'There have been mistakes but we are delivering'

Labour MPs from the South East at the party's conference in Liverpool say they are making the changes they promised

Many people agree that Labour's first year in charge has been tumultuous at times.

Standing in the same conference centre last year, fresh from a storming election victory, South East Labour MPs told me the key to success would be delivering on issues such as the cost of living, housing and small boat crossings.

But much of the past 14 months seems to have been dominated by internal politics and miscalculations, with u-turns, rebellions and the unexpected departure of the former deputy prime minister over a flat she bought in Hove.

The slogan at this year's Labour Party conference in Liverpool is Renew Britain - but is this less about renewing Britain and more about renewing the party's image?

Speaking to me from the conference exhibition hall, Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan said there had certainly been "challenges" since the election.

She added: "We inherited a hugely challenging situation as a government when we came to power and that has been tricky to navigate and there've been mistakes we've also made.

"But actually in terms of delivery there have been things that we've really led on."

She cited renters' rights, employment rights and bringing down NHS waiting lists as examples.

'We are on a path'

Meanwhile, Lauren Sullivan, MP for Gravesham, said she was optimistic.

"It's tough times, the cost of living is really high still... We have raised the living wage, we are doing what we can... absolutely there is more left to do but we're on a path now which means we'll get there."

But the political path for the party certainly does not seem smooth right now.

The summer of 2024 saw huge success for Labour in the South East, picking up seats across the region from Crawley to Hastings, to Ashford and the whole of Medway.

Fast forward to May this year and the next electoral test - the Kent County Council elections – were dominated by a turquoise tide, with Reform UK picking up the vast majority of council seats.

Labour were reduced from five seats to two.

Now, the national opinion polls put Reform UK far ahead of Labour, and many of the party's South East MPs know all too well their position is vulnerable.

Tougher talk

The presence of Reform looms over the Labour Party Conference this year.

Flick through the event brochure and you will find a number of discussion panels on the rise of Nigel Farage's party and what Labour should do about it.

We've also seen a marked change in the party's communication on this - over the weekend Sir Keir Starmer described Reform's policy around Indefinite Leave to Remain as "racist".

Responding to Sir Keir's comments, Reform UK's Zia Yusuf said: "Labour's message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever, or Labour will call you racist."

But the bold language has been welcomed by some South East MPs.

"We've got to stop pussyfooting around [Reform]," one told me.

Over coffee in the conference centre, they said they welcomed tougher talk around Reform's policies and wanted to see more of this from the prime minister.

Some MPs I spoke to agreed the communication needed to improve.

They said they wanted to see the leadership articulate a clearer vision for the country and get better at explaining it to voters.

But many said the policies would speak for themselves if voters started to directly feel the benefits.

East Thanet MP Polly Billington believes her party is on the right path.

She said: People are really focused on the purpose of being in government - to make people's lives better in this country...

"What we've got is a range of announcements from government ministers which are directly speaking to the anxieties people have got," she said.

The Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, has reiterated Labour's pledge to build 1.5m new homes by the next election.

Housebuilding is one such issue MPs are keen to crack on with.

During the housing secretary's speech, members of the audience were wearing red Trump-style hats, featuring the slogan "build baby build", a play on the US President's pledge to "drill baby drill".

But that ambition is already proving controversial in the South East, with a promise to build on parts of the green belt already attracting opposition from residents in places like Strood and Reigate.

Immigration is a central theme here, too, as the government contends with more than 30,000 small boat arrivals so far this year.

The prime minister's latest offer – compulsory digital ID – is aiming to crack down on illegal working, widely regarded as a pull factor for small boat crossings.

Meanwhile, the home secretary has announced she is tightening the rules around claiming Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Dover MP, and newly-appointed home office minister, Mike Tapp, said tackling immigration was "very important".

"It comes up on the [doorsteps]... because people care about it," he told me.

"They want a fair system. They want a secure border. They don't want to be undercut by illegal migrants working in the black market."

The government has made tackling small boat crossings a key pledge at this year's Labour Party conference

Labour MPs across the South East hope that by delivering on policies like these, they will be able to turn their fortunes around ahead of the next general election in about four years.

But the next electoral test comes earlier than that, with voters in Sussex asked to elect a mayor to oversee local services.

It will be a high-profile role, with responsibility over key issues such as transport, health and housing.

The Liberal Democrats have already claimed it is a direct fight between them and Reform.

But with five main parties vying for votes, it is clearly going to be another busy year in politics.