Labour conference LIVE: Pensioners braced as Keir Starmer warns of 'tough measures'

Deputy PM Angela Rayner MP has once again sought to blame the previous Tory government after new figures revealed a nine-percent drop in planning applications.

Government figures showed the number fell compared with the same quarter in 2023.

Ms Rayner, currently at the annual conference in Liverpool, said: “The Tories have not learnt their lesson and will not apologise for the mess that they left.

“⁠They watered down housing targets, torpedoed housebuilding, and took a sledgehammer to the dream of a secure home.

“The Tories put country before party, failing to stand up to the vested interests blocking growth and compounding their housing failure. That legacy makes our job all the harder, but it also makes it so much more urgent to reverse the decline.

“The British people voted for change and this Labour government will deliver it. We’re fixing the foundations through sweeping planning reform to get Britain building, grow the economy and deliver the homes our country needs.”

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott has warned Labour will increase taxes regardless of Pat McFadden's denial that the party will scrap the single person council tax discount.

She said: “Despite ample opportunities, Labour Ministers still can't rule out tax rises.

“It should come as no surprise. Labour will do what Labour have always done: mismanage the economy and raise your taxes.

“Having already clobbered pensioners, working people are next in line. The only beneficiaries of this Labour Government are the Labour Party, its donors and the union barons who have filled their coffers with taxpayers’ money.”

A Labour MP has said she is “sickened” by the furore surrounding donations to ministers when pensioners “risk going cold” due to the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance.

Racheal Maskell, the MP for York Central took to X last night to express her opinions on the row which has continued to rumble on ahead of yesterday’s launch of the Labour party conference.

She said: “I have been sickened by revelations of 'donations'.

“It grates against the values of the Labour Party, created to fight for the needs of others, not self."

Sir Keir Starmer must “get a grip” of Labour’s civil war and end infighting amongst aides, Cabinet ministers believe.

The Prime Minister is facing calls to intervene in the row over Sue Gray’s £170,000 salary, which has infuriated other advisors.

Sir Keir is being urged to "create a moment" to prevent infighting between the rival factions in Downing Street.

The minister said: "Keir has to get a grip. He never resolved in opposition who’s in charge, who has his voice.”

The Government has lost control of the process that reviews public sector pay, the shadow health secretary has said.

Conservative minister Victoria Atkins said that the Royal College of Nursing's rejection of the proposed 5.5 percent pay award showed that Labour were not properly in charge of the system.

Ms Atkins told Sky News: "The Labour Government has lost control of the independent public sector pay process."

She added: "The ramifications of giving one part of the health workforce an inflation busting pay rise, as they did over the summer with junior or resident doctors, (is that it) will have an impact across the workforce, including for nurses.

"Is it any wonder that having given this inflation busting pay rise with no reform, no productivity improvements for junior doctors in the summer, that nurses and other healthcare professionals are now asking why they are not valued in the same way by this Government."

The RCN rejected the offer during Chancellor Rachel Reeves's speech yesterday.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria have been pictured arriving for breakfast at the Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool.

Sir Keir is preparing for first conference speech since moving into Number 10.

He is under pressure to deliver after a rocky few days which have seen him facing awkward questions about accepting donations of free clothes and hospitality, as well as concerns over plans to means-test the £300 winter fuel payment for pensioners.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has warned northern trains may be forced to run slower with fewer seats than they do currently, after the previous government cancelled a plan to extend HS2 between the West Midlands and Manchester.

Put to him on the BBC's Today programme that he is saying train services might get worse, he said: "It's barely believable, isn't it, after the promises of the northern powerhouse and all of the debates about HS2, that in the kind of middle of this century, you would find it harder to get a seat on a train going north, because there would be smaller trains serving Manchester, because the HS2 trains couldn't go at full length, and then they'd have to go at lower speeds because the tilting pendolinos can go faster on the curvy West Coast mainline, but not the HS2 trains, and that's the point.

"You know, how can this country rely on an overcrowded West Coast mainline and a saturated M6 for the connectivity between the West Midlands and the North West? But that was the effect of the decision taken last year."

Mr Burnham added that more capacity is needed as "the big arteries up the country are already full", adding: "If you carry on and do nothing at this point in time, this will be an anti-growth policy, because the overcrowded nature of our rail and road infrastructure between the West Midlands and the North West would be a barrier to economic growth."

He also agreed he was calling for a link between Liverpool and Manchester, calling it an "investment in growth".

Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor as Labour leader, has claimed the party is "on the wrong side of history" as he hailed a demonstrator turfed out of the conference yesterday.

Mr Corbyn, now an independent MP, posted on X: "The brave protestor at Labour conference demanding an end to all arms sales to Israel reminds me of the party member who was dragged out of conference in 2005 for protesting the war in Iraq.

"Who was on the right side of history?"

Labour’s Pat McFadden found himself in the hot seat during a tense exchange with Sky News' Kay Burley, as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster dodged a direct answer about potential tax increases under the new Labour government.

The grilling came when Burley asked bluntly: “Is it going to be tax increases or cutting spending?” McFadden sidestepped the specifics, replying instead: “We’ve got to stabilise public finances.”

Speaking to Kay Mr McFadden added: “We have inherited a tough financial situation, but if we can stabilise that then the prospects for the country are really good, the prospects for investing in the country, getting the economy moving, for turning around the public services, getting rebuilding going, whether that’s on housing or infrastructure or energy or other big things, this is the prize that awaits us if we can get through this period and deal with some of the things we’ve inherited from the last government.”

Addressing the decision by the Royal College of Nurses, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has said that getting a deal is an "essential step" in fixing public services.

Speaking after nurses rejected a deal that included a 5.5 percent pay rise, Mr McFadden said: "When we came into office we wanted to try and put these industrial disputes behind us and get the public services back to work.

"That doesn't fix them overnight, but it's an essential step on that road.

"So you know, we will do what we can but there's always competing pressures for public spending."

He later added: "We'll try and treat workers fairly, we'll try and make sure people are properly rewarded.

"But everybody knows there's not an unlimited amount of public spending."

Union baron Mick Lynch has vowed to seize control of the UK economy.

Speaking as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to deliver his crucial Labour Party conference speech, Mr Lynch, whose RMT union brought much of the country to a standstill through rail walkouts, said the “prize” is “universal” influence over all of the nation’s industries.

The Royal College of Nursing left Chancellor Rachel Reeves red-faced after announcing it was rejecting the Government’s 5.5 per cent pay hike offer in the middle of her speech.

And Mr Lynch called for a sweeping expansion of union powers which would make it easier to shut down industries if their demands are not met.

Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the party's messaging about the economy and spending is the same as that from the Conservative Party during austerity.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr McDonnell, who had the whip removed from him by Labour when he voted against the Government over the removal of the two-child benefit cap said: "If you close your eyes and listen to the language being used, it's almost like George Osborne speaking again in 2010.

"When you hear politicians talk about tough choices or painful decisions, and then you hear some of the rhetoric around fraud and social security, literally that's a replica of a speech made by George Osborne in 2010.

"What I'm worried about is the first measure the Government has actually introduced is an austerity measure of winter fuel allowance, which for many of my constituents will cause immense hardship."

He added: "We were desperate to get rid of the Tories. I was so elated at the election of a Labour Government, but I don't believe that actually what we're hearing this week is going to inspire people around the sort of objectives that we have as a party, of changing our society, ending austerity."

Pat McFadden also emphasised that Sir Keir Starmer's speech to the Labour Party conference as Prime Minister is a big moment for the party and the country.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told Nick Ferrari on LBC: "I think you almost underplay it in terms of the twists and turns over 14 years of opposition. I woke up this morning thinking 'This is the first speech from our Labour Prime Minister to a Labour conference for 15 years.' It's such a long time. So much has changed in the country during that period.

"I think this is a big moment certainly for my party, it's a big moment for the country, whether people support Labour or don't support Labour. Just the change that it symbolises when Keir Starmer stands up and makes a speech this afternoon is enormous."

Pat McFadden has denied that there are plans to change pub licensing rules to force them to shut early.

Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC's Breakfast programme, he denied a report in the Telegraph that venues could be targeted under measures to cut down on harmful drinking.

Andrew Gwynne, the public health minister, had told a Labour Party fringe event that the Government was considering "tightening up the hours of operation" of bars and pubs.

Mr McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "I don't think there's any plan to shut the pubs early. The pub is a great part of British life. I don't have a drink during conference, partly so I can look forward to having a nice one when the conference is over and I hope that the pub will be open when I go in."

He told Mr Ferrari that his drink of choice after the conference ends on Wednesday would be a pint of Guinness.

Sir Keir will add: "The reality is that if we make tough long-term decisions now, and remain focused on our core goal – higher economic growth – we can raise living standards in every community; bring down hospital waiting lists; make our streets safer; strengthen our borders; create more opportunities for our children; power our homes with clean British energy; and make our country more secure.

"Then, that light at the end of the tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, will be reached much sooner."

Addressing Labour activists in Liverpool, Sir Keir will emphasise that "it will be hard", highlighting the "financial black hole" of £22 billion in unfunded spending left by the Tories, the "societal black hole" of crumbling public services, and the "political black hole" created by disillusionment with the political system.

Unions have slammed Labour for trying to “silence” pensioners and avoid humiliation by blocking a crunch vote on reversing the winter fuel payment.

Dozens of pensioners gathered outside the Party’s conference venue today to voice their anger at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to axe the £300 lifeline.

Delegates at the event also booed when it was announced that a debate set for today on a winter fuel U-turn would be delayed until Wednesday when many activists will have left.

Sharon Graham, Unite union general secretary, said: “Right now it is fair to say that the Labour leaders have tried to silence the voice of pensioners, workers and communities at Party conference, in this blatant manoeuvre to block debate on winter fuel cuts and the departure towards Austerity Mark 2."

Key measures promised by Sir Keir in his speech include:

* A crackdown on benefit fraud, aimed at saving £1.6 billion over five years

*A commitment to reducing net migration by training British workers to fill job vacancies rather than relying on overseas labour

*A pledge to introduce a Hillsborough Law, enforcing a duty of candour for public officials.

Sir Keir Starmer will tell the British public there is "light at the end of this tunnel", but they must first unite in a "shared struggle" to overcome tough short-term pressures.

In his first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister, Sir Keir - who along with other senior Labour figures has faced criticism over his acceptance of clothing, hospitality and other freebies - will outline his vision to "build a new Britain" with faster economic growth, reduced hospital waiting times, and safer streets.

However, he will caution that there are no quick fixes and that he cannot offer "false hope" regarding the challenges ahead.

Sir Keir will attempt to set out his positive vision of "national renewal", though the speech comes amid anger within the Labour movement over the decision to means-test winter fuel payments, which will strip millions of pensioners of this benefit.