Starmer uses speech to fight for Britain - and his political careerpublished at 17:29 BST 30 September

17:29 BST 30 September

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Ironically, what had given rise to the dissent and discontent - Reform UK’s poll lead - appears to have injected purpose and passion into the PM's politics.

The speech was light on policy but where it contained announcements, these too were designed to appeal to those who are frustrated with progress under Labour or who feel left behind.

To cut waiting lists there would be more virtual NHS consultations in England in 2027, he said. There would be more apprenticeships and further education. And traditional heavy industries - from shipbuilding to steel - were being protected.

All this was designed to both boost elusive economic growth and blunt what Starmer said is "politics of grievance".

He sought quite literally to reclaim the flags of the UK with delegates waving little "sandcastle" versions throughout the speech.

His defence of stringent rules on debt and borrowing was a rebuke to some in his own ranks who want to see more spending and investment.

And he ticked his party off for patronising working-class people - his message was that it’s OK to be concerned about illegal immigration.

The PM pledged to fight for the county he loves. But make no mistake - he is also fighting for his political career, and today he fully entered the battlefield.

Image source, PA Media

Taking aim at Reform UK

In a pointed remark on Reform, Keir Starmer said the country faced a stark choice between "renewal or decline", and, calling out the Reform UK leader by name, said Nigel Farage doesn't like or believe in Britain.

Hard truths on migration

The PM acknowledged discomfort among Labour MPs over the home secretary's plans to make it harder for migrants to gain permanent settlement status in the UK, but said Labour needed to make "decisions that will not always be comfortable for our party".

He also warned against Labour becoming a party "that patronised working people" over concerns from voters about migration.

A focus on apprenticeships

Announcing a new policy, Starmer said the government would scrap a commitment to get 50% of England's young people into university and change it to two-thirds of young people going to university or "gold standard apprenticeships".

Starmer's version of patriotism

To a waving sea of flags in the conference hall, Starmer declared Labour "the patriotic party" and that the flags of the UK nations "belong to all of us". He said that patriotism was about serving the "common good" and that Britain isn't "broken".

Looking back - and ahead - to tough Budget decisions

With the upcoming Budget looming, the PM said "we asked a lot at the last Budget - I know that. And the tough decisions, they will keep on coming".

He said losing control of the economy means "working people pay the price" and promised "I will never let that happen again".

• We're pausing our live coverage soon but if you'd like to see these takeaways explored in more depth, head to our main story

Has government lifted 100,000 children out of poverty?published at 17:18 BST 30 September

17:18 BST 30 September

By Anthony Reuben

Listing the government’s achievements in his Labour conference speech earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer included “extending free school meals, 100,000 children lifted out of poverty”.

The government did indeed extend free school meals, making them available from September 2026 to any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit.

It could previously only be claimed by households with an income below £7,400 a year.

Economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in June, when the policy was announced, that it would in the long term lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

But its associate director Christine Farquharson said the measure would “not see anything like 100,000 children lifted out of poverty next year”.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says the speech completely failed to address the fact Labour had promised "change", but then caused more chaos.

From rising energy bills to soaring food prices, people felt worse off, he adds.

Liz Saville Roberts, who leads Plaid Cymru at Westminster, accuses the PM of "living in fantasy land", saying Labour's not "even in the game in Wales".

Starmer took Wales for granted, while Farage "would tear our communities apart", she says.

We've some more detail to bring you now on the announcement by Keir Starmer that Labour has a new target of getting two-thirds of young people in either university or "gold-standard apprenticeships" - scrapping a previous 50% target set by Tony Blair in 1999.

A press release from Labour adds that there will be 14 new "Technical Excellence Colleges", which it says will focus on high-growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and digital.

This builds on the 10 Technical Excellence Colleges already announced for construction and five for defence, the release says, and is accompanied by a push to raise standards of teaching at colleges.

To support these reforms, the government will also invest nearly £800m extra into funding for 16 to 19-year-olds next year (2026-7), which it says will support an additional 20,000 students.

Further detail will be set out in the upcoming Post-16 Skills White Paper.

What is the UK government's record on removals?published at 16:59 BST 30 September

16:59 BST 30 September

By Tom Edgington

Setting out his plans to secure Britain's borders, Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier said: "We will remove people with no right to be here."

The latest figures show that between 5 July 2024 (when Labour came to power) and 4 July this year, 35,052 people with no legal right to be in the UK were returned. That's 13% higher than for the previous 12-month period, external.

However, only 9,115 of those returns were “enforced” where an immigration officer might have to escort an individual on to a flight to ensure they leave the UK.

The majority were recorded as "voluntary" - while some of those do involve the government in some way (for example, through financial assistance) previous data releases have shown that a significant number leave independently without notifying officials.

BBC Verify looked into this issue in March and asked the Home Office how the government can keep claiming credit for returning individuals who go of their own accord.

It said it has both a direct and an indirect role in returns and pointed to wider measures that discourage and prevent immigration offending.

The PM sought to rally his party and set out his vision for the country in his keynote speech at Labour's conference in Liverpool.

Here are some of the key moments:

Image source, PA Media

We can now bring you Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's response to Starmer's speech this afternoon.

"The prime minister could have used his speech to own up to the mistakes he's made on the economy, admit the country was living beyond its means and set out a plan to avoid further punishing tax hikes this autumn, but he did not," she's quoted as saying by PA news agency.

On the Conservative Party X account, a response has also been posted:

"Keir Starmer can use all the patriotic language he wants.

"There is nothing patriotic about breaking your promise to the British people and raising their taxes."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Nigel Farage has accused Keir Starmer of being "unfit" to be prime minister after his attacks on Reform UK.

Farage accused Keir Starmer of putting the safety of Reform's elected officials under threat. He said Starmer's language "will encourage the radical left" and in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder in the US was an "absolute disgrace".

"I am completely shocked at his behaviour," Farage said. "I now believe that he us unfit to be the prime minister of our country."

Farage said Starmer had by implication accused millions of Reform voters of being racist, and suggested Starmer had in argued in his speech that "if you think we should control our borders.... you are all racists".

Referring to Starmer's speech, he said the prime minister does not believe in Britain and is in denial that Britain is broken.

He also said the last few days had made him "more determined than ever" - concluding: "Do not underestimate that."

• As a reminder: During his speech, Starmer accused Farage of not liking Britain and of crossing a "moral line" when it comes to removing migrants from the UK.

There's more reaction now to Starmer's speech - this time from within his own party.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, speaking to our colleagues on Politics Live, says it's an "extraordinary development" that a Labour leader's speech barely mentioned the Conservative Party, and instead focused on Reform UK.

"This is taking the fight to Reform, it's calling out their grievance and the way that they continue to divide," Lammy says.

He goes on to say Farage's plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain is "not British".

Pushed several times on whether he believes Farage is racist, Lammy says that's down to the public to decide.

We're beginning to see Starmer's political opponents react to his speech. Here are the first few:

Image source, EPA

Ed Davey, Lib Dem leader: "I'm glad Keir Starmer is finally stepping up the fight against Nigel Farage, and I hope this will mark the end of his government parroting Farage and copying his divisive politics."

Zack Polanski, Green Party leader: "Starmer says Britain is at a fork. But he's spoon fed policies by Reform - it's clear the direction he's taking us all".

Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer has just delivered his headline speech at the Labour Party conference.

Touching on a range of issues, including immigration, the Middle East and the economy, the PM announced two significant changes in party policy. Here are the main points:

• A new online NHS service will offer millions of virtual appointments, Starmer announced, but he insisted Labour would never take face-to-face appointments away from those who wanted them
• On education, he scrapped former Labour PM Tony Blair's target of getting 50% of young people into university - replacing it with a new ambition for two-thirds of young people to go either to university or to take part in "gold standard apprenticeships"
• Meanwhile, he underlined the party's focus on economic "growth" as a driving mission - saying it both improves people's daily lives but that it further forms an "antidote to division"
• The prime minister criticised his political opponents, particularly Reform's Nigel Farage, who he suggested "doesn't like Britain" - he called on the British people to "fight Reform" by "tackling all the problems they pray on"
• He also pointed to a "moral line" when it comes to immigration, saying the British people want secure borders but criticised "thuggery" and "racism" shown by some

Stay with us as we bring you the latest reaction and analysis to the speech.

Rise of Reform has, ironically, injected passion into PM's politicspublished at 15:18 BST 30 September

15:18 BST 30 September

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

The Conservatives aren’t mentioned until the closing stages of the speech.

The rise of Reform UK appears, ironically, to have injected passion into the prime minister’s politics and given him greater definition.

Image source, Reuters

Starmer, laying out his vision, now says he will fight for working people - and for a tolerant, decent, respectful Britain.

He insists the country can come together and unite around a common good.

He also promises to end decline, reform public services, grow the economy, and - "with the flag in our hands" - renew the country.

Starmer's speech ends, he thanks audience members for coming and there's a loud, sustained applause. We'll bring you a round-up of they key takeaways shortly.

Beginning to round this speech off, Starmer says he does not accept that "Britain is broken".

He talks about tech companies queuing up to invest in the UK, highlighting the three trade deals his government has struck with India, the US and the EU.

Sticking with the theme of rejecting a "broken" Britain, he turns to members of the audience, singling out Melanie from Calderdale, West Yorkshire, who runs an organisation called "Our Place" for carers and those are who are lonely, organising weekly meet ups.

He also praises 15-year-old Kaitlyn, from Barnet, who set up a girls' football team in her school where there was none, and Isaac who scrubbed off racist graffiti in York.

"Is that broken Britain?" Starmer asks, before praising the real Britain as the "millions of people, miles away from Westminster".

Image source, Getty Images

The prime minister turns next to the NHS - saying he knows "how hard people work" in the service.

He says the responsibility is not just to celebrate it, but to "make it better".

Starmer continues, explaining that he wants this to be a time people look back on as the moment "we renewed the NHS" for a new world - referencing artificial intelligence and the ways disease is changing too.

For the vast majority of patients, he underlines, face-to-face consultations are "right" and says Labour will never take those away from those who want it.

But, he adds, today he is announcing NHS Online - a "completely digital" NHS trust - with millions of appointments.

• For context: The online hospital will be accessible through the NHS app and ministers hope it will deliver up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years - there are more details in our news story

Small boat crossings at record levels under Labour, but for how long?published at 15:05 BST 30 September

15:05 BST 30 September

By Rob England

In his speech at the Labour Party conference, Keir Starmer spoke about controlling the “vile trade” of people smuggling gangs enabling small boat crossings.

In his Plan for Change, the prime minister committed to “smash” these gangs and cut the number of crossings by 2029. So far the pledge looks off track.

The total number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats this year has returned to record levels after briefly dipping below previous peaks last week.

In the year to 29 September, 33,556 people had arrived in the UK by small boat - 721 more than at the same point in 2022, the highest year on record. The total number of crossings made in 2022 was just over 45,000.

Many factors, including weather, affect the number of crossings so it's not possible to say whether 2025 will surpass 2022 for the highest number of crossings. However, more than 12,200 people would need to cross before the end of the year, to reach the same level.

On migration, Starmer says Labour can not ignore the "crisis in our asylum system" and will tackle it.

The British people are reasonable, he goes on - they want secure borders.

So the government will smash the gangs, crack down on illegal working and remove people with no right to be here, the PM insists.

But there is a moral line, he adds, that Farage and others cross - sowing fear and discord across the country.

To applause, Starmer says throwing bricks and smashing up private property is not legitimate - it's thuggery.

Starmer says Labour is proud of Britain's flags, but if they are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to "go home", that's not pride - it's "racism".

This gets loud applause.

Starmer now pivots to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK.

"The question I ask, seriously, of Nigel Farage and Reform, is do they love our country? Or do they just want to stir the pot of division, because that's what works for their interests."

He goes on: "Do they really want to fix our problems and renew Britain? Or, as we've seen time and again... do they actually want Britain to fail?"

He says Britons must come together to "fight Reform with everything that this movement has", and do so by tackling all of the "problems they prey upon".

Image source, Reuters

"I have had enough," Starmer now says, of politicians who have "lied to this country, unleashed chaos and walked away after Brexit".

He hits out at those who "equivocate on Putin and Ukraine" and who go to America to "grub around for money".

He says Labour is the party for working people and the "patriotic" party, to which the arena erupts into applause.

Turning to patriotism, he says he is proud of the union and the relationship between the four nations.

"So let's fly all our flags... because they belong to all of us and we will never surrender them," he adds, as conference delegates stand to wave the miniature flags they were handed earlier.