At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, trade unions win a non-binding vote calling on the government to scrap the winter fuel payment cuts
The government is cutting the payment, worth £200 to £300 a year, for 10 million pensioners
The motion calling on the cuts to be reversed was carried in a show of hands on the final day of the conference
It will not change the policy, but will be seen as a blow to the Labour leadership
Earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said "the NHS is letting people down"
Keir Starmer told the BBC "people need to look for work, but they also need support"
Starmer insists now that there will be a "Hillsborough law" - a "duty of candour" - which he promised a few years ago if Labour ever got into government.
"A law for Liverpool, a law for the 97," he says.
He says the bill will include criminal sanctions and will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy in April.
Image source, ReutersStarmer tells the audience to "take pride" in Labour's victory, but reminds them to not forget the party's success came about because they "changed the party".
"Country first, party second isn't a slogan," he says.
"It's the foundation of this project."
He's met with a round of applause as he tells the crowd that the work of service "never stops" .
Starmer says today’s conference speech is a “far cry” from his first, which was back in 2020 in Doncaster.
He delivered his speech an audience of one - a camera man - during the Covid lockdown.
But he says the following year's conference in Brighton was the "turning of the tide".
"But we stood firm, conference," he tells the room.
"We stood together, conference, and we won."
Keir Starmer has just started speaking.
He thanks Matthew, a 21-year-old Labour voter, who introduced him to the stage.
He starts by thanking the conference for “everything you have done to fulfill the basic duty of our party” so Labour can “return this great nation to the service of working people”.
"People said we couldn't do it, but we did," he says.
"And we did it together."
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from Liverpool
Sir Keir Starmer entered the stage to a massive ovation and that’s hardly a surprise. This is a huge moment not only for Starmer but for the Labour Party.
It’s 15 years - 5,474 days to be precise - since a Labour leader last addressed their annual conference as prime minister.
For Labour activists, it’s been a long old slog - from Ed Miliband through Jeremy Corbyn to Starmer. Starmer himself had his fair share of lows: moments where it would have felt frankly implausible to suggest that he would one day be prime minister.
And now here he is. No wonder the hall is jubilant.
Image source, ReutersHenry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from Liverpool
Image source, EPAStarmer and his wife Victoria, pictured in the past half hour
The queue for this speech formed more than an hour ago – ultimately there will be lots of disappointed party members who don’t get to see their leader speak.
And politicians too. There are 404 Labour MPs. But beyond cabinet ministers, none of them have a reserved seat.
I’m told there were 100 seats set aside for Labour MPs, who were entered into a ballot for a chance of getting into the hall.
The prime minister is just over five minutes from beginning his speech. As a reminder, you can watch live at the top of the page - or listen here in our new BBC Sounds live news stream.
Image source, PA MediaKeir Starmer's chief of staff, Sue Gray, has been in the news recently - not least when it emerged she is paid more than the prime minister.
But Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is singing her praises in an interview with our colleagues on Politics Live on BBC Two.
He says she has been an "absolute breath of fresh air” to the mayors across England, having "brought things together so we're really at the heart of things".
Speaking to Jo Coburn, Burnham says: "I would like to see the departure of people from Downing Street briefing against Sue Gray and I would like Sue to be absolutely working with us."
He adds that Gray has been a "huge positive" and has brought "coherence to the government's missions and how mayors can deliver them".
Peter Gillibrand
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from Liverpool
Lily and Mia in Liverpool
“What’s he doing here?” is probably not the reception Sir Keir Starmer was hoping for in Liverpool, but Lily McCann and Mia Parkinson tell me they had no idea the prime minister was in town.
And if the cost of living is top of the agenda for the politicians, it’s the same for Lily and Mia who are out picking up their uni essentials.
Lily needs a new laptop – she’s having to dip into her savings while she waits for her maintenance loan to come through.
While they worry about the costs of uni, they’re disappointed by the row over freebies after it was revealed cabinet ministers, including the PM, accepted thousands of pounds of donations, including for clothes.
“I don’t understand why he’s accepted that money because he doesn’t need it,” says Mia.
“He should give it to people that need it.”
They both voted for the first time in this year’s general election and say they’ll be interested to hear what Sir Keir has to say.
“I don’t even know what he’s done since being in power,” says Lily. “So I can’t really have an opinion on it yet.”
Image source, PA MediaKeir Starmer and his wife Victoria meeting guests at their Liverpool hotel this morning
As the Labour Party conference gears up for Keir Starmer's speech just after 14:00 BST, let's take a look at what we're expecting him to say:
Starmer will also say he knows "this country is exhausted by and with politics". If you're not too exhausted, stay with us for all the best lines and analysis...
Peter Gillibrand
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from Liverpool
Steven and Brody have a difference in opinion when it comes to how they view Labour's first few months in government
When you’re a Celtic fan and your mate supports Rangers, having your differences is to be expected.
It’s no different when it comes to politics for students Brody and Steven, who stop to speak to me in Liverpool before Sir Keir Starmer’s speech later.
“The Labour Party came in saying they were going to change everything that was wrong with the government and all they’ve done is change nothing,” says Brody (the Celtic fan).
The 19-year-old isn’t happy about the decision to make winter fuel payments means-tested and tells me: “The Labour Party is meant to help people with working class issues like the rising cost of living and in reality they’re only making that worse so far.”
But Steven, 28, who backs Rangers, thinks the government could make positive change with a bit more time.
“I respect the fact they’re a brand new government, they need time to fix things and hopefully things will get better eventually,” he says.
“But I think they are putting a lot of blame on the previous government.”
Image source, UK Pool via SkyCulture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy is the latest to take to the stage at the conference.
She begins her address talking about the last "14 dark divisive years" - accusing the Tories of "running down" the country's rich heritage in arts and music.
She says there is now a choice to be the "last guardians" of this chapter, or the "first pioneers" of the next.
Speaking of work already underway, she lists the youth hubs that the home secretary mentioned earlier and the action they are taking on ticket touts.
She further references, to a standing ovation, a review of the curriculum to put arts, music and sport "back at the heart of our schools and communities".
Labour "change[s] lives and we give our country its confidence back," she concludes.
Kristiina Cooper
Politics reporter
Image source, EPAEarlier we heard from Sonya Howard, who chairs the Kensington and Chelsea branch of the Labour Party.
She struggled to hold back tears as she spoke about recent Grenfell Tower report.
Howard, who was also speaking on behalf of Unison, which represents public sector workers, said: "No words can ever capture the horror of that night and the years of pain for everyone touched by that tragedy."
She said the report showed the "awful cost" of "slashing public services" and cutting corners.
"Lessons must be learned - and that means removing all the unsafe cladding that every tower block in this country still has," she said.
Adam Fleming
Newscast presenter
Yesterday, Rachel Reeves told me that as a teenager she had a framed picture of...
...Gordon Brown on her mantelpiece. She's clearly buzzing about taking over his old job, and being the first ever woman to do so.
She didn't spell it out explicitly but she also wanted to send a message that the fiscal rules that she'll set out at the Budget on October 30 will allow her to invest more.
Listen to my interview with the Chancellor on Newscast by clicking here.
"We will make it a mission, for our whole country, to halve knife crime in a decade," the home secretary told the Labour conference in Liverpool.
Yvette Cooper confirms plan to halve knife crime in a decade
Kristiina Cooper
Politics reporter
Image source, Family handoutPooja Kanda and her son Ronan
Before Yvette Cooper, we heard from the mother of Ronan Kanda - who was stabbed to death with a ninja sword in 2022.
Pooja Kanda said Ronan was every mother’s dream son: "Too many mothers get the devastating news that I got telling you that your child has been stabbed to death and is not coming back.
"In that moment your entire existence changes forever."
Ronan was 16 when he was killed near his home in Wolverhampton. He had just completed his GCSEs. Two 17-year-olds were sentenced for the killing, with Ronan a victim of mistaken identity.
Pooja told the conference: "The boy responsible for taking my son’s life was just 16 years old himself [at the time]...
"In fact, that very same morning my son’s killer collected a murder weapon from his local post office after ordering it online using his mother’s ID and bank card."
She said ID checks were not made, and it was later revealed her son’s killer had ordered 25 deadly weapons online.
Since losing her son, Kanda's family has channelled their grief into their Justice for Ronan Kanda campaign - and the home secretary has promised to ban "ninja" swords.
Cooper shifts now to immigration.
She says recent disorder and violence will not silence a serious debate on immigration that has been missing "for too long".
Repeatedly calling the current government a "serious" one, she says net migration must come down and people must be trained here in the UK.
She says the asylum system is in "chaos" while underlining the need to look at "criminal gangs" - a point Keir Starmer made repeatedly throughout the election campaign.
Immigration is "important" she adds, but needs to be "properly managed and controlled" so that the system is "fair".
"This Labour government will," the home secretary says, in a call to action.
She says it's been 15 years since she has been able to make such a statement at a Labour conference.
"All those years we said things but couldn't do them," she says, telling delegates not to let anyone tell them that politics "doesn't matter".
Referring back to the plan to ban ninja swords, she says that it was something Labour tried to do six months ago, but didn't have enough MPs to win the vote.
"Now we do," she says - adding it's the same for the abortion clinic buffer zone policy.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has begun addressing the conference.
She begins by talking about youth violence, and announces an ambition to halve knife crime in a decade, as well as plans for a ban on so-called "ninja swords".
(This is also known as "Ronan's Law", as this article explains).
New youth clubs, Cooper says, will also work to "steer young people away from violence".
For context: The pledge on knife crime is not a new policy - it was in Labour's manifesto., external
Image source, PA MediaHome Secretary Yvette Cooper is about to speak in Liverpool - watch live at the top of the page, and stay here for lines and analysis.