Below is the full text of a speech given by Keir Starmer to Welsh Labour conference in LLandudno this morning.

Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you Catherine for those words of introduction. It seems a long time since we were on that bridge in Abergavenny launching I think on that day the first steps, so thank you for those words.

Mae’n wych i fod nôl yn Llandudno.

And… bore da!

I’ve been practising since last year, as you can see. And conference – what a year it has been. Because fourteen years, this nation here has carried the torch for the entire Labour Party…

The only great nation on our islands where we could show, as a movement…

The change that we can deliver for working people.

But now –

A Labour government in Cardiff Bay, joined by a Labour government in Westminster. A new era. A new opportunity. A responsibility that we must now take. To return Wales and Britain, decisively to the service of working people. And of course, I had the privilege of travelling through the valleys and mountains on the campaign stump earlier this year.

From the beginning, in Abergavenny, with Catherine where we launched our first steps to change Wales. On the final day of the campaign in Carmarthen – and that was just hours before the polls opened. And then beyond the campaign as well – because just three days after that election I was at the Senedd, a statement of intent, keeping my promise to the people of Wales.

And then this summer, I was back again in the rolling hills of Carmarthenshire with Eluned. Kickstarting our mission to make Wales an energy superpower. And if I remember rightly, it was August, it was a beautiful sunny day. Today we are enjoying something maybe a little more typical for November!

But look, I know that during that election – we have just seen some of the images a moment ago – I know how hard you work for our party – and this nation. And the doors you knock, the streets you pound, the conversations that you have with your communities… and not just in those weeks of the General Election campaign. But all the weeks and months and years before it.

Step by step, conversation by conversation, showing that this party – this changed Labour Party, is fit to govern, not just in Wales, but across the whole of Britain. That we are ready for a new era. Labour Wales and Labour Britain, pulling in the same direction.

The full force of our nation, once again serving the people of Wales. And everything this movement has achieved…

From the first embers of justice flickering in the coal fields and the valleys of South Wales, to the birth of the NHS with Nye Bevan in Tredegar, right down to the Welsh government’s school-building programmes in those same communities today, everything comes from the people.

Your effort, your enthusiasm, your belief in fairness and justice. And above all – your determination. To root those arguments in the real concerns of working people. That is how we won in July. It is how you have always won in this nation. And it is how we must win again – in 2026.

The only path for progressive politics in our time – a truth once again demonstrated in recent weeks. Because there’s nothing preordained about politics. There’s no such thing as a natural order. And election victories don’t fall from sky, believe you me. They’re hard won and hard fought.

So any future success we enjoy depends upon our steadfast resolve to that cause. Showing – again and again that this party – this changed Labour Party – is the vehicle for the hopes and aspirations of working people. That our ambition lives up to the change that they need in their lives.

That is how we won twenty-seven seats in Wales in July, how we united the great nations of this country, and made Wales a Tory-free zone. I know that is a huge part of your triumph. Because you have changed Britain.

And for all those efforts – I simply say… Diolch! See? A lot of practicing since last year!

Because look, there is a lot of thanks to go around. And most of all, conference – three truly formidable women. Women who will change the future of Wales for the better.

Eluned – the first female Leader of Wales, conference. And I look forward to the change we can make together. We are already showing that. In our work on the Council for the Nations and Regions. And I know that you will never be shy about fighting for Wales. Never give an inch to those who say that Welsh pride means somehow cutting Wales off from Britain and from the world. You will never give an inch, and quite rightly too.

And my friends Carolyn and Jo. Jo and I met as lawyers – when she was fighting for trade union members, and she fights just as hard for the people of Wales. And Carolyn – the first ever Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour – and a true friend to me, Vic and the kids. I am so grateful for the work you do for our Party and for our government as well.

And make no mistake, conference, there will be young women and girls in Wales who are looking at the TV – and who are noticing this is a nation led by women. And they will be thinking one day, they will be changing their ambitions because of your example, thinking you know what, they can be a leader of this nation as well. And success belongs to people like them.

And conference – that is what change looks like. A new era of change has begun in Wales.

Meanwhile, the Tories can only look on from their Welsh headquarters, in the chalk hills and rolling downs of Sussex! Honestly – you couldn’t actually make it up. The Shadow Welsh Secretary representing Wales from England.

A metaphor for life, if ever there was one. Mind you – if the Tories think you can become working class when you’re 16 working in McDonalds, then I suppose they think that going to university in Swansea does make you Welsh.

In fact – the Shadow Welsh Secretary’s constituency is actually I worked out nearer to France than it is Wales – so in the Six Nations, you are really, really going to have to watch that one!

But seriously, this visible reminder of Tory irrelevance in Wales. It shouldn’t breed complacency. And this is really important. And it’s not just the Tories, we know that. Politics in our times is volatile and it can change very, very quickly. And we didn’t achieve power by taking anything for granted. And we won’t deliver change by thinking that its now “job done”.  That is the lesson to draw from the visible absence of Tories in Wales.

It highlights the responsibility and opportunity of power. That with a Labour in government in Westminster and in the Senedd, success depends on us. Success depends on change. Not just in the mood of politics. But in the tone, the rhetoric, the character of how we approach things.

That’s important – of course it is. Words do matter. Seeking common ground matters. We are not and never will be the Tories when it comes to that. But conference, be under no illusions. The British people… they will judge us on actions not words.

And with a mandate likes ours, a mandate that stretches across every nation and region of Britain, there can be no excuses.

And “change” can’t just be a few extra lines on a graph moving in the right direction. “Change” can’t be just a sort of good Labour policy or two delivered whilst the broader settlement remains unchanged.

Change must mean nothing less than national renewal. A change felt in the bones of a nation, and in the lives and in the pockets of working people.

Public services – reformed and renewed. An economy where growth benefits the many. A sense of hope restored. Confidence – returned. A future where, together, we look forward to the days to come. Because together, we remember with pride the tough decisions we took to get there.

A Wales where clean energy – Welsh energy – is powering thousands and thousands of homes. Because we took tough decisions to build the infrastructure – the pylons and the turbines… that the people of Wales need to keep their bills low.

A Wales where working people have more security and dignity at work… because we took the tough decisions to reform the labour market, to get people back to work. Finally make work pay with a real living wage.

A Wales where we have created thousands of good, well-paid jobs. Jobs in the industries of the future. Because we took tough decisions to reform the economy with investment and industrial strategy.

And above all – a Wales that is proud and secure in its status as the beating heart of Britain. Because together, we have shown that Britain – Labour Britain – delivers security and opportunity for the people of Wales.

The pride and potential of this nation, no longer ignored, disregarded, undervalued – as it was for fourteen long years of Tory neglect. But unlocked to deliver change. And that is the meaning of national renewal. And it will be hard. People will say – we should turn back.

“That’s enough.”

“Take your foot off the accelerator.”

“You’ve made some tough choices – it’s time to now go more softly.”

In fact, to tell you the truth – they’ve already started saying that. But conference – you know me by now. You know that we will stay the course.  We will stick to our long-term plan – our national missions for change – because I am convinced they are the only way to change this nation for the better.

Take the budget a few weeks ago – a moment of pride.

The first Labour budget for fifteen years, delivered by the first female Chancellor – ever. That is 800 years of male chancellors that came before Rachel when she stood up just the other week. But also – a budget that focused squarely on the challenges before us.

The mountain of mess left by the Tories: public services decimated, a £22 billion black hole in our finances, concealed from the country.

And when you find damp in your house, you always have a choice. Paint over it – hope it goes away… put it off till tomorrow. Or strip it out, pull off the plaster and deal with it once and for all.

So make no mistake – I will defend our decisions in the budget all-day long.

And you may have seen in PMQs this week the Leader of the Opposition admitted that she wants all the benefits and investment of our budget – she just doesn’t want to pay for them. And she doesn’t know how to pay for them.

It is the same old Tories – they haven’t listened, they haven’t learnt, and they certainly haven’t changed. They crashed the economy once – and now we know they would do it all over again.

So I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality, I will defend the tough decisions – that were necessary to stabilise our economy – and I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales, finally turning the page on austerity – once and for all.

I will also defend it, conference, because the time is long overdue for Westminster politicians to level with people, honestly, about the trade-offs that Britain faces. To stop insulting your intelligence with the chicanery of easy answers, when that is exactly how we got into this mess in the first place.

It’s hard, of course it is hard. If it was easy – then Britain wouldn’t be here. And working people know that. They know there are no shortcuts. But they also know that protecting their payslips, fixing our public services, rebuilding our nation with investment. They know – that is the path a Labour government, with our values, would take – because that is what they voted for.

And that is the path of change. £21 billion for Wales next year – that is a record figure. That is the path of change. An additional £1 billion through the Barnett formula – that is the path of change. More money for Welsh schools and hospitals.  More investment in Welsh potential and pride. £88 million for City and Growth Deals. £1 billion for aerospace. Benefitting companies like Airbus, at Broughton, which we visited yesterday afternoon. A new hydrogen future in Milford Haven.

More jobs, more growth, more money in the pockets of the Welsh people. Conference – that is the path of change. And conference, we take yet another step along that road today. Confirming that £160 million of new investment for an Investment Zone in Wrexham & Flintshire will be going live next year.

Now this will promote investment and opportunities, this will create more jobs, and drive economic growth – across North Wales. And that is exactly why I’ve always said growth is my most important mission.

We have taken some extremely tough decisions on tax… you know that. But we can’t keep on that road. A Labour government can’t be reduced to an ever-expanding state, funded by ever-increasing taxes.

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So growth and reform have to be Labour causes. The means and the ends of rebuilding our country. Now I’ve said that we need to be a great reforming Labour government – and we will.

There are huge assets in this nation. A heritage in science, in trade and industry – richer and deeper than anywhere else in the world.

Take Parys Mountain, just a few miles from here. A copper mine that shaped North Wales for thousands of years. The beginning of this nation becoming the first truly industrial nation in the world. Where the copper that lined the ships of Britain’s navy came from, carrying Welsh coal and power to every corner of the globe. A new future – forged in the furnace of opportunity, built on industry – the pride and potential of the Welsh nation.

And look – I know what has been lost, of course I do. I have said it before. My dad was a tool-maker who worked in a factory. He was a working man. As a young lawyer, I worked with mining communities to challenge the Tories’ pit closure programme. So I know what disappeared when the factories and the pits closed. I know that it was more than just a way of life – it was an identity. Our identity in this Party, actually if we are frank.

The community, the security, the “chest-out” pride that comes with the certainty of knowing that your contribution is respected. That what you do, what you make, matters. Not just for you and your family, but for your community, your country and even beyond our shores.

A pride that looked out to the world and said: this is our place, this is who we are. Now this whole political project – the changes we’ve made to the Labour Party, they’ve always been about reforging that identity. And that is why, in the budget, we are doing the right thing by those communities that powered our country.

£25 million in funding to keep disused coal tips maintained and safe, making sure mineworkers have the pensions that are rightly theirs. That’s what returning the Labour Party to the service of working people means.

But the bigger job, the job now, is to do exactly the same for Wales and Britain. Because I don’t believe these stories belong in the history books. I believe they live on in our values – values that, if we fix the foundations, if we keep our economy stable, if we are decisive on industrial policy, smart with our investment, can make Wales competitive, not just now, but long into the future.

A nation that already enjoys leading positions in the industries of tomorrow: life sciences on the South Wales coast, aerospace here in North Wales, clean energy right across the nation, semiconductors in Newport, and yes – green steel in Port Talbot. And that’s the hard part, conference. Port Talbot shows exactly the challenge.

We have to support people – of course we do. We have to deliver a just and managed transition. Deploy the power of government as a kind of bridge to a better future. That is our responsibility – and we won’t shirk from it.

I mean – I have to tell you – when we were elected in July, I could not believe the mess we inherited in relation to Port Talbot. And remember that the Business Secretary – now the Leader of the Opposition – said that she was “proud” of that mess. Well, that just shows the sort of values that they hold, Tory values that in South Wales are very familiar indeed.

So look, I know how difficult things have been. And I know that this is still tough for many workers and their families, and this government will always stand alongside them.

That’s why we struck a better deal for workers in Port Talbot. A generous redundancy package, a comprehensive training programme, on a decent wage for twelve months.

At the budget, we also invested £80 million in a transition board, and just today, we have announced a new multi-million-pound fund for Port Talbot workers and their families to set up their own businesses.

I’ve met with those workers on a number of occasions in their workplace and had good conversations with them about what they do, what they want for themselves, their families and their community.

I know they have huge ambition and aspiration for the future and we will help them make their hopes a reality. Build a new future for their family and their community. But most importantly of all, conference, we secured the largest private investment in UK steel in decades. And secured a new direction for steel in Port Talbot. We secured a long-term future.

A foundation that the next generation, and the local economy more widely, can build their lives around. And that is exactly what I mean by tough decisions. And it isn’t easy, but it is the responsibility and opportunity of power.

The choice we face on industrial policy can never be between “no change” and “no support”. That is the false choice that led to the devastation across this nation in the 1980s – the politics of easy answers. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

What we must do is escape the mindset that sees industrial communities as some sort of a charity case, and instead see them as the source of growth and dynamism that they actually are. Potential and pride – that can be unlocked, if we have an optimistic, serious plan for the future.

And conference – that is how we rewrite our story in the ink of the future. We do it with a plan. We do it with pride. We do it with investment.

A modern industrial strategy that unlocks the strength and ambitions of Wales, a National Wealth Fund that will make investments across the country, upgrading ports and supply chains across the UK, gigafactories – so our industry leads the world, investment in clean hydrogen, in tidal energy, in carbon capture and storage.

Industries where we can lead, industries where we can win, industries where Wales has a future, and yes – investment to transition our steel industry. The future of Welsh steel – secured. That is how we face the future, conference. That is how we deliver change.

Because make no mistake: this is a golden opportunity – and we can’t pass it up. A once in a generation chance for a Labour government in Westminster to work in partnership with a Labour government in Wales. And look at the results, already.

The biggest uplift to workers’ rights in a generation. Fire and rehire: ended. Exploitative zero hours contracts: scrapped. Maternity and paternity rights: protected. The carers allowance: extended. The state pension: more generous.

The triple lock: secured. Fuel duty: cut. The National Living Wage: increased. £1400 a year in the pockets of working people. Money for the NHS, for schools, for councils, for our forces, for children with special educational needs, for the regions and nations of this country, conference, and we’re only just getting started.

Because it is time to show the power of unity, the potential of partnership, the purpose of change. A new future – forged from Welsh pride.

Wales and Britain, restored to the service of working people. Thank you so much conference.

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