Analysis: Sir Keir outlines ‘Mission Government’ for Britain as Labour party dares to dream

The Labour leader delivered a confident speech on the penultimate day of conference.

It started with an unwanted sprinkling of glitter. It ended with a party seemingly more confident than ever that the glittering prize of Downing Street is within reach.

Sir Keir Starmer's keynote conference speech yesterday appeared to enrapture party members, despite a lack of policy.

In what could be the final conference before a general election, Sir Keir vowed to stoke “the fire of change" and outlined a project called “Mission Government”.

Making his address in Liverpool, he was interrupted before he had even started by a protester throwing glitter over him, calling for “a people’s house”. Shrugging it off, the Labour leader showed a confidence to adapt rarely seen during his tenure, taking off his jacket and stating “protest or power, this is why we changed our party”.

His response was met with loud cheers and a standing ovation, which would be a recurrent theme of his speech, which garnered nearly 20 ovations throughout. The off-the-cuff response displayed an ease rarely associated with the Labour leader, who aides have long lamented is far more personable in private than he is in public.

With a packed audience already on side, the Labour leader delivered a speech light on policy but brimming with energy, following a conference where members now genuinely expect to win the next general election, and perhaps the one after, with talk of a ten-year plan.

The main and most literally concrete measure was the promise of a “housing recovery plan”, pledging to build 1.5 million homes over the next parliament.

Labour claim planning permissions have hit a record low with Tory MPs profiting from limiting the supply.

Channelling the policy of Clement Attlee’s government that built 10 new towns during the 1950s, the Labour leader pledged to “bulldoze through” a planning system that was “an obstacle to the aspirations of millions, now and in the future, who deserve the security of home ownership”.

There would also be a reform to affordable homes, while the Tory pledge from four and a half years ago of ending “no fault” evictions would also finally be delivered.

Given housing was entirely absent from the Prime Minister’s speech or indeed Tory conference as a whole just one week ago, this was an easy win for the Labour leader, with Rishi Sunak scrapping his own housing targets in the past year.

The battle for Sir Keir if elected will now be delivery, convincing local councils and residents not to oppose new properties.

What was also striking was the broad nature of the speech, with the Labour leader flitting between left-wing arguments and more conservative language, in an attempt to rally the base while also attracting votes from traditional Tory voters.

He accused successive Tory Government’s of lying to the public, whether it was David Cameron saying “we’re all in it together” during austerity, Boris Johnson claiming Brexit would bring benefits to business, or Rishi Sunak’s promise he was taking the tough decisions during a cost of living.In his most left-wing language yet, the Labour leader accused the Tories of not knowing the real Britain, and insisting “when it’s people like them, they look after themselves”.

He labelled Rishi Sunak one of many “shallow men and women of Westminster” who “can’t change”, and don’t know what it is to stand in the public’s shoes or “serve this country”.

Sir Keir contrasted this with his sister, a care worker, who worked fourteen hour shifts during the pandemic while “they” broke covid rules. This was an angy speech, but one that placed a contrast on the Government’s conduct with that of the general public. They are out of touch, we’re on your side.He also spoke about his own working class credentials, saying his experience meant he knew what it was like to struggle. To yet another ovation, he said: “I’ve felt the anxiety of a cost of living crisis before. And until your family can see the way out, I will fight for you.”

These more traditional Labour ideas were contrasted with arguments once seemed controversial at a Labour conference, discussing the need to reform the NHS, work with business to create jobs, and “take back our streets”.

This was matched with talk of “shouldering the burden for working people”, but with a “more powerful engine, not a bigger car. A reforming state, not a cheque-book state”. The Labour leader was promising to help those most-in-need, but without making financial commitments or policy he could be attacked on by the Tories. This along with Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor’s speech on Monday show a changed Labour, one portraying itself as the party of fiscal responsibility, and being applauded by Labour delegates for doing so.

The seismic change within the party was also profound in Sir Keir’s response to the crisis in Gaza, where the Labour leader condemned the “senseless” killings unleashed by Hamas “terrorists” in Israel in his speech to the Labour conference, garnering a standing ovation.

While party policy has long been a two-state solution, his comments were a striking departure from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, and even a contrast to the organised Palestinian flag waving in this very same venue during a previous conference.

The speech also stressed his unionist credentials, saying Labour “serves working people in Scotland because Labour serves working people across all these islands.” Following on from the by-election win, Sir Keir now believes this service could be by taking back Holyrood.

Speaking to MPs after, the mood was buoyant, with one telling The Scotsman they were “over the moon”, adding it was “superb”.More than one shared their delight at the housing announcement, saying it was “outstanding and just what we wanted and needed!”. In a joke about the protester, they added “also loved the glitter. Sparkle always welcome”.It did not go unnoticed that Sir Keir also made jokes not written in the speech, with off-the-cuff remarks landing well despite the perception he lacks humour. Labour advisers have long worried the leader could come off too straight, but believe Sir Keir is a man growing into the role.While Labour figures were broadly happy with the speech, one source described it as “wooly”, adding it went down well with the room but “what wouldn’t?”.

The mood in the party was already transformed, with Labour growing in confidence ahead of the next general election. The key task for Sir Keir was not to make a mistake, and as one MP put it, “it was the best I’ve seen him, it’s our job now to make him Prime Minister”.