For Keir Starmer, this year’s Labour conference was a chance not just to address the party faithful but to see if there were any faithful left. With terrible approval ratings, and Reform UK in the ascendant, it was hard to see who his supporters might be, while Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, seemed to be getting ready to challenge him as leader.
On the left of the party there were calls not just for another ‘reset’ but for a wholesale change of direction. Helen Pidd spoke to delegates and MPs who told her that, even if they liked the prime minister, they were worried he was not able to communicate with the public – while the right of the party wanted Starmer to show voters Reform were not the people to turn to.
So the stakes for his speech were high. And Starmer came out swinging – saying Nigel Farage was not a patriot and offering a strong defence of multicultural Britain.
Peter Walker discusses with Helen Pidd whether it was enough to change the minds of Starmer’s critics
Photograph: James McCauley/Shutterstock
