After a turbulent first year in government, Labour’s 2025 conference in Liverpool offered Keir Starmer a rare opportunity: to prove his party still has both purpose and pulse.
Is the Prime Minister finally breathing life into Labour after a difficult first year in office?
After a turbulent first year in government, Labour’s 2025 conference in Liverpool offered Keir Starmer a rare opportunity: to prove his party still has both purpose and pulse. Taking place in Liverpool from the 28th to 30th September, the conference encapsulated a rhetorical shift for Labour. Instead of fighting on Reform UK’s turf, Prime Minister Keir Starmer utilised his speech to mark a clear shift away from this, warning of the ‘toxic divide and decline’ offered by Reform UK that would ‘tear this country apart’. As well as this, the Prime Minister’s speech tallied up Labour’s achievements on key manifesto pledges relating to climate change, education and training, the NHS and safer streets and economic growth. Whilst the Prime Minister along with other key ministers made some fiery speeches, is this reignition too little too late, and will it come to fruition at all?
What were the key events and announcements?
As well as Labour finally flashing their teeth at Reform UK, the conference revealed some key policy announcements the government wants to set in motion. In education, the conference announced a pledge for two-thirds of school-leavers to go to university or take up a ‘gold-standard’ apprenticeship, revising the previous goal of 50% university attendance. However, the timeline and implementation strategy remain vague. Healthcare also took centre stage with the announcement of ‘NHS Online’, a new ‘online hospital’ which will allow patients to book tests, repeat prescriptions, receive clinical advice and manage appointments through the NHS app. This is expected to create 8.5 million additional appointments over the next three years. Social care also made an appearance in Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s speech which pledged a £500 million investment to establish a Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care workers across England. The initiative seeks to enhance pay and working conditions for a workforce that has long been undervalued. Although this marks a welcome step towards tackling existing inequalities, broader reform of the social care system remains outstanding. Attention now turns to the forthcoming independent review led by Baroness Casey, which will play a pivotal role in shaping the sector’s long-term direction. Additionally, it wouldn’t be a government party conference without some boasting about what they have achieved so far. For example, Labour celebrated the raising of the minimum wage, free breakfast clubs and cut interest rates. Wes Streeting also announced, “We’ve recruited 2,000 new GPs, delivered 5 million extra appointments, and cut NHS waiting lists by more than 200,000.” This conference has certainly aimed to reinvigorate Labour, reflecting on what they have gotten right this year, against a backdrop of internal divisions and the looming threat of Reform UK. However, is this policy showcase really enough to reanimate a storm-weathered Labour Party facing criticism and condemnation in every political direction?
What does this mean for Labour going forward?
Keir Starmer made clear in his speech that the country still faces profound challenges, not only economic, but existential in nature. Chief among these, he argued, is the rise of Reform UK and what he described as its attempts to divide communities and sow hatred within Britain. While Labour’s earlier rhetoric on immigration was sometimes criticised for echoing Reform’s framing, most notably in Starmer’s ‘Island of Strangers’ speech, this conference signalled a decisive rhetorical break. By accusing Nigel Farage of “hating Britain” and labelling Reform’s calls for division and intolerance as “racist,” Starmer sought to reclaim patriotic language and reposition Labour as the true defender of national unity. The forceful tone underscores the party’s effort to project moral and political authority against Reform UK, which still leads the polls at 34%. This assertive stance also suggests Labour’s growing confidence in defining the terms of the debate, rather than responding to its populist rivals. However, Reform UK is still on the march, with the issue of immigration dominating the headlines. So far, Labour has failed to address immigration in a significant enough way that deters the British public down the Reform UK route of blame, victimhood and intolerance. With all the achievements Labour has claimed throughout its first year in office over the course of this conference, very few of the positive stories from Labour have managed to cut through. Keir Starmer was right to address the negativity through which Nigel Farage conducts his rhetoric, but is this symptomatic of a broader sense across the country of inevitable decline and division?
Concluding remarks
The 2025 Labour Party Conference felt like a moment of rediscovery for Starmer’s government, a chance to show conviction after a year of careful caution, and public disappointment. The speeches were louder, the tone bolder, and the intent clearer: Labour wants to prove it can lead with both strength and empathy. But while the conference gave the party a much-needed boost, speeches alone won’t win back the public. Reform UK still dominates the headlines and the polls, and frustration with the pace of change runs deep. There’s a risk that public discontent, especially around immigration, has hardened beyond easy repair. If Starmer really is breathing life back into Labour, the test will be whether voters can feel that renewal long after the applause in Liverpool fades.