Rayner pledges 'biggest boost to affordable housing' at conference

1. Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner has addressed party members at their conference
2. She outlines plans for "the biggest boost to affordable and social housing in a generation"
3. "A council house changed my life," she tells the audience in Liverpool
4. Earlier, leader Keir Starmer defended his plan for the NHS, saying a Labour government would pay staff properly to work at weekends
5. And he said he was "very confident" that economic growth will pay for increase spending on public services
6. You can watch our coverage by pressing play at the top of the page

Thanks for joining us

That's all from Labour conference from the live page team.

Keir Starmer's interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, where he said that doctors were up for longer hours for more overtime pay- and more from Angela Rayner's speech to conference, where she vowed 'biggest' affordable housing boost were the highlights of today.

Our writers today were Paul Seddon, Sam Francis and Chas Geiger in Liverpool and we'll be back tomorrow for more. Do join us then.

What did we hear from the Labour leadership in Liverpool today?

We will be closing our live coverage of the conference shortly. We will be back tomorrow when shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves addresses delegates.

Today Sir Keir Starmer was the main guest on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, presented this morning by Victoria Derbyshire. And the main speaker on the conference stage was deputy leader Angela Rayner.

• Starmer said Labour would spend a total of £1.5bn, funded by abolishing the non-dom tax status, on 2m extra out-of-hours hospital appointments a year in England
• He acknowledged NHS staff working more overtime hours would depend on them declining more lucrative work in the private sector to help tackle NHS backlogs
• Rayner said a Labour government would implement its plans to bolster workers' rights within 100 days of taking office, including banning zero-hour contracts and fire-and-rehire practices
• Former leader Jeremy Corbyn missed a CND fringe event - his spokesman said his train had been delayed

Starmer to give details of three more Labour 'missions'

Overnight, Labour revealed new policies to flesh out two of its five missions for government if it wins the next election.

These were to spend £1.1bn on increasing the number of out-of-hours hospital appointments in England by 2m a year; and setting up specialist further education colleges to tackle local skills shortages.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says the other three missions will acquire more definition this week, when party leader Sir Keir Starmer addresses the conference on Tuesday.

Iain Watson says Labour is aware it needs to provide voters with more clarity about what they could expect from the party in government.

It is likely Starmer's new announcements will involve Labour's plan for green energy and the wider economy, he adds.

He says Labour regards this as a modern equivalent of Tony Blair setting out five promises in Labour's pledge card for the 1997 general election.

Labour waiting list plan dependent on staff overtime

Henry Zeffman

Chief political correspondent

Labour activists are optimistic that next time they gather like this Sir Keir Starmer could be prime minister. But Starmer is also under pressure to offer more specifics on his programme for government.

He began to do so this morning. In a new policy, staff in the health service would be paid to work more hours, including weekends and evenings. Labour say this could enable two million more appointments per year. The £1.5bn policy would be funded by some of the proceeds of abolishing non-dom tax status - under which some UK residents don’t have to pay tax on money they make outside this country.

But the measure would be voluntary, and Starmer conceded that it would rely on staff declining more lucrative work in the private sector in order to help tackle NHS backlogs.

The Royal College of Nursing said that weekend work is already “routine” for many, while the trade union Unison said the policy was “fine” but only as a “stop-gap”.

Corbyn misses CND fringe event at conference

Sam Francis

Political reporter, in Liverpool

BBC

It is standing room only for Jeremy Corbyn’s first appearance at this year's Labour conference - only he is not here.

The former party leader, who is barred from the Parliamentary Labour Party but remains a party member, was due to speak at fringe event organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

He remains extremely popular within the party and the crowd in this conference room is a testament to that. The room deflates when it is announced he will not be coming - and several journalists and Labour members make for the door.

His spokesman says he has been delayed on the train to Liverpool, adding that he will not now make the CND event, but will attend other fringe events.

It has emerged that Mr Corbyn does not have a pass for the main conference area. Labour say there is no question of him being denied one since he is a party member but that he did not apply for one.

Union jacks prominent in conference branding

BBC

Union jacks are a big feature of the Labour conference branding this year.

They are on display throughout the venue, and have been added to a revamped version of the party’s membership card – a template of which, below, has been distributed to journalists.

The words “putting the country first” have also been added to the back of the new version of the card.

A spokesman says it's to demonstrate Labour is a "proudly patriotic party" determined to put the good of the country ahead of "narrow or niche interests".

BBC

Reporters have been given a template version of the new card

Labour looking to next election - but when will it be?

Oscar Bentley

BBC Political Research Unit

Labour is very much talking about a May general election next year.

The date of the next general election isn’t in Labour’s gift – that’s the decision of Rishi Sunak. It has to be held legally by January 2025, but is widely expected at some point in 2024.

Sir Keir Starmer told Victoria Derbyshire this morning that this will be their last conference before the next election, while Angela Rayner told delegates she hoped it was the last speech to them she’d give in opposition.

The party’s general secretary David Evans also told delegates that in 206 days the next election could be over – which would put it in May.

But all this might be more about making sure the party is on an election footing by the spring in case of an ‘early’ election. Some have suggested it’s most likely to be in the autumn. Ultimately, no-one can say with any certainty when the date will be.

Cautious welcome to Starmer's NHS staff overtime plan

Brian Wheeler

NHS unions have given a cautious welcome to Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a voluntary overtime scheme to help reduce waiting lists.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "This is fine as a stop-gap measure, but this is all it must be.”

Royal College of Nursing Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, said the NHS already "runs on the goodwill of its staff".

"Nursing staff work so much overtime that is never paid - staying behind an hour or two after 12-hour shifts to keep patients safe - so a change in this culture is needed. As part of their shift patterns, weekend work is routine for many.

"Any Labour government would likely take office at a time of record unfilled nurse jobs, in excess of 40,000, and so the long-term answer is of course to have more staff overall."

Labour has said it would train 7,500 more doctors and 10,000 more nurses a year, to be funded by the extra cash in the government's NHS England workforce plan.

The overtime plan would be something an incoming Labour government could do immediately to tackle waiting list, party sources say.

Watch: Rayner pledges to build more social housing

Watch: Labour's deputy leader says it will provide the biggest boost to social housing "in a generation".

Rayner says to achieve Labour's aim of more social housing she will wear a "hard hat and high-vis" if she has to.

Topics for debate to be picked today

Paul Seddon

Politics reporter, in Liverpool

One thing worth watching out for later today is the so-called "priorities ballot" - which will pick 12 subjects to be debated this week.

These will come from 49 topics suggested by local party branches and affiliates, including trade unions and groups linked to the party, like Young Labour.

Today, delegates from local parties will choose six subjects, with affiliates picking six more.

Supporters of Keir Starmer are pushing for debates on areas including the NHS, Ukraine, ethics in politics, and defence.

Momentum, the Corbynite wing of the party, say their top priorities are housing and reform of universal credit.

Watch: Labour has never been so unified - Rayner

Watch: Labour has never been so unified, says the party's deputy leader

During her speech to the conference in Liverpool, Angela Rayner said Labour was unified with one aim - to "give Britain it's future back".

What was in Angela Rayner's speech?

BBC

Angela Rayner has finished a crowd-pleasing opening speech at the Labour party.

Following some tetchy scenes before she stood up to speak - where a number of Labour party delegates tried to overthrow the debate agenda for the conference - she spent her speech setting out Labour’s plans for government.

She told the conference:

• Labour are "sick of opposition"
• Her party's current policies are a blueprint “for a bold, practical, and winning manifesto for the next general election
• Labour's focused on building new houses, banning no-fault evictions and creating more social homes
• The shadow cabinet is ”hungry for change” and ready for office
• Labour will bring in plans for new workers' rights in the first 100 days of office.

Rapturous welcome for Rayner's pre-election rallying cry

Henry Zeffman

Chief political correspondent

There was plenty of policy in Angela Rayner’s speech to Labour conference. Not necessarily new policy, but the packed conference hall gave a rapturous welcome all the same to her promises to build new houses, ban no-fault evictions and abolish zero hours contracts.

But Rayner is not just shadow levelling up secretary, she is also Labour’s deputy leader - having been separately elected to the position by party members on the same day Sir Keir Starmer became leader.

At times the pair have had a somewhat fractious relationship, but in his recent reshuffle, Starmer confirmed that if he becomes prime minister he would hand Rayner the title of deputy prime minister.

And today’s speech reinforced that they are now bound together as a political unit. Beyond the specifics of her departmental brief, Rayner offered up a broad-bush rallying cry for party members at what may well be their last gathering before the general election.

Rayner repeatedly referred to the position she wants of deputy prime minister, using that title to advance her argument about the importance of electoral victory.

Her policy agenda, she stressed, “can only be completed with Labour in power.”

Angela Rayner: Labour's big-hitter who beat the odds

PA Media

Angela Rayner has reached the top of British politics via an unlikely road.

A former care worker who had a baby at the age of 16 and left school without any qualifications, she was told she would not amount to anything.

She is now the deputy leader of the Labour party and commands a hefty domestic policy brief covering levelling-up, communities and housing.

Her relationship with Sir Keir Starmer has often been tense. But as Labour's deputy leader is elected by the party, not appointed by its leader, Ms Rayner has a significant level of independence.

The 43-year-old has a reputation for speaking her mind, and - as a working-class woman from the north of England, who did not go to university - a widely-recognised ability to reach parts of the electorate the Labour leader can't.

Read more on how Ms Rayner overcame a difficult start in life to climb the ladder at Westminster.

Rayner pledges more affordable homes

Rayner wins applause by pledging to build more affordable housing, including social homes.

"I'll get the hard hat and hi-viz on if I have to," she quips.

She says Labour would reform the planning system to give local councils greater powers to "stand up to vested interests".

She also says the party would "achieve rental reform" - including by banning so-called no-fault evictions.

Rayner promises new workers' rights within first 100 days

Angela Rayner lists of a series of Labour’s policies to change the labour market – including banning zero-hour contract and strengthening powers for unions.

To applause she says Labour’s plans have been praised by businesses, who “know a good modern labour market is good for growth”.

Work to implement these plans have “already started” and she promises legislation “within the first 100 days of taking office” if Labour are elected.

Labour has never been so unified - Rayner

Pool

Rayner says that Sir Keir Starmer is at the helm of a “shadow cabinet hungry for change”.

Labour is “already delivering” where they are in power, she says, pointing to the work of Labour metro mayors, councils and the Welsh Senedd.

“Our movement has never been so unified and so focused around one aim – to give Britain its future back.”

She goes on the attack against the Conservatives who she says “only know how to centralise power” to the benefit of the rich and pointing out Rishi Sunak didn’t mention housing in his leadership speech last week.

“Looking down from his private jet, Rishi Sunak can’t understand how young people can’t get on the housing ladder,” she tells the conference.

Rayner takes pot-shots at Tory ministers

Rayner now cracks a few jokes at the expense of Conservative ministers who have been forced to resign in recent times.

This includes the return of Suella Braverman as home secretary under Rishi Sunak - six days after she was forced to step down under Liz Truss after data breaches.

"Apparently she believes in the rehabilitation of offenders after all," she quips.

She also notes Liz Truss's turn at Tory conference last week, adding that Rishi Sunak is "just Ken in her Barbie world".

Conference a pivotal moment for Labour - Rayner

Pool

Rayner opens her speech by paying tribute to campaigners after Labour's by-election victory last week in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

This week's conference comes at a "pivotal moment for our country" and a "watershed moment" for the party, she says.

Rayner now speaking

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