Keir Starmer Announces New Housing Policy For All Veterans
Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a speech to party conference on Tuesday (Alamy)
5 min read
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a new housing policy for army veterans and said his Labour Government would set out to “build a new Britain”.
Speaking to Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Starmer reiterated that “tough decisions” in the short term were necessary for a journey of “national renewal”, with a Government that “once again serves the interests of working people… a Britain that belongs to you.”
Starmer announced a new policy for homeless veterans who "put their lives on the line to protect us all", arguing that it was a “hidden injustice” that many veterans were without a home.
"People who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation - who put their lives on the line to protect us all, but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight,” he said.
"We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore. And so today, I can announce that this Government will respect that service. We will repay those who served us, and house all veterans in housing need."
The Prime Minister confirmed that the ‘Hillsborough Law’ will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in April. The legislation would force public bodies to cooperate with investigations into major disasters, with potential criminal sanctions for those which do not comply.
He said that the country would "go backwards" if Government continued to "bury its head", and that the Labour Government would be "unashamed to partner with the private sector".
"If we want justice to be served some communities must live close to new prisons," he said.
"If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.
"If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground otherwise the burden on taxpayers is too much. If we want home ownership to be a credible aspiration for our children, then every community has a duty to contribute to that purpose.
"If we want to tackle illegal migration seriously, we can’t pretend there’s a magical process that allows you to return people here unlawfully without accepting that process will also grant some people asylum."
Starmer also defended the move to means test the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, but promised “no return to Tory austerity”.
“We will rebuild our public services, protect working people, and do this in a Labour way,” he said.
“And if you can’t take that on faith, perhaps because you’re concerned about the winter fuel allowance, then I get that. As I say, if this path was popular or easy we would have walked it already.”
He added that the Government could not risk showing the rest of the world that “this country does not fund its policies properly”.
Accusing the Tories of performing the “politics of easy answers”, he criticised the former Conservative Government but said that Labour would pursue a policy of reducing net migration and the economic dependency on it.
However, he said the debate about migration was “not about the worth of migrants”.
“That is toxic and we must move beyond it,” he said.
“It’s about control of migration. It’s always been about control. That is what people have voted for – time and again.
“Taking back control is a Labour argument.”
The Prime Minister argued that the country needed a “decisive Government” that would effectively manage migration, climate change, law and order, and security at work.
During the speech, Starmer was interrupted by one pro-Gaza protester who was swiftly escorted out of the room by security – with Starmer responding: “While this guy has been protesting, we’ve been changing the party – that’s why we’ve got a Labour Government”.
A mention of the Renters Reform Bill got a particularly big cheer from the audience of members and activists, as well as standing ovations when he launched criticisms of populism and the “violent racist thugs” that carried out the riots across the country in the summer.
Starmer continued to warn that the £22bn “black hole” left by the Conservative Government has made things harder but insisted it would not stop Labour from delivering for the public.
“It will be hard: that’s not rhetoric, it’s reality,” he said.
“It’s not just that financial black hole, the £22bn of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the Tories, it’s not just the societal black hole – our decimated public services leaving communities held together by little more than good will – it’s also the political black hole.
“Just because we all want low taxes and good public services, does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored. We have seen the damage that does, and I will not let that happen again. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people of this country."
Responding to the speech, Conservative Party Chairman Richard Fuller said it did "nothing to change the impression that this is a government failing to make progress" after a "lacklustre" party conference.
“Labour promised change, but the reality is they have done little in the past three months to prove that they have the new ideas to take this country forward," he said.
“Keir Starmer offered a government of service and all we’ve seen is a government of self-service. Starmer has failed to meet the high standards he set himself and instead signed off billions in pay rises for Labour’s trade union paymasters funded by snatching support away from pensioners this winter.”
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said the Labour Government needed to invest in health and care.
“Only by fixing the access crisis to GPs and dentists, building new hospitals and fixing social care, can we truly kickstart our economy and save public services," she said.
"This must be the top priority for the Prime Minister. Sadly there will be millions of pensioners left disappointed today at the lack of a u-turn on the upcoming winter fuel allowance cuts. There is still time for the government to change course on this concerning policy and we urge them to do so.”
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