The Labour leadership was pleased by conference 2021 – and with good reason

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Keir Starmer delivered his long-awaited Labour conference speech yesterday. How did it go down? Tummies were rumbling by the time the 7,250 words over 90 minutes were being wrapped up, but the leader had the support of most people in the conference hall and his aides were delighted by the heckling for which Starmer had been equipped with prepared lines. He also announced some new policies on mental health treatment, retrofitting homes and improving schools, and restated a series of older commitments. You can read the whole thing here, reactions from across the movement here and my snap analysis here.

The weakness of the speech was the lack of a single message to take away from it, I think. It was sprawling: from ‘levelling up’ criticisms to Covid lessons, from his personal story to being tough on crime, from the difference between Starmer and Boris Johnson to mental health and technology in care and education, from business to climate change to the union. These topics were not held together by one consistent underlying idea: “Work. Care. Equality. Security.” was the line intended to tie it all together, but this in itself straddles too many areas. (‘Stronger future together’, the tagline of the conference, was forgettable and I don’t really know what it means either.) The speech was so long that the call-backs and W. H. Auden quote didn’t quite work.

The key political issues of the day did not feature heavily: the fuel crisis was raised but only briefly, the Universal Credit cut got one mention and the end of furlough got none. There was also a lot of padding that could – and I think should – have been cut out. But the weaknesses of the speech should not be overstated. There were strong sections in it and good policies, which invited lots of applause. The final line (“These are the tools of my trade. And with them I will go to work.”) was perfect.

Ultimately, Starmer’s team is overjoyed with how conference went and with good reason: they got controversial party reforms through in just days with little preparation (certainly not nine months plus a special conference as in 2014); they got the EHRC rule changes through and Louise Ellman rejoined the party; the most dramatic moment, Andy McDonald’s resignation, didn’t interest journalists very much; and Starmer competently delivered a speech that was well-received.

The Labour left reckon the speech was “uninspiring”, as Laura Pidcock said, but the BBC coverage on telly last night could not have been more positive. Assessing the last week against the leadership’s own aims, it is easy to see how Labour conference 2021 was a huge success for Starmer. He made the case that these are serious times and they require a serious man like himself, rather than Johnson. It is a coherent and logical argument. The question, as it always has been with Starmer as Labour leader, is whether the public will agree by the next election that the chaotic but charismatic rebel now in office should be replaced by a more capable and predictable rule-follower. Can Starmer tap into the mood of the country?

A massive thank you to everyone who subscribes to this email and opens it every day, to everyone who makes small regular donations as you’re our biggest funders, and to those who kindly told me lovely things about LabourList at conference – apologies if I was too stressed at the time to respond properly! Our conference team, Elliot, Morgan and Caitlin, did a great job, and I am incredibly proud of our coverage and our events (which you can watch back on LabourList). Thank you to our sponsors, Unite, the FBU, Power to Change, The Cares Family and the End Violence Against Women Coalition. In light of the recent murders of women, and the latest terrifying details of Sarah Everard’s case, I especially found our VAWG panel event powerful and I recommend watching it if you weren’t in that packed room on Sunday afternoon.

Despite our conference colds, there are more useful write-ups still to come on LabourList, so stay tuned.

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