Jeremy Corbyn, MP
The leader of the Labour Party spoke for 75 minutes, promising that Labour would be an “antidote to apathy and despair”, with better housing at the heart of its reforms. He said that he would give cities the power to introduce rent controls and introduce tough restrictions on gentrification projects, invoking the memory of the Grenfell Tower fire. He has also stated that Labour is on the threshold of power and has become the government is waiting.
Speech link: http://press.labour.org.uk/post/165794565814/jeremy-corbyn-speech-to-labour-party-conference
The Shadow Minister for mental health and social care said if Labour was in Government, it would roll out mental healthcare for children in all schools.
Rebecca Long-Bailey said that the UK was on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution. She claimed that the industrial strategy proposed by the party would “eclipse the new deal set out by Franklin D Roosevelt in the history books”.
The Shadow Health Secretary stated that Labour would reverse the marketisation of the NHS, introduce a national strategy to help the children of alcoholics and drug users, and allocate an extra £45bn for health and social care.
The Shadow Education Secretary signalled another spending commitment with plans for universal childcare for two to four-year-olds. She said that a Labour Government would bring in a ring-fenced grant of £500m a year for children’s centres and offer universal early education for two-to four-year-olds.
Alex Rowley made the claim that forming the next Scottish Government is within the reach of Scottish Labour, stating that being a strong opposition should never be enough.
The Mayor of London used his speech at Labour conference to demand more funding for the emergency services. Khan praised the work of fire fighters and the police for how they have dealt with a series of emergencies in London over the past year. The mayor aligned himself strongly with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in his speech, despite having distanced himself from the Islington North MP in the past.
The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary stated that the current system in which women can claim state pension “has left hundreds of thousands of women in dire straits”, saying she had met with campaigners to understand the issue better.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said that a future Labour government would bring “wasteful” PFI contracts back in the public sector. He told Labour’s conference the contracts were set to cost the taxpayer £200bn over coming decades and private companies were making “huge profits”.
Emily Thornberry lifted spirits at the Labour conference with a fiery speech that included calling for Boris Johnson to take a Brexit “paternity test”. The shadow foreign secretary ridiculed reports her opposite number is “sick of being blamed for the way Brexit is going”.
The Shadow Brexit Secretary stated that Labour is “flexible” on whether the UK should remain in the single market and customs union. Starmer slammed Theresa May’s Florence speech, saying “all she has done is to delay the cliff edge”.
The leader of Labour in the European Parliament recalled a “simpler time, before the Tory EU referendum divided our country”. She announced that there should be “no backing for a [Brexit] deal that undermines the peace process in Northern Ireland”. She added that Labour would not support a deal that undermines the rights of EU citizens and “Brits abroad” or one that reduces workers rights.
Carwyn Jones celebrated the achievements of Labour in Wales since the Welsh Assembly was created 20 years ago, as well as noting the confidence devolution had inspired in Wales. He paid tribute to his predecessor Rhodri Morgan, who died earlier this year, and attacked the Conservative Government approach to Brexit.
Iain McNicol celebrated the way Labour managed to outperform expectations in the 2017 general election and announced that the party now has 570,000 members, making it the largest in Europe. He hailed the party’s role in forcing the Tories to abandon elements of their manifesto, but said that only Labour could ‘deliver a Brexit that looks after the many.’
The Labour Party Chair and Co-National Campaign coordinator spoke about the election in June and Labour’s growth. He also used this opportunity to criticise the broken promises made by the Conservative Party whilst in government.