostilities.
03:23And a recommitment to the two-state solution.
03:27A recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.
03:34And in this uncertain world, I also pay tribute to our armed forces
03:39for all they do to keep Britain safe.
03:43As well as praise for current members of the armed forces,
03:46there was also a commitment to the UK's veterans.
03:49Because there is another injustice hiding in plain sight in our streets,
03:53in every town and city in this country.
03:56People who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,
04:00who put their lives on the line to protect all of us,
04:04but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight.
04:09We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore.
04:13So today I can announce that this government will respect that service.
04:18We will repay those who served us and house all veterans in housing need.
04:23Homes will be there for heroes.
04:30One of Labour's flagship policies before the election
04:33was the creation of the publicly owned GB Energy.
04:37And today, Sakhir confirmed the location of its headquarters.
04:41So today I can confirm that the future of British Energy
04:45will be powered as it has been for decades
04:48by the talent and skills of the working people in the granite city
04:52with GB Energy based in Aberdeen.
05:00There was strong criticism for the Conservatives' record
05:03after 14 years in government.
05:05Why must we release prisoners early?
05:07Because the Tories serve themselves.
05:10Why are our public services on their knees?
05:13Because the Tories serve themselves.
05:16Why is crime routinely unpunished?
05:18Our rivers polluted. Borders insecure.
05:21School roofs crumbling. Child poverty rampant.
05:24Nothing seems to work. Our public finance is broken.
05:27Because for 14 years, the Tories performed the politics of easy answers
05:32rather than use the power of government to serve our country.
05:37Before addressing Labour's unpopular cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
05:42Stabilising our economy is the first step of this long-term plan.
05:48The only way we keep prices down, cut NHS waiting lists
05:53and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country,
05:58every pensioner, will be better off with Labour.
06:03My sister, my sister, was a...
06:07I think this guy has obviously got a pass on the 2019 conference.
06:14The Prime Minister's speech was briefly interrupted towards the end
06:17by a pro-Palestine heckler,
06:19just as Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been the day before.
06:27Sakhir's overall message is that there are no easy answers,
06:31but there would be no return to the years of austerity under the Conservatives,
06:35despite what the new government calls a black hole in the public's finances.
06:39Despite some announcements which will be welcome to many,
06:42the Prime Minister also recognises there are unpopular decisions to be made.
06:47Labour won a landslide victory in July.
06:50Just a few months on, they face a challenge to keep winning over voters.
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