Keir Starmer’s combative Labour Conference speech

Keir Starmer’s 2025 Labour Conference speech was not the cautious, consensus-seeking address we’ve come to expect from the Prime Minister. Instead, it was combative, unapologetic, and – crucially – aimed at both reassuring his party and drawing some sharp lines in the sand. For a leader often accused of being too managerial and abstract, this was a moment of rhetorical clarity. The early consensus among Labour-watchers is that it may well be remembered as his best conference speech yet.

The tone was set early. Introduced by Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall, Starmer opened with a tribute to the Hillsborough families and a renewed commitment to the Hillsborough Law. It was a reminder of Labour’s moral purpose – listening to working-class people “even when the state turns its back”. That framing – of decency versus division – ran through the entire speech.

But what made this address stand out was its directness. Starmer didn’t just hint at his opponents; he named them. Reform UK, and Nigel Farage in particular, were the primary targets. “When have you heard him say anything positive about this country?” Starmer asked, accusing Farage of encouraging grievance and victimhood in a clear attempt to reclaim patriotism from the right.

Indeed, patriotism was everywhere. Delegates and MPs were handed Union Jacks and St George’s Crosses before Starmer took the stage, and he made a point of declaring, “They’re our flags. They belong to all of us and we will never surrender them.” Starmer’s Labour has often been accused of lacking a clear identity; in this speech, he made his most substantial effort to date in trying to define one that is proudly British, economically ambitious, and socially inclusive.

Starmer spoke of “national renewal”, a phrase that now anchors Labour’s governing mission and which was a recurring motif throughout his address. He acknowledged the difficult decisions made in the last Budget, taking a moment to acknowledge that his government had asked a lot from the business community, but defended those decisions as necessary steps toward growth. “Growth is the pound in your pocket,” he said, “the peace of mind that comes with economic security.”

This wasn’t just about numbers. Starmer made a moral case for growth, arguing that who and where benefits from it can either “build a nation or pull it apart”. He promised to “unleash British enterprise”, cut red tape, and stand up to the “blockers”. Stronger workers’ rights, he argued, would boost productivity. Public investment wouldn’t crowd out private, it would catalyse it.

One of the most headline-grabbing announcements was the scrapping of Labour’s longstanding target for 50% of young people to attend university. Instead, Starmer proposed a new goal: two-thirds of young people should go either to university or pursue a “gold standard” apprenticeship. It’s a shift that reflects both economic pragmatism and cultural sensitivity; a recognition that the country needs skilled workers, and that those who work with their hands deserve equal respect to those who work in so-called white-collar occupations.

On immigration and asylum, Starmer walked a careful line. He acknowledged the crisis in the asylum system and the public’s desire for secure borders, stating that “secure borders are vital for a decent, compassionate country”. He noted too that Britain should welcome genuine asylum seekers, but condemned gangs of people smugglers and made a firm distinction between controlling migration and demonising migrants. 

“Controlling migration is a reasonable goal,” he said, “but if you throw bricks and smash up public property, that is thuggery,” criticising the “racism” of those involved in recent, high-profile incidents of public disorder. There has been a strong feeling among many within the Labour Party since the summer riots that Starmer needed to be more full-throated in calling out racism; based on this speech, it’s likely he had this on his mind. However, he was also careful to set out his view that simply having concerns about controlling immigration is not racist – and that Labour needs not to patronise or dismiss people who hold these views.

And what of the Tories? They were barely mentioned. More than an hour into the speech, Starmer offered a dismissive “remember them?” before taking a swipe at Liz Truss. It was a deliberate choice – the government’s strategy has for some time been to treat Reform as the de facto opposition, bringing in the Conservative Party only to accuse successive Conservative governments of economic mismanagement.

Ultimately, this was a speech designed to reassure Labour - to show the party faithful that the government has a story to tell, and that Starmer is the one to tell it. It was a rebuttal to critics who say the government has been too reactive, too cautious. And it was a challenge to Reform UK: a battle not just for votes, but for the “soul of Britain”.

Whether it works will depend on what happens in the weeks and months to come. But for now, Starmer has done what he needed to do. He’s drawn the battle lines. He’s made the case. Now, we’ll see whether he can keep making it.