‘Hope again’ has the power to be more than a slogan

The signs have come down but there is still hope again in the hearts of Labour members. Conference can feel like a bit of a bubble. We spend a few very long, exhausting days fiercely debating policy, listening to speeches and touring evening receptions. But it is an important annual moment of stock-taking and refreshing for Labour. And this year was both no exception and exceptional.

It was no exception because the shape of conference is always roughly the same. As James Tibbitts and I sat in the conference hall at the close of conference,  we watched the last debates of the conference follow the traditional shape, the light hearted closing speech from Deputy Leader Lucy Powell and the traditional singing (in full gusto despite sore heads and feet of delegates) of the Red Flag and Jerusalem. 

READ MORE: ‘Hope again’: Inside Labour’s feelgood conference

I grew up as a regular church goer and this aspect of conference always takes me back to those services. Knowing the pattern – when you sing, when you stand, when you sit  – is a part of what makes you feel like part of the fellowship. Going to conference and engaging in both the rituals and the debates is what can boost the same sense of oneness among Labour members.

But this conference was exceptional too. 

Andy’s speech was genuinely one of the best political speeches of my lifetime. While Starmer’s speeches were always well received, there had always been a build up of worry given that the former PM was not a naturally fluent communicator. He always comfortably cleared the bar of lower expectations.

But expectations for Andy were sky high and I was worried in advance that he would not live up to them. How wrong could I have been? I will rewatch that speech the same way I have rewatched Kinnock’s 1985 conference speech or Barack Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ speech (though please no one set Andy’s speech to music!).

Andy’s speech and this whole conference demonstrate a deeper change in Labour than, I think, has yet been properly understood. There is a boldness to Andy’s prospectus that Labour has not felt about itself in a long time. Labour is developing a swagger that reflects our belief that we have got answers to what ails us and will get on with implementing them unapologetically.

Become a friend of LabourList and join our community. Our friends support our vital non-factional work and get access to exclusive content and events. 

The Labour Party of recent times has frequently acted more left wing than its rhetoric. But while the policy outcomes were good this socialism by stealth left the party unable to make an argument in favour of a full left wing perspective. Andy has changed that. He is making a full throated argument in favour of our values and their proper political implementation. HIs calculation is that we can win by argument as well as by demonstration.

Conference felt very different this year than last. I recall a conversation I had with a think tank director who expressed surprise at how much of the conversation was dominated by policy debate rather than raw politics. Our conclusion was that a lack of either plotting or fretting around the leadership and party direction had led to much greater space for debating what we now do to return hope to the UK in every part of government and the country.

Labour has to make sure that this is a baseline not a peak. There is a long way to go and much work to be done. Labour has every right to be pleased with the place we have got to after we reached such a nadir in May. But we are not out of the woods electorally and all of the economic and geopolitical difficulties that assailed the Starmer government have not gone anywhere. 

Hope is essential. Without hope we will not be able to have the energy to keep fighting. Hopelessness is fatal to political parties. But we will need to keep this energy up all year round – starting next week in Holborn and St Pancras.

Labour have had a good week. Andy has made a great start. There is hope again. Now we have to deliver so that hope turns into reality. 

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on TikTok, Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook. You can also write to our editor to share your thoughts on our stories and share your own. The best letters are published every Sunday.

• • SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
  • SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
  • BECOME A FRIEND: If you enjoyed this, why not consider becoming a Friend of LabourList? Help sustain our journalism, and of course Friends do get benefits…
  • PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
  • ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].