
Prime Minister Andy Burnham (Image: Getty)
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK’s future on economics, defence and security “lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union”, in a long speech to the Labour conference.
He said: “This is our continent, and if there is one lesson that I have seen demonstrated to me again and again in this job, it is this: Europe is not just our geography, but so much more.
“It is how we pursue our values from climate to the Middle East. It’s how we pursue our interests from trade to defence. It’s where we build and protect our alliances, so it is not simply Britain acting alone, but Britain with others.
“And on economics, on defence, on security, I say to this conference, our future lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union.” It comes as the Government continues talks with the EU on new deals to forge closer links.
He got a lengthy ovation as he condemned Israel. Mr Miliband also spoke about AI, Ukraine, climate change and his parents’ struggles as refugees.
It comes as Mr Miliband has faced a backlash after being pictured shaking hands with Iran’s foreign minister at the UN General Assembly.
Follow below for live updates:
Andy Burnham’s joke
The Prime Minister, who has his own big speech tomorrow, asks the Chancellor: “Can I borrow this tie for tomorrow”?
Lots of applause
The speech ends to applause from Labour activists and Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who was on the stage listening.
Growing the economy
Healey stresses that growing the economy is “a dual mission” for the Treasury and Number 10 North.
“It is businesses that will create this country’s jobs, and wealth and growth”.
“… The growth that drives progress, better jobs, better lives, that is the Labour way”
‘AI is the greatest innovation of our time’
AI will “transform society at every level” says Healey.
But he warns it will “change our labour market in fundamental ways”
‘Quiet patriotism … makes this country great’
The Chancellor says “quiet patriotism … makes this country great” including trade union reps who volunteer their time

(Image: Getty)
Trade unions are ‘full partners’
Unions are full partners in Labour’s industrial council, says John Healey.
“To every union delegate in this hall … today I am also announcing the rebirth of the union learning fund”.
Britain’s industrial past is being remade now
New innovation parks, nuclear power stations, and firms such as Airbus and Rolls Royce are creating jobs.
Rolls-Royce to invest £300 m into UK factories, in Derby, Bristol, and Rotherham he says.
“We will use everything we can to create good job”.
That includes tech, defence and clean energy. The Government will use public procurement (ie, buying British). He says. That includes giving contracts to British shipyards.
Mayors will lead a local apprenticship service
Mayors will send teams to firms and help them create apprenticeship schemes, says Healey.
“Every mayor will have the chance to do it” funded with £100 million, which comes from savings at the DWP.
This can be ‘great generation’
Back to Labour’s conference theme as John Healey says today;s young people can be “generation hope”

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Jobs for young people
The Chancellor says Alan Milburn’s inquiry into “NEETs” lays bare the scale of the Challenge the Government faces in cutting youth unemployment.
Young people are “signed off, written off”.
He says some young people “find it hard to face the world” – and says parents fear their children face “dark forces on the internet”.
“It is simply not progressive to allow a bigger and bigger benefits bill and a system that offers an income but doesn’t offer a future.”
‘My first duty is fiscal discipline’
The Chancellor again stresses that he and Andy Burnham “are united” about controlling spending and bringing down borrowing.
He describes Nigel Farage as “Liz Truss with a bitcoin account”.
He says his budget will “write a new chapter of hope”. However, it sounds a lot like this speech is about managing expectations and stressing his commitment to controlling spending.
He says his top priority is jobs.
‘We will meet the fiscal rules’
Healey says he and Prime Minister Andy Burnham “are in lockstep” about the need to follow the “fiscal rules”, which limit how much the Government can borrow.
The money is not there
John Healey has now started talking about the more serious stuff. He says that Labour when it came to power in 1997 had money to spend. But the current Labour government does not.
And he attacks Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith, claiming his Tory rival helped write the Liz Truss “mini-budget”, which Labour blames for the government’s current high level of debt.
He asks activists to ‘talk up’ Labour
John Healey asks activists to ‘be confident’ and tell people how Labour can change lives.
He talks about “Labour, creating hope again”
He also talks about Gordon Brown as an “inspiration”, and says he worked for Brown
There are many reasons for optimism
John Healey says “new leadership” is one of the reasons Britain can be confident.
He says he was part of the Labour government in 1997 (led by Tony Blair) that he says “rebuilt Britain”.
And he says Labour has “always been about building institutions that we pass on to the next generation”
‘The politics of hope’
The Chancellor says he wants to talk about “the politics of hope”, and Labour will “bring back hope” and “get Britain growing” with a “new age of industrialisation”.
He says: “We believe in Britain”.

(Image: PA)
John Healey praises Rachel Reeves despite him quitting his old job because of her
John Healey has paid tribute to his predecessor, Rachel Reeves – despite him having resigned as Defence Secretary after she refused to fund the military.
At the time Mr Healey claimed not funding defence would leave the country “less safe.” But speaking at the Labour Party Conference he said: “I want to pay tribute to our former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, she brought to this country financial discipline.”
Ms Reeves was critivised as Chancellor for breaking the Labour Manifesto commitment not to raise income tax or national insurance contribtions.
They had made the promise some 52 times over the course of the general election.
And now he pays tribute to Keir Starmer
John Healey says Starmer “rebuilt Britain’s respect and international reputation”.
There’s no mention of the fact Mr Healey played a big part in bringing down Sir Keir and forcing him to resign.
John Healey praises Andy Burnham
The Chancellor says Prime Minister Andy Burnham has the “vision” and the “plan” to get things done.
He then pays tribute to former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, saying “she bought to this country financial discipline”.
Chancellor John Healey begins his speech
This is traditionally considered the second most important speech of the conference, behind the leader and Prime Minister’s speech tomorrow.
Miliband hits out over Palestine
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said “we hear you, you were right” as he spoke directly to those who “have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people”.
Speaking at Labour Party conference, he said: “The only route to peace is two states. A secure Israel and a secure Palestine, with freedom, dignity, and self-determination for both peoples.
“We all know how far away we are from that.”
He added: “I want to say to the millions of people in this country, and indeed elsewhere, who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you, you were right.
“Under Andy’s leadership, we have reset our approach. We call out ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank, we call out the evidence of war crimes in Gaza, we call out Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza.”

(Image: Getty)
Miliband demands ‘stronger, deeper partnership’ with Brussels
Ed Miliband said the UK’s future on economics, defence and security “lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union”.
The Foreign Secretary told Labour Party conference: “We will never, never give in to Russia’s threats that we must stand aside and abandon the people of Ukraine. And we will always, always stand up to Russia’s threats wherever they are.”
He added: “We are part of this fight as humanitarians, but also as proud Europeans.
“This is our continent, and if there is one lesson that I have seen demonstrated to me again and again in this job, it is this: Europe is not just our geography, but so much more.
“It is how we pursue our values from climate to the Middle East. It’s how we pursue our interests from trade to defence. It’s where we build and protect our alliances, so it is not simply Britain acting alone, but Britain with others.
“And on economics, on defence, on security, I say to this conference, our future lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union.”

(Image: Getty)
Suspected terror plot is ‘reminder of the threats our country faces’
A suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford is a “reminder of the threats our country faces”, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said.
He told Labour Party conference: “Events at RAF Fairford yesterday are a reminder of the threats our country faces.
“I want to thank our security services, armed forces and police for the work they did yesterday and they do all year round to keep our country safe.
“Friends, we will always stand up for our security against those who would do us harm.”
Mahmood ‘running scared’ of Rayner
Chris Philp accused Shabana Mahmood of “running scared” of Angela Rayner over plans to unveil a new refugee route.
Ms Rayner has been critical of the Home secretary’s proposals to make it harder for migrants to obtain permanent residence.
The Shadow Home Secretary said: “Shabana Mahmood is running scared of Angela Raynor and the Labour left. She is opening up our borders even more in a desperate attempt to appease them
“Last year saw 85,000 asylum claims and 41,000 illegal immigrants cross the channel. We shouldn’t be shipping in any more migrants or asylum seekers at all, no matter how deserving, until illegal immigration has been reduced to close to zero.”
Streeting says triple lock will stay in place for current parliament
The state pension triple lock is expected to stay in place until the next general election, Wes Streeting has said.
Asked whether it was “right to look at the triple lock” to support defence and social care spending, the Defence Secretary told Sky News: “The manifesto was clear on this – we’re committed to the triple lock.
“And (Prime Minister) Andy Burnham has been clear that we are standing by our manifesto.
Labour Minister’s dodge early election question
The Daily Express is at the Labour Party Conference and will be bringing you all the latest news and updates.
Yesterday we challenged Labour MPs and Ministers on why they had not called a General Electon when they changed leaders – despite demanding one when the Tories changed who was in charge.
Here’s what they had to say.
Chancellor labelled ‘Hot Air Healey’ by rivals
John Healey has come under fire from his Conservative Party rivals who have branded him “Hot Air Healey”.
The criticism comes from Tory grandee Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, writing in today’s Daily Express.
He writes: “Last time [Healey] found a moral duty, he resigned as Defence Secretary, warning that Labour’s plans could make the country less safe. The nation eagerly awaited him bringing forward a plan to properly fund our defence as Chancellor.
“I found that funding in my very first week as Shadow Chancellor. However, it appears that despite now holding the purse strings, he has shelved the very 3 per cent target he quit over. That is “Hot Air Healey” all over.”
Mahmood to announce refugee route
Shabana Mahmood will announce plans in her Labour conference speech today to admit hundreds of additional refugees annually through a legal route, with one in four expected to be Afghan women and girls, and Palestinians
The Home Secretary will say: “I know the British people have not given up on their belief that we should be compassionate … but I know this process must be capped and controlled.”
Chancellor to pledge ‘new age of industrialisation’
John Healey will pledge to take Britain forward into a “new age of industrialisation” in his Labour conference speech today.
The former defence secretary will argue that the UK cannot return to the coal mines of its past, while setting out a positive economic vision based on modern industry.
Describing his politics as “shaped by the industrial heartlands of South Yorkshire”, he is expected to point to the example of the former Orgreave mine, now the site of Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park.
He will say: “Our coal mines are not coming back.
“But this is how Britain’s industrial past is being remade now for the modern world.
“This is the new age of industrialisation. A new confidence in Britain.”
Member of public who alerted police to Fairford only has ‘partial picture’
Wes Streeting said the member of the public who phoned police about suspicious activity near RAF Fairford has only “a partial picture” of the situation.
The Defence Secretary told Sky News: “Thank you to that member of the public.
“She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do.
“I’m really grateful to her – I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing.
“With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture.
“And that’s as far as I wish to go this morning but I do want to emphasise my thanks to the police and the security services because their work takes place often unsung, unreported, for good reason.”
Streeting asked if hostile state was behind suspected terror plot
Asked whether the suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford “may have been driven by a hostile foreign state”, Wes Streeting said he did not “want to speculate at this stage of the investigation”.
He told Times Radio: “What I can absolutely assure your listeners of is that, as and when we can, we will report back to the public about these individuals and about the nature of the threat.”

Wes Streeting on this morning’s broadcast round (Image: PA)
Streeting ‘grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public’
Wes Streeting said he is “grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public” after a farmer helped alert the emergency services to a suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford.
Speaking on Times Radio, the Defence Secretary said the probe “continues today”.
He added: “We are grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public.
“But I also want to state personally my enormous thanks to our police, our counter-terrorism police, emergency services and the security services for their hard work to defend our base at RAF Fairford. I also want to thank the members of the public who’ve beared (sic) with us.
“We’ve had a number of people evacuated from their homes in the early hours of yesterday morning, there’s a cordon that remains in place and there has been disruption to their lives – and I want to thank them for their forbearance.”
Good morning
Welcome to our live blog on day two of Labour’s conference in Liverpool. Chancellor John Healey, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will give speeches today.
A protest by the Unison union is also due to take place outside against Ms Mahmood’s immigration reforms.
