In his keynote speech at Labour’s conference on Tuesday, the prime minister will attempt to offer some optimism with his promise of “national renewal”. But he will also warn of the “reality” of the road ahead.
Sir Keir Starmer will defend focusing on “short-term pain” for “long-term gain” as he reiterates the need for “tough decisions” during his keynote speech at the Labour Party conference.
Speaking in Liverpool on Tuesday, the prime minister will again point to the £22bn “black hole” in public finances he claims was left by the Conservatives, saying there are “no easy answers” to fixing it, and refusing to offer “false hope” to the public.
But he will promise to “build a Britain that belongs to you” and “once again serves the interests of working people”, adding Labour’s plan will ensure the country “gets there much more quickly”.
Sir Keir is also expected to pledge a cut in net migration by increasing training opportunities in the UK, rather than “importing labour” from abroad, and a crackdown on benefit fraud, as well as tackling long-term sickness “to get people back to work”.
And he will commit to introducing a “Hillsborough Law”, named after the 1989 football stadium tragedy which resulted in the deaths of 97 people, by its next anniversary, which would introduce a statutory duty of candour on public servants during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation.
Having promised the legislation if Labour won power at its party conference two years ago, the prime minister will say it is “a law for Liverpool, a law for the 97, a law that people should never have needed to fight so hard to get – but that will be delivered by this Labour government”.
