Parliament is due back from summer recess next week. And today, Starmer set the tone for the autumn ahead – and, by his own description, it's "difficult to hear".

Image source, EPA

Some of the key moments were:

• The government's first Budget in October is "going to be painful", the prime minister said, adding he has no other choice and those with the broadest shouldest "should bear the heavier burden"
• He asked the country to "accept short-term pain for long-term good"
• Starmer claims his government has inherited a £22bn black hole, as well as a "societal black hole"
• Removing winter fuel payments for around 10 million pensioners in England and Wales was difficult, he said, warning and there will be more "difficult decisions" to come

Rishi Sunak – leading his party while a contest to find his replacement is underway – said Starmer's speech was the "clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along - raise your taxes".

Starmer repeated his election pledge - ruling out raising income tax, National Insurance or VAT - but says full details will be laid out in the Budget.

We're closing our live coverage now.

• You can read more about the speech by clicking here.

Thomas Copeland
Live reporter

Keir Starmer says "process and procedure and doing things properly matters" to him - following allegations of "cronyism" against his government.

The Conservatives made the accusation after the Sunday Times reported, external that major Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli - who has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to the party - was able to access Downing Street, despite not having an official government role.

Downing Street told the BBC that Alli, a Labour peer, did have a pass to Number 10 but it was "temporary" and "given back several weeks ago".

This morning, the prime minister said the accusations "are coming from the very people that dragged our country down in the first place" - adding that his government is "getting the best people into the best jobs".

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been challenged over Labour donor Ian Corfield's appointment to a civil service position in the Treasury.

Corfield - who has previously donated £20,000 to Labour MPs, including £5,000 to Reeves last year - was given a temporary job focused on organising an international investment summit taking place in October. Labour had defended the appointment as "perfectly appropriate" but it is understood Corfield has now moved to an unpaid advisory role.

Faarea Masud
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The government has said it will have to increase taxes in October to plug what it claims is a £22bn "hole" in the public finances.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned the first Budget under his new administration is "going to be painful".

But Labour has ruled out raising taxes on "working people", including VAT (value added tax), income tax and National Insurance.

So which taxes might go up?

Click here to get the breakdown.

As Oasis fans rejoice at the announcement of a reunion, the Conservative Party has used the occasion for a political jibe.

"Last time Oasis were together, Labour raided pensioners and left them worse off. Is history about to repeat itself? Definitely maybe," the party wrote on X, external.

The band also got a mention in the prime minister's speech.

Starmer was asked by The Sun's Jack Elsom: "You've spent a lot of time today looking back in anger, but are you happy that Oasis have decided to reform on your watch?"

Starmer quipped back: "What can I say in relation to that? It’s very, very good. It's a great song but I'm not sure I'm best placed to answer it after the last 20-30 minutes, but let's see what happens with Oasis."

It was a long speech by Keir Starmer in Downing Street's rose garden, but one moment stood out.

"There is a Budget coming [in October], and it's going to be painful," the prime minister warned.

Watch the moment below.

In his speech, the prime minister said the government had to check how full the prisons were "literally every day" in order to "arrest, charge and prosecute" those involved in recent riots across parts of the UK.

"Not having enough prison places is about as fundamental a failure as you can get and those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats, they didn't just know the system was broken, they were betting on it, gaming it.

"They thought 'Ah, they'll never arrest me and if they do, I won't be prosecuted, and if I am, I won't get much of a sentence'.

"They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of failure and they exploited them," Keir Starmer said.

Last month, the justice secretary announced plans to release certain prisoners in England and Wales after they have served 40% of their sentence instead of 50% - under plans to ease prison overcrowding.

We've just had reaction to the prime minister's speech from Simon Francis, from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition - a group of anti-poverty campaigners, charities, local authorities and trade unions.

He criticises the plans to change winter fuel payments, which will mean around 10 million pensioners will lose the payments in England and Wales.

"The winter fuel payment axe is not about rot in the system, it is about basic fairness for older people facing soaring energy bills.

"In real terms, the changes this winter mean that some older people will face the highest energy bills on record," Francis says, adding the move has the "potential to create a public health emergency" that will put "more pressure" on the NHS.

Starmer earlier said he didn't want to change winter fuel payments, "but it was a choice that we had to make".

From this autumn, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer get the annual winter fuel payments, worth between £100 and £300.

You can read more about the change here.

Don't expect Starmer's Tory attacks to fade awaypublished at 13:49 British Summer Time 27 August

13:49 BST 27 August

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The 2024 general election concluded just 54 days ago. The next general election is probably more than 1,700 days away. And yet the campaign is already under way.

That’s one lesson to take from the new prime minister’s deliberately gloomy speech in the Downing Street garden this morning.

Ironically enough, given this was a speech in which Sir Keir Starmer decried the past 14 years of Conservative government, his is an approach which consciously apes that of David Cameron after he took office in 2010.

Senior advisers to Sir Keir believe that Cameron secured his Conservative victory at the 2015 election in his first few months as prime minister in 2010, when he and his team relentlessly criticised their inheritance from Labour.

That’s not to say it is merely a strategic tribute act when the prime minister castigates the “black hole” he says he was left by his predecessor.

Speak to Labour officials who have spent the summer at work in Whitehall and they bristle with palpable anger at what they have uncovered.

That’s a view vigorously contested by the Conservatives, who say that Sir Keir is using attacks on them as justification for inevitable tax rises he was not candid about during the election campaign.

• You can read more from Henry Zeffman's analysis here.

The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the government has given itself "deep problems" by ruling out so many possible tax rises.

Speaking to the the BBC News channel, Paul Johnson says it leaves the government with "difficult and complex choices".

Labour ruled out raising income tax, National Insurance or VAT during the election campaign.

Johnson says direct taxes on people with average wages are "the lowest they've been in fifty years".

"Trying to significantly increase taxes without impacting that group of people will be very complex and potentially have some negative economic consequences," he adds.

Johnson says the "overall picture" over the next four or five years is "very similar to what we knew".

Starmer's plan to 'get the pain out the way' is not without economic riskpublished at 13:20 British Summer Time 27 August

13:20 BST 27 August

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Image source, EPA

New borrowing numbers released last week are known to have caused further concern in Downing Street ahead of today's speech.

The prime minister repeatedly referenced that spending in the first three months of this year (under the previous government) was £5bn above expectations even at the March Budget.

Over the summer the Office for Budget Responsibility has been reassessing the economy.

And while growth prospects remain improved, that does not appear to have done enough to bridge the gaps in the government’s self-imposed borrowing limits.

In addition, the Treasury is working on a spending review and on funding the public sector pay settlements recommended by review bodies.

While the political sense of getting pain out of the way early is clear, it is not without economic risk.

There are signs of recovery of confidence in the economy, as interest rates fall, and the public and businesses start to believe years of rolling crisis are over.

The government says it has no choice but to fix the foundations immediately - but they will need to avoid tripping up a nascent recovery too.

Gehan in Surrey says while he's "glad" to have a Labour government, he believes Starmer "has to be really careful" when it comes to criticising the previous government.

"It's going to wear thin after a while," he adds, saying "just get on with it - if it's fair, people will buy into it."

Another caller in Surrey, Lee, believes the prime minister should have addressed immigration in the speech.

"If you're going to try to bring people together, then you need to acknowledge people's concerns," he says.

Meanwhile, Mandy in Fife was disappointed the PM didn't give any details about what will be in the October Budget.

"To be honest and trustworthy with the people, they should speak up and tell us so we can be prepared," she says.

Image source, Getty Images

The general secretary of the Unite union says "a bleak vision of Britain is not what we need now".

Following the prime minister's speech, Sharon Graham says Britain "can't wait for growth" and industries "can't wait for investment".

Graham adds people "don't need more excuses about fiscal responsibility or talk of wealth creation" and that “we should not pit pensioners against workers".

Image source, Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has responded to Keir Starmer's speech this morning from Downing Street's rose garden.

In a post on X, the former prime minister says: "Keir Starmer's speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along - raise your taxes."

Image source, Reuters

Some reaction to Keir Starmer's speech from the Liberal Democrats now.

"Only the out-of-touch Conservative Party will deny the scale of the challenges facing the new Government and the new Parliament," Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says.

"From the millions stuck on NHS waiting lists to the millions struggling to make ends meet, the last Conservative government has left a toxic legacy," he adds.

Davey vows that his party will "hold the new government to account if they fail to rise to the challenges facing the country".

Image source, Reuters

In one of the first reactions from the Conservatives, shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch says Starmer's speech this morning shows he is "taking the British public for fools".

Badenoch, who is in the running to be the next Tory leader, says "Keir Starmer is taking the British public for fools, but his dishonest analysis won't wash".

"He campaigned on promises he couldn't deliver and now he is being found out," she adds.

Image source, ITV/Reuters

The Green Party has reacted to Keir Starmer's speech, saying that "enduring more economic pain and hardship isn’t what people voted for".

In a statement, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer says voters were told "they were voting for change" and not for "things to get worse before they get better".

"Labour needs to be honest about the fact that they could choose to make things better for everyone if they were bolder and braver," she adds.

The prime minister warned October's Budget "is going to be painful" in a speech in Downing Street. He also said "things will get worse before they get better", after inheriting "an economic black hole".

Denyer says "people don’t need a constant reminder that the Tories broke Britain" and Labour needs "a new approach".

"We must generate the funds needed for investment by shifting the burden away from the poorest onto the wealthiest.

"Labour’s refusal to tax the super-rich shows that business as usual is very much still in business."

PM's Budget warning suggests tax rises to comepublished at 11:55 British Summer Time 27 August

11:55 BST 27 August

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Image source, EPA

It is rare for a prime minister to so publicly flag the discomfort facing the nation from a set of tax and spend decisions.

There was no attempt to sugar coat this: we are facing a “painful Budget” at the end of October, Starmer said.

This suggests there will be a notable net revenue raise - or in plain language, a rise in taxes.

This is in-keeping with a universally held pattern of governments raising taxes at their first Budgets.

The PM again stressed this would not be on income tax, National Insurance or VAT - his definition of “working people”.

But it seems likely some of those same people will face higher taxes on their wealth in the form of pensions or property.

Did the government just find out about an extra £5bn of borrowing?published at 11:35 British Summer Time 27 August

11:35 BST 27 August

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Just last Wednesday we found out that, thanks to the last government’s recklessness, we’ve borrowed almost £5bn more than the OBR expected in the last three months alone.”

Starmer is referring to the monthly public sector finance figures, which show the gap between what the government spends and what it raises in taxes.

The government borrowed £51.4bn between April and July this year, external, which was £4.7bn more than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast in March.

The OBR said the gap “appears related to strong growth in public sector pay, external”.

As the figures are published monthly, however, this gap between the forecast and the actual borrowing figures was not a complete surprise, as June figures were £3.2bn above the OBR forecast, external.

Georgia Roberts
Political correspondent

I’ve been speaking to some Labour backbenchers following the prime minister’s speech.

In recent days, a few of them have been expressing some disquiet about those difficult decisions ahead referenced by Keir Starmer just now.

One tells me their inbox has been full of people worried about the decision to end universal winter fuel payments for pensioners in particular – but that “people will understand” the thinking behind it after listening to Keir Starmer today.

“We’ve done more in seven weeks than the Tories did in seven years”, they tell me (a line Starmer also used).

“It’s going to be a ten year job to clear up this mess. Keir was just being honest about the mess we’re in.”

But will the public thank him for it?

When Parliament returns, the extent to which Keir Starmer’s MPs will withstand the pressure of his honesty and a “painful” Budget to come will be something to look out for.