Category Archives: Labour conference

Keir Starmer defies call for changes to first past the post voting system

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The Labour leader said electoral reform was not a priority and refused to make it one of the party’s election manifesto pledges

Keir Starmer has ruled out including any support for a change in the voting system in Labour’s election manifesto, as senior figures from across the party joined calls to back proportional representation (PR).

Labour’s annual conference, under way in Liverpool, is expected to back a motion calling for the party to drop its historical support for the first past the post system amid concerns that it has locked Labour out of power.

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Keir Starmer unveils green growth plan to counter Liz Truss’s tax cuts

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Labour pledges a revolution in green energy to ‘boost jobs and slash emissions’

Keir Starmer will pledge to deliver a new era of economic growth and permanently lower energy bills by turning the UK into an independent green “superpower” before 2030, through a massive expansion of wind and solar energy.

Announcing details of the plan exclusively to the Observer, the Labour leader says he will double the amount of onshore wind, triple solar and more than quadruple offshore wind power, “re-industrialising” the country to create a zero carbon, self-sufficient electricity system, by the end of this decade.

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Tories gambling with the finances of British people, says Starmer

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Labour leader attacks ‘casino economics’ in wake of £45bn package of tax cuts announced by chancellor

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the government of “gambling the mortgages and finances” of the British people with its “casino economics”.

Speaking before his party’s conference in Liverpool, the Labour leader tweeted: “Tory casino economics is gambling the mortgages and finances of every family in the country. Labour will secure growth for working people, that benefits all communities. My government will deliver a fairer, greener future.”

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Keir Starmer promises ‘serious plan for government’ in conference speech

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Labour leader attacks Boris Johnson as ‘a showman with nothing left to show’ in keynote address

Keir Starmer has used a 90-minute conference speech to urge former Labour voters to return to the party, promising he will never “go into an election with a manifesto that is not a serious plan for government”.

In his first in-person address to a Labour conference since becoming leader, Starmer sought to present himself as a serious, focused contrast to the “trivial” approach of Boris Johnson, recounting his background, his “two rocks” of family and work, and his career as a lawyer and director of public prosecutions.

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No kicks, coughs or slip-ups as party conferences go online

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Attendees of this year’s virtual gatherings may be spared any gaffes, but at what cost?

Utter the phrase “conference season” to a Westminster veteran and don’t be surprised if their initial reaction is a shudder. For regular attendees of the annual party gatherings, which kick off next weekend, they raise the prospect of lengthy policy sermons and curled cheese sandwiches by day, followed by sweaty bars and third-hand gossip by night.

Related: Keir Starmer's conference challenge is to avoid the shadow of past leaders | Zoe Williams

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Antisemitism: Labour criticised for failing to consult Jewish members

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Jewish Labour Movement also criticises party for allowing issue to be debated at party conference on Jewish Sabbath

Labour has been criticised for failing to consult Jewish members over its new disciplinary procedures for expelling members, and allowing the revised rules to be debated at conference on the Jewish Sabbath.

The Jewish Labour Movement, which is affiliated to the party, accused Labour of more “institutional failings” after it failed to discuss with it Labour’s proposed changes to the process for dealing with serious misdemeanours including antisemitism and other racism.

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Jeremy Corbyn: I’ll stay neutral and let the people decide on Brexit

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Labour leader’s call for ‘sensible’ deal is signal to party that he will resist call to pick sides

Jeremy Corbyn has set out the four pillars of a “sensible” Brexit deal he would negotiate with the EU, as he pledged to carry out whatever the people decide in a second EU referendum as Labour prime minister.

The Labour leader set out how he would go into an election offering to negotiate a Brexit deal involving a customs union, ahead of next week’s autumn conference where activists will launch a bid to shift the party’s position towards campaigning to remain in the EU.

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