New Labour Party chair Anna Turley’s address to conference in full

Conference, it is the greatest honour of my life to stand here as your party chair.

As a member for over 20 years, I never imagined I would be standing here today, as the Chair of the Labour Party – the greatest vehicle for social progress this country has ever seen.

And to do so now, at just the start of a new era of a great and historic reforming Labour government. Conference, I am so honoured and so fired up.

And what a trailblazing team I join.

The most working-class cabinet in our country’s history.

Three of the four great offices of state held by women for the first time ever.

And our country’s first ever Black Deputy Prime Minister. Thank you David.

This is a cabinet shaped by lived experience, grounded in Labour values. And united by one mission: to deliver for the working people of Britain.

Conference, I also want to start with a huge thank you.

To Ellie for your stewardship of our party through the election campaign and throughout our first year in government as party chair.

You guided us through an historic moment, kept us focused on telling our story, and made sure we campaigned on it with discipline and energy.

We owe you a massive debt of gratitude.

I also want to thank NEC members past and present, our incredible party staff, and most importantly of all, you, our members, for your tireless support and work up and down the country.

It is your dedication that keeps this party alive, it’s your energy that powers every campaign, and your belief that makes the Labour Party strong.

As Party Chair I am absolutely determined to build on this, to prepare us for the battles ahead, to keep Labour absolutely rooted in the real lives and everyday concerns of the British people.

And, Conference, as someone who has lived the highs and the lows of Labour politics, I know how just important this is.

Because I know what losing feels like.

And I know what it means when Labour goes in the wrong direction.

In 2015, I was elected as the Labour MP for Redcar.

And I saw then what the reality of a Tory government meant to my community when they turned their backs on our steelworks and we lost two thousand jobs and a world-leading industry overnight.

But in 2019, when Labour suffered its worst defeat since 1935, I lost Redcar to the Tories, the first time they had ever won that seat.

I remember the conversations on the doorstep in that campaign.

The loss of trust in voters’ voices.

The loss of their faith in our ability to change their lives.

And that was the clearest proof of all: we can only win when we put the concerns of the British people at the absolute heart of everything we do.

That’s why in 2024 the public put their faith in us once again.

That’s why I was able to win Redcar back.

Why colleagues across the country were able to win back seats we’d lost and win seats we’d never even won before.

And that’s why I am determined we make sure our Labour values run through absolutely everything we do in government.

That’s why this moment matters so much.

I’m 46 years old and I have lived 32 of those years under Tory governments.

And now, after years in the political wilderness, we can finally set the agenda.

We can finally make real the change to the country.

And we can finally put ordinary people first.

Yes, we have one of the worst inheritances.

Yes, at times we all know this last year has been tough.

And yes, there have been difficult trade-offs, because governing is never easy.

But never, ever, forget that no matter how tough things get, a Labour government delivering with Labour values is always always, always better than a Tory government clinging to power.

And let’s just look at the legacy they left behind:

Liz Truss crashing the economy with her reckless ideological mini budget.

Boris Johnson destroying public trust with Partygate.

Theresa May presiding over the Windrush scandal.

And I won’t even mention David Cameron.

Tory leader after Tory leader, failing to care for ordinary people.

Failing to make our country fairer.

Failing to make Britain stronger.

Conference, we exist, Labour exists, to improve the lives of working people.

That’s the promise we stand for, that’s the purpose that drives us every day.

And this last year we’ve made some incredible progress that we should be really, really proud of.

We said we would kickstart economic growth and we have, the fastest growth in the G7, five interest rate cuts, the minimum wage raised for over 3 million people. That is an incredible achievement.

We said we would tackle the NHS crisis, and we are. Waiting lists have fallen and we have delivered more than five million extra appointments.

We said we would back working families and were doing just that. Thirty hours of free childcare for every child from nine months to four years, saving parents up to £7,500 a year. That’s an absolute game changer.

Conference, we know the job is far from done.

We know that there is so much more to do.

We know that the path ahead will be difficult.

But this is just the beginning of our journey.

Right now, we stand at an historic turning point in our country’s future.

A moment to decide who we are and what kind of country we want to build.

A fairer Britain, proud of itself again, and in control of its own destiny.

Or a return to the path the Tories took us down: quick fixes, division and decline.

Conference, Labour’s vision of national renewal can only be built one way, by all of us standing together, united.

But while we’re working for the common good, Nigel Farage’s Reform would drag Britain back into decline.

And, make no mistake, that is the real risk at the next election.

They’d hand our NHS over to multinational insurance giants.

They’d roll back workers’ rights while giving billionaires unfunded tax cuts.

They’d wage a war on clean energy that would put nearly a million jobs in places like my home of Teesside at risk.

These are not choices to benefit working people.

And let’s be clear, the Reform Party isn’t new, or different, as they like to claim.

They are a party of recycled Tories with recycled ideas.

And they stand ready to exploit division for their own political gain.

Masquerading as patriots whilst their leader jets to the US to call for trade penalties on the UK.

And on issue after issue – asylum, online safety, or how to pay for their policies they have no serious answer on how to fix things aside from saying they ‘don’t know’.

Conference, that is Reform: cuts, chaos, and trying to turn people against one another.

Not a plan for Britain but a threat to everything our Labour movement has fought for.

And that’s why with the elections in 2026; we’ve got to campaign harder than ever before.

From Scotland to Wales, Tyneside to Tamworth, Wigan to Worthing, Swindon to Stevenage, London to Leeds.

Because, remember, change doesn’t happen by accident.

Every gain we have made is the result of hard work, discipline, and determination.

And that is why 2026 matters so much.

In councils, in devolved governments, in communities up and down the country, every election is a chance to show Labour’s vision of renewal and to protect the progress we have made.

A higher minimum wage. Shorter NHS waiting lists. Free school meals.

These are not accidents. These are choices. Choices made by all of you.

Choices for working people.

Choices that no other party would make.

So, let us go into 2026 with pride in our record, with confidence in our plan, and with unity in our purpose.

Because Britain today faces a choice: between decency or division, between renewal or decline. Between hope or cynicism.

Labour has chosen decency.

Labour has chosen renewal.

Labour has chosen to give Britain back its pride and its hope.

So, Conference, together let us give the British people the chance to choose that too.

Let us make sure that, together, Labour wins and Britain wins.

Thank you so much.

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What you need to know: 

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• VOTES: Revealed: The party rule changes Labour conference could vote on

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