In today’s newsletter: Subdued vibes on the floor, poor polls and teetering party politics stand in the way of Keir Starmer’s plan to take Britain to the promised land

Good morning. Are you feeling the Blitz spirit?

The defining message of Keir Starmer’s conference speech pitches Labour at war for the soul of the country, engaged in a battle every bit as momentous as rebuilding Britain after the second world war. The assembled Labour ministers, staff and paid-up members of the public alternately clapped and waved their union jacks.

Gaza | Donald Trump has given Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” to respond to his proposed peace and reconstruction plan in Gaza, warning the militant group would “pay in hell” if it rejects the deal, as the Israeli offensive continued, inflicting further civilian casualties.

US politics | The US government shut down on Wednesday, after congressional Democrats refused to support a Republican plan to extend funding for federal departments unless they won a series of concessions centered on healthcare.

Afghanistan | Afghans are living under a near-complete communications blackout after Taliban authorities cut internet and mobile phone services for a second day as part of an unprecedented country-wide crackdown. The administration offered no immediate explanation for the blackout, although in recent weeks it has voiced concern about pornography online.

UK news | Police have responded to online speculation after a gang-rape in Banbury by saying that there is no evidence linking the crime to migrant accommodation. The force said that “any assumptions being made are unfounded and unhelpful”.

Inequality | Scientists have linked the impact of living in an unequal society to structural changes in the brains of children – regardless of individual wealth – for the first time. The findings suggest “inequality creates a toxic social environment” that “literally shapes how young minds develop”, researchers said.

PM tells Labour conference he will not con people with false hope but says difficult trade-offs will help bring ‘national renewal’

• UK politics live – latest updates

Britain can become a country of pride, wealth and stability if the public accepts a series of difficult “trade-offs”, rejects nimbyism and sees through the Conservatives’ populist “lies”, Keir Starmer has said.

In his first Labour conference speech as prime minister, he urged the public to keep faith amid difficult and sometimes unpopular choices made by the government, telling them he understood their impatience for real change.

Labour needs voters to believe politics can make their lives better not that politicians are all the same, hence why the donations row was so damaging

When Keir Starmer wanted to inject a moment of levity into his first speech as prime minister at the Labour conference, he told a story about visiting a holiday cottage in the Lake District where the owner joked about wanting to push him down the stairs.

As lighter moments go, it had a dark edge. It is British humour, of course, but there is a reason it made an impression on Starmer – it’s a microcosm of what he and his closest advisers see as their greatest threat: the cynicism and disdain with which ordinary people view politicians. The view that they are all the same, all on the take. The widespread lack of trust that politics can make lives better.