For the next section of the speech, Sir Keir turns to the social care system and what he says we learned about it during the pandemic.

He says Covid exposed a "decade of cuts and neglect" to the health system, adding: "this wasn’t just a government failure over 18 months. It was a failure of the government’s duty of care over 11 years".

He says he agrees with the government that the NHS needs more money, but criticises its planned hike in National Insurance to pay for it as a plan "hammering working people".

But he vows: "A Labour government will always fund the NHS properly".

Sir Keir says Britain faces a number of big issues today, including the future of the UK, its place in Europe after Brexit, and how to recover from the Covid pandemic.

"These are big issues. But our politics is so small," he says.

He repeats that he learned the "dignity of work" from his father, and the "nobility of care" from his mother.

And unveiling what looks like a new slogan, he adds: "Work. Care. Equality. Security. That’s what I mean by justice."

Starmer tries to show he's not part of the political establishmentpublished at 12:46 British Summer Time 29 September 2021

12:46 BST 29 September 2021

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Keir Starmer acknowledged he hadn't been in politics long. Some in his party see him as a political novice.

But he tries to turn this to advantage by suggesting to voters turned off by political manoeuvring that he as director of public prosecutions he prosecuted MPs who made dodgy expense claims.

In other words, he is not part of the political establishment.

And he tries to turn a lack of charisma to advantage - saying he was doing serious things - prosecuting terrorists - while Boris Johnson was indulging in trivia.

Keir Starmer cannot compete either on charisma or comedy value.

So his advisers are avoiding the elephant trap of inauthenticity and going with the grain of the Labour leader's character.

Starmer begins to compare and contrast his career with that of Boris Johnson's.

He says he was working with police in Northern Ireland, while Johnson was on Top Gear referring to himself as "a blithering idiot".

When he trying to prosecute the murderers of Stephen Lawrence, Johnson was declaring war on traffic cones, he says.

In 2010, he says he was putting terrorists behind bars, while Johnson was defending the right not to wear a cycle helmet.

He says it is "easy to comfort yourself that your opponents are bad people" but adds: "I don’t think Boris Johnson is a bad man."

"I think he is a trivial man. I think he’s a showman with nothing left to show. I think he’s a trickster who has performed his one trick."

As we mentioned earlier, Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister believes someone else will clear up his mess "because that is what someone else has always done".

The Labour leader told the first party conference he has addressed in person that the PM should "either get a grip or get out of the way and let us clear up this mess".

He said the UK was facing a pay crisis, goods crisis and a cost of living crisis all at the same time.

The Labour leader now begins to attack the prime minister.

He says he tries to "remain calm in the bear pit of parliamentary politics".

"But the one thing about Boris Johnson that offends everything I stand for is his assumption that the rules don’t apply to him."

"When Dominic Cummings took a trip to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight, Boris Johnson turned a blind eye.

"When Matt Hancock breached his own lockdown rules, Boris Johnson declared the matter closed.

"When I got pinged, I isolated. When Boris Johnson got pinged, he tried to ignore it. That’s not how I do business.

"On behalf of a public that cares about cleaning up politics, I put this government on notice."

The next section of Sir Keir's speech focuses on crime and justice.

He says the cases of the Cloughs and Doreen Lawrence show why it is important for him that, under his leadership, "the fight against crime will always be a Labour issue".

Telling conference that the current rape prosecution rates under the Conservatives are "shocking," he vows to fast-track rape and serious sexual assault cases, and "toughen sentences" for rapists, stalkers and domestic abusers.

"Under the Tories the criminal justice system is close to collapse," he adds.

Starmer also praises Doreen Lawrence - who introduced him to the stage earlier.

He says she confronted racism "never giving up".

"Her courage and resilience over 28 years is impossible to describe in words," he says.

The Labour leader now talks about his time as director of public prosecution.

He talks about the story of Jane Clough - a victim of domestic abuse.

Her partner was arrested but later let out on bail. One morning he was waiting for Jane in the hospital car park where she worked and stabbed her 71 times.

He says when her parents came to visit him he was advised not to see them because he shouldn't get emotionally involved in the case.

In response he says he replied: “If I haven’t got time to see the parents of a young woman who has just been murdered, then what am I doing in this job?”

He tells the conference he worked with John and Penny Clough to change the law and points to the couple who are in the audience.

"John and Penny taught me how to keep your dignity under severe pressure," he says.

Starmer's election pledgespublished at 12:32 British Summer Time 29 September 2021

12:32 BST 29 September 2021

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Keir Starmer distances himself deliberately from the Corbyn era by saying he will not go in to an election with a manifesto that isn't a serious programme for government.

But in doing so he is creating a hostage to fortune as the specific policies he announces will be judged on that basis.

Some of his supporters fear he is over correcting, faced with the charge that he doesn't know what he stands for.

So while it is desirable to treat mental illness within a month will voters find that a credible pledge when the NHS is still clearing a post pandemic backlog?

He promised to 'paint in primary colours' but too many daubs could be distracting when voters are looking at the bigger picture

Jennifer Scott
Political reporter, BBC News

The heckles are heating up, with some of Starmer's critics shouting out as members of the crowd try to shout them down.

A small group of perhaps a dozen held up red cards in front of the stage to show their distaste for the new leader.

But in response to the cries, Starmer asked: "Shouting slogans or changing lives, conference?"

He got a loud applause for that, and the crowd started to chant "changing lives, changing lives".

He still seems to have them - or most of them - on side...

The heckles are still continuing. "Shouting slogans or changing lives," the Labour leader shouts back.

"We can chant all day," he adds.

The Labour leader now talks a bit more about his pre-politics career,

He tells the conference he was the first person in my family to go to university, the first to go into the law.

As a lawyer he said he said justice was a "practical achievement - it was about seeing a wrong and putting it right".

"That is my approach in politics too. Down to earth. Working out what's wrong. Fixing it."

Keir Starmer now talks about what he learned from his mother, an NHS nurse who died in 2015 after a long battle with Still’s disease, a rare form of inflammatory arthritis.

Recalling one visit to see her in intensive care, he says: "I knew without being told that they were keeping her alive. I can hardly convey to you the emotion of seeing your mum in that condition."

"So, when I think of the extraordinary dedication of doctors and nurses, working to keep people alive as the Covid virus took hold, I know what that looks like," he adds.

Jennifer Scott
Political reporter, BBC News

There have been a few heckles in the early stages of Starmer's speech.

A lone voice sung the familiar "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" tune, but was drowned out by applause.

Another shouted at the Labour leader as he suggested the last manifesto wasn't credible, saying: "It was your Brexit policy!"

And one more cried out about the £15 per hour minimum wage, that caused a row this week.

But Starmer appeared to take it in his stride - or at least expected it - and responded, saying: "At this time on a Wednesday, it is normally the Tories that are heckling me."

And it doesn't bother me, he says.

There are sure to be more complaints from the crowd, but he appears to have the floor on side.

Sir Keir now gets personal, talking about his upbringing and why he came into politics.

"I am not from a privileged background. My dad was a tool maker in a factory".

He says he learned "how pride derives from work" from his father, adding: "That’s why I am so proud to lead a party whose name is Labour."

"Don’t forget it. Labour. The party of working people."

Sir Keir turns to the issue of the Covid pandemic, and how the country will bounce back afterwards.

He says that, rather than not learning the lessons of the "flaws that were brutally exposed by the pandemic," there is another path where the lessons are heeded.

"That path leads to a future in which a smart government enlists the brilliance of scientific invention to create a prosperous economy and a contribution society in which everyone has their role to play."

Starmer says that during the 2019 general election there were traditional Labour voters who "couldn't trust us with high office"

He said some "reluctantly chose the Tories because they didn’t believe our promises were credible".

At this point someone in the audience heckles the Labour leader.

Starmer continues: "To the voters who thought we were unpatriotic or irresponsible or that we looked down on them, I say these simple but powerful words - we will never under my leadership go into an election with a manifesto that is not a serious plan for government."

There is more heckling from the audience.

Addressing the noises off, Starmer says that at this point on a Wednesday he is normally being heckled by the Conservatives -referring to Prime Minster's Questions.

"It doesn't bother me then and it is not going to bother me now," he says, and receives a round of applause and standing ovation.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

As anticipated, Keir Starmer is greeted not only by applause but from the balcony, a chant of 'Oh Jeremy Corbyn'

But it genuinely felt like noises off and will be welcomed by the leader's aides as proof he is moving on from the Corbyn era.

It seems also to have encouraged others to cheer more loudly - even before he has made any announcements.

"We have a fuel crisis, a pay crisis, a goods crisis and a cost of living crisis - all at the same time," Starmer says.

He says the prime minister should "either get a grip or get out of the way and let us clear up this mess".

Turning to his own party, he notes that this is the first full conference since Labour's election defeat in 2019.

"To our devoted activists and loyal voters I want to say loud and clear - you saved this party from obliteration and we will never forget it. Thank you."

Sir Keir immediately turns to the issue of petrol shortages - which has dominated the news agenda outside the conference floor this week.

Referring to the government's flagship policy to lower regional inqualities, he quips: "level up, you can't even fill up".

"Doesn't that just tell you everything about this government? Ignoring the problem, blaming someone else, then coming up with a half-baked solution," he adds.

Why do we suddenly have a shortage of HGV drivers? Why is there no plan in place? he asks.