Prime Minister Keir Starmer took to the stage in Liverpool on September 30, 2025, determined to draw a sharp line between his vision for Britain and that of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. With Labour’s annual conference in full swing and the party’s popularity slipping since its landslide 2024 victory, Starmer’s speech was nothing short of a rallying cry: a call for “decency over division,” a fight for what he called the very “soul of our country.”
Starmer’s address, which stretched to 54 minutes and was unusually impassioned for a leader often described as managerial, came at a time of mounting pressure. Labour, once buoyed by public optimism, now faces dire approval ratings and a sluggish economy. Official figures released just hours before his speech showed UK economic growth had slowed to a meager 0.3% between April and June, down from 0.7% in the first quarter. Inflation remains stubbornly high, making it harder for Starmer’s government to fulfill promises of economic renewal and improved public services.
Treasury chief Rachel Reeves, speaking the day before, didn’t sugarcoat the situation. She pointed to “harsh global headwinds” driven by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Reeves warned that “hard economic choices loom” with the upcoming November budget, setting a somber backdrop for the conference’s “Renew Britain” motto.
But it’s not just the economy weighing on Labour. The political landscape has shifted dramatically, with Farage’s Reform UK party topping opinion polls for months, despite holding only five of the 650 seats in Parliament. Farage’s anti-establishment, anti-immigration message—often compared to Trump’s MAGA movement—has resonated with a segment of the public frustrated by the arrival of more than 30,000 migrants in small boats across the English Channel so far this year. Efforts by British, French, and other authorities to crack down on people-smuggling gangs have failed to stem the tide.
Farage has doubled down, vowing to deport all migrants arriving by small boat and to strip residency rights from many legal residents. Starmer, however, has not minced words in response. Over the weekend before his speech, he condemned these proposals as “racist” and “immoral,” and accused Farage of crossing “a moral line.” He warned, “Anyone who argues that people who have lived here for generations should now be deported is an enemy of national renewal.”
Starmer went further, taking aim at what he called the “politics of grievance.” He argued that Farage and his allies want to turn Britain into “a competition of victims,” attacking the very fabric of a proud, self-reliant nation. “When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future?” Starmer asked rhetorically, adding, “He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does.”
The Prime Minister’s speech also touched on the recent surge in anti-immigration activism. He voiced alarm at a march organized by Tommy Robinson, a convicted fraudster and prominent anti-immigration campaigner, which drew over 100,000 people in London earlier this month. Starmer made clear that while it is reasonable for citizens to want secure borders and an end to unauthorized immigration, there’s a clear distinction between legitimate concerns and criminal behavior. “If you throw bricks and smash up private property that is not legitimate, that is thuggery,” he said. “If you incite racist violence and hatred, that’s not expressing concern, it’s criminal.”
In a move to reclaim patriotic symbolism from the far right, Starmer urged Britons to fly their national flags with pride, insisting that patriotism should unite rather than divide. “I will fight with every breath I have for the tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know,” he declared. But he warned, “If those same flags are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home,’ that’s not pride – that’s racism.”
Starmer also used his speech to outline a vision for national renewal, promising investment in infrastructure, public services, education, housing, and British industries from steelworks to data centers. Notably, he announced plans for an “online hospital” in England, which would allow patients to consult with specialist doctors from home—an attempt to cut down NHS waiting lists. He also signaled a break with Tony Blair’s legacy by dropping the target of 50% university attendance for school leavers, emphasizing alternative routes to opportunity.
In a nod to international affairs, Starmer offered support for Donald Trump’s peace plan in Gaza, a move that raised some eyebrows within his own party. He acknowledged the deep-rooted problems facing British society, tracing them back through Brexit and the 2008 financial crisis, and called for a new model of economic growth that would “lift living standards and protect jobs.”
Despite the policy-heavy content, some critics within Labour felt the speech was “full-blown rhetorical flourish but extremely policy light,” as former shadow chancellor John McDonnell put it. Others, however, were energized. Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh remarked, “He has addressed the issue of what he’s for and what his government is for. Now he’s just got to get on and do it, hasn’t he?”
Still, doubts about Starmer’s leadership linger. Some Labour members are openly discussing the prospect of replacing him if the party suffers losses in local and regional elections scheduled for May 2026. Andy Burnham, the popular Labour mayor of Manchester and a potential leadership rival, left the conference just minutes before Starmer spoke, having previously warned that the party is in “peril” and needs to change direction. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Starmer ally, countered that the party doesn’t need a new leader, but must “be better at telling the story of what we are trying to do.”
Political analyst John Curtice, professor at the University of Strathclyde, offered a sobering assessment: “If you are going to turn the mood of the country around, you need to do more than change the reality. You also have to influence perception. And clearly the question being raised about the current Labour leadership is: Does it have the ability to change the mood?”
For now, Starmer’s speech appears to have rallied his base, at least temporarily. Delegates in Liverpool responded with enthusiasm, with one calling it “the best conference piece I’ve ever seen in my life.” But the road ahead is fraught with challenges—an emboldened Reform UK, a restless electorate, and an economy still struggling to find its footing. Whether Starmer’s vision of patriotic renewal can overcome the forces of division remains the defining question for Britain’s political future.
