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Sir Keir makes another promise...

"Never again will Labour go into an election not being trusted," he says. "On national security, with your job, with your community and with your money.

"That’s what being under new leadership means."

He says he wants Labour to be "the party of the whole United Kingdom", saying the party must make a strong case "to stop the Nationalists ripping our country apart by design and to stop the Tories dismantling it by neglect".

He says he "doesn't want to turn the clock back" but wants to point to things Labour governments of the past have achieved, from the NHS and NATO, to the Open University and the Good Friday Agreement.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Starmer is certainly not trashing Labour’s record – he recites the party’s achievements in government but stresses only three leaders since the war has won power.

Also by saying he looks to the future gets him off the hook of the 2019 manifesto.

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Sir Keir says it is "time to get serious about winning", adding: "That means we have to change and that’s what we’re doing."

He says he will keep his promise to "root out anti-Semitism", and progress is being made.

"We’re becoming a competent, credible opposition," he adds. "But that’s not enough.

"I didn’t come into politics to be in opposition, and neither did you.

"I came into politics to change lives.

"But you don’t get the permission to act unless the public trusts you and we still have a lot to do."

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Tough message to his party – effectively say they deserved to lose , and it’s a ‘betrayal’ to let this go on.

He says the party needs to change but so far he has been eliminating negatives rather than putting forward a detailed vision for the future.

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Sir Keir says: "The arrogance of this government makes me so angry."

But he also says he feels "frustration" that it isn't his team in power.

"Until we come out of the shadows, this party can’t change anything," he says.

The Labour leader says the party's efforts are "pointless" if it just keeps putting Tory governments into power.

"So let’s be blunt," he adds. "Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves.

"When you lose an election in a democracy you deserve to.

"You don’t look at the electorate and ask them, 'what were you thinking?'

"You look at yourself and ask, 'what were we doing?'"

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Sir Keir says there is a "big difference" between him and Johnson.

"While Boris Johnson was writing flippant columns about bendy bananas, I was defending victims and prosecuting terrorists," says Sir Keir.

"While he was being sacked by a newspaper for making up quotes, I was fighting for justice and the rule of law."

He says the "grown-up way to deal with Brexit is to negotiate properly and get a deal".

Sir Keir reiterates his previous point that the "debate between Leave and Remain is over".

But he says the PM "repeatedly promised that he will get a deal", and if he fails to get one, "he will be failing Britain... [and] he’ll have nobody to blame but himself."

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Big attack on Boris Johnson’s character, more ferocious than anticipated – he is not ‘grown up’ – Starmer drawing a comparison with his serious career as a lawyer , and what he describes as ‘flippant’ newspaper columns

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The second thing he says he has learned is that "a crisis reveals character like nothing else".

Sir Keir adds: "And I think we’ve learnt a lot about this prime minister.

"He’s just not serious. He’s just not up to the job."

He accuses Boris Johnson of responding to problems by "wishing it away or by lashing out".

He moves onto Brexit, saying the PM "wished away the problems with the Irish border….then, when he finally realised what he’d signed up to he lashed out and decided to break international law.

"We’re all doing our bit to combat the virus by obeying the rule of six. Meanwhile the government won’t even obey the rule of law."

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The Labour leader thanks "the care workers, the van drivers, the cleaners, the shop workers and the life-savers in the NHS" who kept the country going during the crisis.

But he accuses No 10 of "serious incompetence".

"Six months in, a Cabinet chosen on loyalty alone shows no sign of having learnt any lessons from the crisis", adds Sir Keir.

He says he has learned two things...

"First, if you neglect your public services, you won’t be ready when a crisis hits," he says.

"Nobody blames the government for the existence of the virus. But the under-funding of the NHS, the abandonment of social care and the lack of investment in prevention.

"That’s all on their watch. That’s all down to them."

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Sir Keir points to a number of issues faced by the government, deeming them failures - from the exams fiasco through the PPE.

He says: "The reason this incompetence angers me is that I think of the sacrifices people have made.

"I think of the dedication of all those who have worked so hard to keep us safe.

"The families that had to stay apart. The grandparents unable to hold grandchildren for the first time. Partners denied the chance to be present at scans and births.

"And in the most tragic circumstances…people robbed of the opportunity to say goodbye to those taken before their time."

He says that the pandemic has "made us appreciate what we value - that family really does come first."

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Starmer is seen by some as managerial rather than inspiring – he injects some passion in to his speech, saying he is ‘angry’ at the government’s ‘incompetence’

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Sir Keir says other things he will focus on include "decency, fairness, opportunity, compassion and security".

But he adds: "Sadly, we don’t have a government that has such high standards."

He says it "angers" him that the government is "holding us back" as a country.

"I’ve tried to be constructive," says the Labour leader. "I appreciate that these are unprecedented times and that governing is difficult.

"I’ve tried to be fair, to give the government the benefit of the doubt.

"But now, with one of the highest death rates in the world, and on the threshold of one of the deepest recessions anywhere, I’m afraid there is no doubt.

"This government’s incompetence is holding Britain back."

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Sir Keir says that "family values mean the world to me", after praising the NHS for looking after his mother.

"I was lucky enough to grow up in a loving family and I have the great joy now of a family of my own," he adds.

"The mission of the Labour party I lead is to extend that same opportunity to everyone.

He says his vision for Britain is "simple".

"I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in," says Sir Keir.

"A country in which we put family first. A country that embodies the values I hold dear."

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After saying the testing system had "collapsed", he says: "We all need the Government to succeed.

"This is the time for leadership."

Sir Keir says his leadership will be "defined by the values I’ve held dear all my life".

From being a lawyer to Director of Public Prosecutions and into Labour politics.

"The thread that runs through my life and the belief that will inspire my leadership of this Party is the desire to change lives for the better," he adds.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Starmer accuses the government of losing control of coronavirus – he says it’s time for leadership.

The slogan on his podium – ‘A New Leadership’ is aimed at Boris Johnson not just Jeremy Corbyn.