At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set out a sweeping vision for Britain’s future, confronting head-on the contentious debate over immigration, national unity, and the country’s place in the world. The conference, held at a pivotal moment on September 30 and October 1, 2025, saw Starmer and his senior ministers draw battle lines against Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, while pledging to review how the UK applies international human rights law in asylum cases.
Starmer’s remarks came as the government faces mounting pressure to address the surge in small boats crossing the English Channel. The Prime Minister referred to these vessels as “Farage boats,” attributing the recent rise in crossings to the fallout from Brexit and the loss of the Dublin agreement, which previously allowed Britain to return some asylum seekers to EU countries. According to Starmer, “Before we left the EU, we had a returns agreement with every country in the EU and [Farage] told the country it would make no difference if we left. He was wrong about that. These are Farage boats, in many senses, that are coming across the Channel.” (GB News)
While Starmer made clear that the UK would not “tear down” international laws such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), he argued for a review of how courts interpret key provisions, particularly Article 3 (protection from torture) and Article 8 (right to private and family life), which have been used to halt deportations. “I believe in those instruments, I believe in the rule of law, and I think they matter. But all international instruments... have to be applied in the circumstances as they are now,” Starmer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He emphasized that genuine asylum seekers fleeing persecution should be protected, but interpretations must reflect current realities of mass migration.
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden echoed this stance, telling the PA news agency that ministers would “look at the interpretation of some of these articles without walking away from the convention.” He questioned whether deporting someone to a country with lower prison standards than Britain’s truly amounts to torture. “Most people would say that wasn’t torture.”
However, the charity Freedom from Torture issued a stark warning against any dilution of Article 3’s protections. Chief executive Sonya Sceats stated, “Chipping away at Article 3 of the ECHR risks setting in train the destruction of the absolute ban on torture, the most appalling form of abuse, which Britain helped forge and champion over centuries. We urge the Prime Minister to immediately clarify that he will not do the dirty work of repressive regimes around the world by undermining this ban or the UK’s role as a place of safety for survivors.” (Freedom from Torture)
Brexit’s impact on migration policy was a recurring theme. The Work and Pensions Secretary blamed the UK’s exit from the EU for making it harder to return migrants, stating, “As a consequence of leaving the European Union: no Dublin agreement, no agreement at all, not even an imperfect one. And we’re having to rebuild from that position and reach new returns agreements with other countries.”
The conference was also marked by sharp exchanges between Labour and Reform UK. Starmer repeatedly branded Reform’s policy to strip some migrants of their right to remain as “racist” and “immoral,” but clarified, “No, nor do I think Reform voters are racist. They’re concerned about things like our borders, they’re frustrated about the pace of change. I’m not for a moment suggesting that they are racist.” (Sky News)
Nigel Farage, never one to shy away from a fight, shot back by labeling Starmer “unfit” to lead the country and warning that the Prime Minister’s rhetoric could threaten the safety of Reform party officials. Farage claimed his security detail had recently been slashed by 75%, and Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf accused Labour of “incitement to violence” against their leader. The House of Commons, for its part, stated that security arrangements for MPs are subject to rigorous, risk-based assessments and declined to comment on specific details.
Labour’s David Lammy also weighed in, calling Farage’s immigration stance “un-British” and disrespectful to national values. “This is calling out his policies, his policies that would line people up who have a right to be in this country, who might be Indian, who might be Nigerian, and send them home. It’s not British. It doesn’t respect our values. And Keir Starmer was very articulate about that.”
Starmer’s speech set out a broader vision for Britain, calling for unity and a rejection of divisiveness. “People say a nation like ours can’t be a community, that it’s too diverse, too divided. I reject that. That goes against everything I stand for, everything I’ve served, everything I understand about this great country I love,” he declared from the podium.
He also touted Britain’s recent trade agreements with India, the US, and Europe as evidence that “Britain is back” on the world stage. “Those three trade deals we struck – with India, with the US, with our fellow Europeans – a signal to the world that Britain is back, that stability has returned. Is that broken Britain, conference?”
On the domestic front, Starmer acknowledged the temptation of unfunded spending but warned of the consequences, referencing the short-lived Liz Truss government. “It does not matter if it’s unfunded tax cuts or unfunded spending, the result is the same. You lose control of the economy and working people pay the price.”
In a significant policy shift, Starmer announced the scrapping of Labour’s target to see 50% of young people go to university, instead promoting respect for alternative career paths such as apprenticeships. “While you will never hear me denigrate the aspiration to go to university, I don’t think the way we currently measure success in education – that ambition to get 50% of kids to uni – I don’t think that’s right for our times,” he said. He called for greater investment outside London and the South East, arguing that a more secure labour market and stronger worker rights would boost productivity and rebuild public services.
Starmer reiterated his government’s commitment to “smash the gangs” behind people smuggling, crack down on illegal working, and “remove people with no right to be here.” He stressed, “There’s nothing compassionate or progressive in a vile trade that loads people into overcrowded boats, puts them in grave danger in the channel and ultimately exploits human desperation and hope. So, mark my words, we will stop this.”
On foreign policy, Starmer welcomed the US initiative for peace in Gaza and reaffirmed Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state, calling for all sides to come together for a two-state solution.
As the Labour conference concluded, Starmer set out his ambition for a “new country, a fairer country, a land of dignity and respect.” The fight, he said, was “every bit as big as rebuilding Britain after the war,” and would require tough, sometimes uncomfortable decisions. For now, the battle lines are drawn, and the debate over Britain’s future—its borders, its laws, and its sense of self—shows no sign of abating.
