Sir Keir Starmer put controlling immigration, growing the economy and restoring pride in Britain at the heart of his plan to take on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The Prime Minister said securing the borders was a “reasonable demand”, but he hit out at people including Mr Farage who cross a “moral line” on the issue.
Sir Keir said Labour was the “patriotic party” and sought to reclaim the UK’s flags after a summer in which they had become the focus of a culture war.
The Prime Minister said he believed in a Britain with “the grit of the Lionesses, the swagger of Oasis, the strength of the Red Roses”.
Sir Keir went into conference with his party trailing Reform in the polls ahead of crunch elections in Scotland, Wales and English counties next year, and with his position in No 10 being questioned.
He used his party conference address in Liverpool to set out his vision for a “new country”, a “land of dignity and respect”.
But that meant addressing the concerns of voters who had drifted to Reform – with economic growth a key “antidote to division”.
We will end decline, reform our public services, and grow our economy.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 30, 2025
Britain can come together, pursue a shared destination, and unite around a common good.
That is the purpose of this government.
The speech comes after a turbulent period which has seen unrest outside asylum hotels and the continued flow of migrants across the English Channel in small boats.
He said there is “a moral line, and it isn’t just Farage who crosses it”.
Sir Keir said: “Controlling migration is a reasonable goal.
“But if you throw bricks and smash up private property that’s not legitimate – that’s thuggery.”
Today I’m setting out the patriotic case for national renewal. Watch my Conference speech here. https://t.co/xJyOrzCoUK
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 30, 2025
Free speech was a “British value” but did not allow people to “incite racist violence and hatred”.
He continued “this party is proud of our flags”, but “if they are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism”.
And anyone who argues that “people who have lived here for generations” should now be deported is “an enemy of national renewal”, the Prime Minister added.
He said the “politics of grievance” – a term he has used repeatedly to attack Mr Farage – was “the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are”.
Calling for the public to “unite around a common good”, Sir Keir said they were engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”.
Urging people to fly their flags, he said he would “fight with every breath I have” for the “tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know”.
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