Keir Starmer speech at TUC Congress 2024: Read full transcript

It’s such a pleasure to be back here with you again in Brighton.

A City of sanctuary, solidarity, and a city that once again this summer showed there’s no place for hatred, division or violence on our streets. A city that I’m delighted to say now has a Labour Council once again. And a city that’s now joined by a string of Labour MPs across Sussex, from Worthing to Hastings.

And Congress, Brighton holds a special place in my heart. Because three years ago, I gave my first in-person Conference speech as Labour leader in this very Hall. I said that our Party had to change if we were to win a General Election.

Well, Congress, we did. And thank you for the part that you all played in that. And now, because of the hard work that we did together, I’m able to address this Congress, for the first time as Prime Minister.

The first time – I think I’m right in saying – that a Prime Minister has come here for fifteen years, since 2009. And that’s a year that Paul will no doubt remember well. Because it’s the last time Everton got to a cup final, although I think they lost 2-0 to one of the lesser London teams!

So, I think one promise I can guarantee today, Paul, is that Prime Ministerial visits will probably now be a bit more frequent than Everton cup finals!

Because, in all seriousness, I sat on the opposition benches, I took many a lecture from the Tories, telling the world what working people do or don’t want. And you knew that every single one of them was delivered without the common decency of coming here, showing some respect to the people who fight for the living standards of working people – every single day.

And congress that era is now over.

And I would like to thank every one of you who played a role in ending it. Every one of you – who took to the streets and doorsteps of your communities. To remove the burden of Tory rule from our shoulders.

But even more importantly, I would like to thank every one of you who held the social fabric of this country together through fourteen years where it came under relentless attack.

The cleaners. The carers. The nurses, physios, shop workers, drivers, builders, cooks, posties, farmers, retailers, warehouse workers, technicians. Teachers and teaching assistants.

The working people who got us through the pandemic and so much more. The backbone of this country.

Because congress, the chance we have now, the opportunity to rebuild Britain, that hope is here because of those efforts. So thank you all – for everything you do and have done for our country.

But now – the job of rebuilding begins. And I have to level with you, as I did on the steps of Downing Street just over two months ago…

This will take a while.  It will be hard. But just as we had to do the hard graft of change in our Party, now we have to roll up our sleeves and change our country. And Congress, the light of a fairer Britain, A more prosperous, secure and dynamic country is at the end of the tunnel.

That does not mean the way towards it has become any easier.

The Tories knew it would be like this. That’s why they called the election early. And we saw, as I’m sure you did, just how ruthlessly they were prepared to salt the earth of Britian’s future.

Serving themselves, to the bitter end. It’s why we were so clear and specific about the first steps in our election campaign.

We didn’t go further, because we knew there would be new problems – unknown problems – when we finally saw the books.

And with trust in politics so low, I had to be honest with the British people when standing in the full sunlight of democracy.

I owed it to them to promise only what we knew we could deliver. And yet congress, even in our worst fears, we didn’t think it would be this bad.

The pollution in our rivers. The overcrowding in our prison. So much of our crumbling public realm. Universities. Councils. The care system. All even worse than we expected.

Millions of pounds wasted – disgracefully – on a Rwanda scheme that they knew would never work.

Politics reduced to an expensive, divisive, noisy performance. A game to be played, not the force that can fundamentally change the lives of those we represent.

And congress – the bill for this performance is now in. And I’m afraid if we don’t take action – it’s a cheque that will bounce.

Britain left with a social black hole and a financial one. £22bn this year alone. Concealed, not just from us, not just from you or the British people, but even from the Office of Budget Responsibility.

The watchdog that is there precisely to protect working people. Nobody in this room wants to hear such a gloomy forecast – I know that.

I don’t want to be saying it either, It’s not how any Government would want to start its work.

Yet given what happened with Liz Truss, given that, unlike fourteen years ago, borrowing costs are high and the risk of inflation is real.

I owe working people the respect of economic stability. A responsibility – not to be reckless with their money. That is the mandate we have won.  And we will deliver this by fixing the foundations of our country.

Taking those first steps towards the long term change we need. That is how this government will return wealth creation in Britain to the service of working people.

Because congress – make no mistake – that is the opportunity here.  This is not a project that will be content just to achieve a few good Labour things and leave the broader economic settlement untouched.

No – the crisis we have inherited means we must go deep into the marrow of our institutions, rewrite the rules of our economy, fix the foundations – so we can build a new home. A country where growth not only comes from the enterprise of working people, but where growth serves the interests of working people.

Living standards rising, not just because we are redistributing from prosperous parts of the country, but because we are growing the economy in every community.

That is our mission.

Who is growth for? Who does it serve? The right answer, the Labour answer, the British answer must be working people. That is the change we stand for.

There’s nothing new in this. It’s the purpose of the Labour party – now and always. And throughout this Government.

No matter the storm, the service of working people will be our anchor, our still point in a turning world, the people we hold in our minds eye as we face up to the daunting challenge of our inheritance and secure our mission on growth.

That’s why we’ve already reformed the remit of the Low Pay Commission, to take account of the cost-of-living, and deliver a real living wage.

It’s why we’ve launched a new National Wealth Fund to invest in the critical infrastructure our industries need and drive growth into every community.

It’s why we’ve unlocked solar and onshore wind. Started bringing rail back into public ownership. Committed to a proper industrial strategy. Switched on Great British Energy

And begun – in partnership with you and business. The biggest levelling up of workers’ rights in a generation.

And let’s be very clear why we need this bill. It’s because this government is committed to driving up living standards, improving productivity and working in partnership with workers.

And congress – as part of that bill, let me again be crystal clear, we will repeal the 2016 Trade Union Act, get rid of Minimum Service Level legislation, end – the cheap and vindictive attacks on this movement, and turn the page on politics as noisy performance once and for all.

Congress – this is the opportunity of power.

It was hard won and hard fought for. I want to thank the General Secretary for his role in that.

Paul has always been a campaigning force of nature. And across the movement – there are people without whom we could not have done this. Too many to thank here. But they know who they are.

Because election victories don’t fall from the sky, certainly not for the Labour Party. But as well as your support, we also had to change.

This election would not have been won, if we had not changed. We have the chance now to repair our public services, because we changed the Labour Party.

We have the chance to make work pay, because we changed the Labour party. We have the chance to deliver for working people, young people, vulnerable people, the poorest in our society, because we changed the Labour party.

So when I say ‘country first, party second’ – that isn’t a slogan.

It’s the guiding principle of everything this Government will do, we ran as a changed Labour Party and we will govern as a changed Labour Party.

So I make no apologies for any of the decisions we’ve taken to begin the work of change. And no apologies to those, still stuck in the 1980s who believe that unions and business can only stand at odds, leaving working people stuck in the middle. Who cannot see that this country needs a new path on growth.

People who describe policies that give working people more security, more protection, more power and dignity at work, or even just the fundamentals of industrial strategy, which is common across the world, as “anti-growth”.

Let me tell you what is anti-growth. An economy where real wages stagnated for fifteen years – that’s anti-growth.

An economy where productivity keeps on flatlining – that’s anti-growth.

An economy where the state of our public services prevents people going to work because they are ill – that’s anti-growth.

So no – I will not take lectures from the Tories or others who complain every time the Government tries to undo the damage they’ve done, clinging desperately to the failed model of the past. And nor will I take seriously the complaints of people who had their time were faced with the same difficult problems and chose to turn away from the responsibility of fixing them.

A party that allowed the politics of easy answers and distraction to become their comfort zone rather than face the responsibility and reality of government.

That has changed. Let me tell you – I see the nurses, the teaching assistants, the carers – who can’t afford to get their boiler fixed, or buy their kids a new school uniform.

We see the public sector demoralised, burnt out in some places – gripped – by a recruitment and retention crisis that holds back your ability to do what we all believe in.

The service of working people. We see all that – and so I can guarantee – this is not and never will be a Government that will sit round the table with you and tell you black is white.

But I do have to make clear, from a place of respect that this government will not risk its mandate for economic stability, under any circumstances. And with tough decisions on the horizon – pay will inevitably be shaped by that.

I owe you that candour. And I’ll tell you why. It’s because – as was so painfully exposed by the last government – when you lose control of the economy it’s working people who pay the price.

That’s why I call now, as before the election, for the politics of partnership. With us – in government. With business.

And most importantly of all, with working people. Now, that sounds very straightforward and attractive.

But I’ll tell you this. It’s much more difficult. Alongside collaboration, it also requires compromise. It demands we work through disagreement. And with those who have a different perspective.

Partnership is a more difficult way of doing politics – I don’t deny it.  I know there’s clarity in the old ways, the zero-sum ways. Business versus worker. Management versus union. Public versus private. Pick your side, to the victor – the spoils.

Nonetheless, I say to everyone now, and I know so many of you already get this, that kind of politics is not what the British people want.

When I say to them – our policies will be “pro-business AND pro-worker”. They don’t look at me as if I’m deluded. No – they see it as the most ordinary, sensible thing in the world.

And I know there will always be disputes. Of course there will. But in all seriousness – there is a mood of change in the business world.

A growing understanding of the importance of good work. And the shared self-interest that comes from treating the workforce with respect and dignity. The productivity gain of fairness.

And congress – that is an opportunity to be grasped. Trust me – business leaders are not knocking on my door saying they want to rip up employee rights. They don’t tell me the problems they face will be solved by coming for trade unions. They want fair taxes, high skills and the long-term stability to invest.

And that chimes precisely with what trade unions up and down the country tell me they also want. Working people want good companies to make profits, attract investment and create good jobs.

And congress, in a way, this is why the Tory argument on trade unions no longer finds the same audience. The British people are not interested in those tired old tropes. This isn’t the 1980s. The mood is for partnership. And not just on pay, on everything.

To turn around our NHS, give our children the start in life they deserve, make our public services fit for the future, unlock the potential of clean energy.

A new era of investment and reform. The common cause of national renewal.

And so – as we rewrite those rules of our economy. As we drag this country back to the service of working people. This is a chance that must be taken.

Because rules written in the ink of partnership will be more durable and long-lasting – whoever is in power.

So, it is time to turn the page. Business and unions, the private and public sector, united by a common cause to rebuild our public services and grow our economy in a new way.

Higher growth, higher wages, higher productivity, the shared purpose of partnership. The path through the mess the Tories made.

And onwards to national renewal.

That is the road we are on, congress, and we won’t turn away from it. we will keep to the course of change, reject the snake oil of easy answers. Fix the foundations of our economy.

And build a new Britain.

More secure. More prosperous. More dynamic and fairer.

Wealth created in every community. A country – renewed and returned. Calmly but with confidence, to the service of working people.

Thank you.

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