Miliband says Britain must play its part in ‘rebuilding’ world order – UK politics live

And here is Miliband’s peroration. My parents didn’t just observe a country fighting for values. They taught me that I have a responsibility to fight for them to. There’s this phrase that people use about Holocaust survivors, survivor’s guilt. I think my parents had something else, survivor’s responsibility. Survivor’s responsibility to pass on the message to the generations that come next that we are here to leave the world a better place than we found it, to never walk by on the other side, to never be bystanders to oppression and injustice. Those are the reasons I joined this party and so many of you did to. You know, they say that as you age, you become more cynical. Not me, not you, not us. I believe in our ability to change our country, in the world for the better now more than ever. And I promise you, I promise you that every day as foreign secretary, every day as your Labour foreign secretary, I will fight for your values. Labour values, Britain’s values. It was a terrific speech, easily the best of the conference so far, and just what delegates wanted to hear. John Healey will have a tough job matching it. As reported overnight, Miliband told the conference that pro-Palestinian campaigners were right to complain over the past two years about Labour not doing enough to challenge Israel over its actions in Gaza. Miliband said: 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. And 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 Palestine. And we match words with actions. We will ban the import of goods from illegal settlements. We will disrupt the supply lines of British finance, British construction and British’s services for illegal settlements. And when it comes to the attempt to destroy the two state solution, this party, this movement, this government, says: We will not let you succeed. This passage got the loudest and most sustained applause of any section of the speech. Miliband said the government would use its presidency of the G20 next year to push for global efforts to manage AI. He said: The technological progress offered by AI, as we see in our daily lives, is inspiring, but the threat it poses, according to its own inventors, is daunting. Now some are calling for us to act, but other tech companies are saying we should leave it all to them. But friends, the lesson of history is that we cannot leave it to corporations to put in place the guardrails to serve the public interest. It is neither their purpose nor their motive. Theirs is to maximise profits. Friends, we cannot and will not allow that to come at the expense of our children or indeed humanity. That’s why, as part of our G20 presidency, next year, this country will lead the efforts to manage AI. Miliband says investment in defence is “an absolutely core part of this government’s foreign policy”. And he moves on to the threat posed by the climate crisis. We know the effects will spread across borders, and we know that future generations will hold us in infamy if we leave them with climate disaster unaddressed. So let us therefore ask each and every party, where do you stand on tackling the climate crisis? Where do you stand on defending our way of life? And I say to those parties that deny, delay and dissemble on the climate threat, your position would leave our country unsafe and threaten our national security. Miliband is referring in particular to Reform UK and the Conservatives. Miliband says Britain needs a “stronger, deeper partnership” with the EU. 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. Turning to Russia, Miliband says “the future security of all of Europe is on the line” in the war in Ukraine. He goes on: If Putin wins, we would have allowed war and force to beat sovereignty and self-determination on our continent. Now, I am proud that since 2022, under successive governments, Britain has stepped up our military aid, stepped up our humanitarian support, and the British people have stepped up to taking in Ukrainian refugees. Friends, I say today we will never give in to Russia’s threats that we must stand aside and abandon the people of Ukraine. Miliband says his parents viewed Britain as “a beacon of light against the darkness, a country that stood for fundamental values freedom, democracy, the rule of law”. The postwar Labour government helped establish Nato and the United Nations, and ratified the convention on human rights, he says. He goes on: And I come to this conference today to tell you that it’s time to roll up our sleeves all over again, because once again the world order needs rebuilding anew. We need to be honest about the world we confront. War has returned to Europe. Democratic norms are under threat as they haven’t been for generations. The international rule of law is being brazenly flouted. New threats have emerged from the climate crisis to AI. There is only one response to these challenges – to fight for our values, the values my parents saw in Britain, values which today are more important than ever. Fighting for those values of democracy, the rule of law, protection for rights and freedoms is essential to tackle injustice and suffering. But hear me well when I say this, it is also the only way to fight for our interests, because it is the real route to stability in the world and therefore peace and prosperity. Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, is addressing the conference now. He starts by talking about his values as foreign secretary have been informed by the experience of his parents. I want to start today by telling you about the spirit that animates my work as foreign secretary driven by two refugees, a world away from us here today. The first of them walked 100km from Brussels to Ostend with his father, leaving behind his mother and his sister, to take one of the last boats to Britain to flee the Nazi invasion. He learned English. He joined the Royal Navy, and he fought fascism. He would tell stories of being at sea, watching the lights of the D-Day landings. And he would say it softly, but I know he always felt an incredible sense of pride that he had played his part in defending and defeating the Nazis. The other refugee spent her childhood in hiding in Poland. She faced experiences that no child should face, the loss of her father in a concentration, as well as separation from her mother and sister. She only survived because, unlike 60 family members, she was saved by the heroism of the bravest people, ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Then she got to Britain after the war as a teenager, learned English and built a life. Those two refugees were my father and mother, my dad and my mum. And I want to start today by saying to you that their history, my family history, means it is the honour of my life to be your Labour foreign secretary. John Healey, the chancellor, may have his fiscal headroom reduced by around £6.5bn because of the sharp fall in net immigration numbers, the Times reports. In their story, Patrick Maguire and Oliver Wright explain: The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank estimated last month that the success of Shabana Mahmood’s reforms, which have led to net migration being cut to the low hundreds of thousands, could cost Healey about £4bn. Labour sources familiar with the budget process, however, said that the figure was now closer to £6.5bn. The OBR’s migration forecasts have been consistently higher than real numbers in recent years. Increased migration is judged by the OBR to have a positive impact on the government’s finances as most of those entering the UK are of working age who pay taxes and largely consume fewer public services. However, critics claim that this is a blunt measure and does not take into account the longer-term costs of migrants in healthcare and pensions. Treasury officials told the Times that the numbers it was quoting were “pure speculation”, but they did not deny that falling immigration would cut government revenue. Alex Norris, the justice secretary, is expected to announce that the government’s plans to reduce access to jury trials will be watered down, Andrew McDonald and Megan McElroy report in Politico’s London Playbook briefing. They say: Norris is preparing to water down his predecessor’s proposals on scrapping jury trials in all but the most serious cases in the coming weeks, my colleague Sam Blewett hears from two senior officials. Expect to see an amendment to the Courts and Tribunals Bill laying out the details ahead of the legislation returning on Oct. 13. Wig watch: Burnham indicated in the summer that his “instinct” was to find a way of “not reducing access to jury trial.” The reforms are still being described in the MoJ as “major structural reforms” — but the officials said they’re looking to move closer to the original recommendations by Brian Leveson. David Lammy, the previous justice sec, went further than Leveson, by taking his recommendation for judge-and-magistrate panels and opting for single-judge courts, among other things. Lisa O’Carroll is a senior Guardian correspondent. The head of the SDLP, Claire Hanna, has called for an international mediator to resolve the continuing crisis over a unionist parade in a nationalist area close to Drumcree, the site of some of the worst violence of the troubles almost 30 years ago. Members of the loyalist Orange lodge remained at Drumcree church, the starting point of the parade route through the town of Portadown with tensions simmering overnight. An unsuccessful furthers attempt to proceed with the parade was made overnight with the Democratic Unionist party MP Carla Lockhart returning to the church at around 4am, according to local reports. Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant said Hanna’s call was one of the many suggestions he had received since he arrived in Belfast yesterday calling on everyone to “double down on compromise”. Bryant said. The truth is everybody has got to want to seek mediation and seek compromise and that’s what I’m trying to find, whether there’s that little chink on both sides that we can use to get to a decent compromise that means everybody can walk away with their head held high and their sense of honour. Yesterday on the blog I listed three policy announcements press released or briefed by Labour as the conference opened. To keep the list going, here are further announcements from the party over the past 24 hours. 4) A new export finance scheme to help exporters. Explaining it, Labour said: British businesses will have more opportunities to win contracts overseas and bring jobs, investment and growth back to communities across the UK under new plans announced by chancellor John Healey. The new UK Export Finance (UKEF) pilot product, Flexible Finance, is the latest step in the Labour government’s mission to back British industry and help businesses seize opportunities in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets. Under the scheme, select buyers operating in economies such as Brazil, Morocco and Mexico, will be able to access loans on more flexible terms, creating new incentives to buy British goods and services. 5) A new marine research ship. Louise Haigh mentioned this in her speech yesterday and Labour later sent out further details. The party said: The government has committed up to £115m to build this new vessel as part of its drive to reindustrialise the UK and support our shipyards. It will lead a new national system for monitoring the UK’s seas, bringing together marine surveys, data and technology to help manage fisheries and the marine environment more effectively. At 85 metres long and able to accommodate more than 40 people, the vessel will carry out a wide range of scientific work. This includes assessing fish stocks, mapping the seabed, monitoring pollution, and responding quickly to marine incidents. 6) Three new floating docks for the Royal Navy’s submarine service at HM Naval Base Clyde. See 7.54am. 7) The nationalisation of Avanti West Coast services. In an announcement this morning, Labour said the government will “take control of Avanti West Coast’s services from 7 March 2027 [as] part of a wider drive to put essential services back in public control”. See 9.55am. 8) A new legal route for refugees that prioritises Afghan women and girls and Palestinians. There are more details in this story by Jessica Elgot and Rajeev Syal. Avanti West Coast will be renationalised in spring, as Andy Burnham declares “enough is enough” for passengers who have put up with a rail service “that has failed them time and time again”, Lauren Almeida reports. Labour members would rather do a deal with the Liberal Democrats than the Green party in the event of a hung parliament, according to YouGov polling for Sky News. In its write-up, Sky says: Some 85% [of Labour members] would back Labour doing a deal of some kind if they were the largest party but didn’t win a majority. This includes 75% backing a deal with the Lib Dems, 66% with the Greens, and 6% with the Tories. It is not clear from these figures if Labour members favour the Lib Dems over the Greens for policy or personal reasons, or because they assume the Lib Dems would have more seats, implying a bigger potential majority. YouGov, Survation and More in Common have all published MRP polls in recent days suggesting that, if there were an election now, Labour would be the largest party, but short of a majority. The polling for Sky also found that 67% of Labour members backed Burnham saying the next election will not be held until 2029. There is increasing speculation that Andy Burnham might announce plans to scrap the pensions triple lock as one means of funding his social care reforms. Yesterday Darren Jones, the former chief secretary to the PM under Keir Starmer, told the BBC that this was “an option the government should consider alongside others”. According to reports in the Daily Telegraph and in the i, other Labour figures are also privately arguing this would be a good idea. One “insider” told the i that getting rid of the triple lock but making social care free could be sold as “taking [something] away when you’re in your 60s but giving it back when you’re 80”. But Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, and a former Treasury official, told the Today programme this morning that getting rid of the triple lock would not raise enough to fund the sort of proposal Burnham has in mind any time soon. She said: The triple lock is a policy that has the value of pensions growing by more than earnings. That’s particularly unsustainable. But obviously taking it away would hurt the very generation who would benefit from free social care. I don’t think one would be enough to pay for the other. For example, in this forecast period, we think cancelling the triple lock would save about £800m, maybe a bit less. The numbers for the triple lock are very big in the long run. They’re not enough to deliver a free social care system in five or 10 years’ time. Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, has been doing the morning interview round for Labour. Mostly he has been talking about the suspected bomb plot at RAF Fairford. Yohannes Lowe is covering all the developments on that story on a seperate live blog. Andy Burnham’s plans to reform social care could cost far more than he is claiming and take “many decades” to be implemented, a leading expert has claimed. Andrew Dilnot told the Today programme this morning that he was “puzzled” by some of what Burnham said yesterday, and he implied that he was unconvinced by what Burnham was offering. Dilnot, a former chair of the UK Statistics Authority, is one of the nation’s leading economists and chaired a commission on social care reform for David Cameron’s government in 2010. Although ministers were initially positive about his plan to cap the amount individuals can be required to pay for their social care, successive governments were worried about the cost and the plan was never implemented. In his interview, Dilnot said that he did not understand why Burnham told the BBC yesterday that his plan would cost less than £18bn a year when what he seemed to be describing – an NHS-style care service, with care free at the point of delivery – would cost a lot more. Dilnot said he was “puzzled” by Burnham’s answer to the £18bn question because “if we were to make social care free in the same way that health care is largely free, then I think we will be talking about an amount of money well in excess of £18bn.” Dilnot said that making the English social care system similar to Scotland’s – where personal care is free, but where people who need to go into a care home can still face huge costs for the accommodation element of their care – might cost roughly half of the £18bn mentioned. But that was not what Burnham seemed to be proposing, Dilnot said. He explained: [Burnham] did talk about making social care free, and what he implied was that he wanted social care to be completely free. And that’s not at all the case in Scotland, where although the policy is called free personal care, we still have exactly the problem that Mr Burnham himself has talked about of people needing residential care faced with very substantial bills. And so I think what he’s really talking about probably is social care that looks very like the NHS, that will be entirely free. What he hasn’t described is how he would raise the funds that he would need for that, and that would be a very substantial sum of money. Dilnot said that, when Burnham gave a big speech on social care just after becoming PM, he left the impression there could be legislation before the next election. After yesterday, Dilnot said, reform seems further away. He explained: It sounds as though there’ll be some more details [of the plans] in the prime minister’s speech tomorrow at his party conference, but I think even that will continue to remain vague. I think what we learned yesterday was that, if anything, change is now further away than had been implied or suggested. Dilnot also said the full reform proposed by Burnham could take decades. I also think that there was an indication in what [Burnham] said that he’s imagining something that could take many years, even many decades before it came to fruition. So they are now, I suspect, looking at ways of beginning a move in this direction without imagining they can get there very quickly. Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, has accused John Healey of offering the Labour conference “reheated announcements” in his speech later. Referring to Labour briefing overnight that three new floating docks will go ahead on the Clyde (see 7.54am), Griffith said: These are more reheated announcements without clarity on where the money is coming from. Additional docks were announced months ago in the defence investment plan, which still has a £4.7bn black hole. John Healey resigned warning that Labour’s failure to fund defence was making Britain unsafe. Now that he is chancellor, he still won’t fund the 3% target he walked out over. Labour are running scared of making the tough choices needed to pay for Britain’s defence. All they can offer is reannounced docks and more hot air from Healey. Good morning. John Healey, the chancellor, is the main speaker at the Labour conference. He was a surprise appointment to replace Rachel Reeves, he is unveiling his budget four weeks on Wednesday, and some of the pre-briefing suggests when the budget does come, it will be a relatively low-key affair, with a lot of decisions postponed until the spending review next year. And so we are definitely not expecting huge announcements at lunchtime today. But there will be some striking language. Healey is going to promise a “new age of industrialisation”. According to the overnight briefing from Labour, he will explain that in these terms. My politics were shaped by the industrial heartlands of South Yorkshire. Today, on the site of the Orgreave pit, is Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park. 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. And he will also announce that the government is commissioning “three new floating docks for the Royal Navy’s submarine service at HM Naval Base Clyde” to provide maintenance for nuclear submarines. Known as Programme Euston, plans for the new docks were first set out in 2023 and are expected to upgrade Faslane’s facilities for the next generation of British submarines, the Press Association reports. The Ministry of Defence has previously said they are expected to come into service in the early 2030s, and the docks form part of a wider £15bn upgrade programme for the Royal Navy’s shipyards. Here is the agenda for the day. 10am: The Labour conference opens. The first main speaker is Wes Streeting, the defence secretary. 10.30am: Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, addresses the conference. 11.10am: Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, speaks at the start of a debate on workers’ rights and reindustrialisation. Noon: John Healey, the chancellor, gives his speech. 2pm: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, addresses the conference, in a debate covering transport and insourcing. 2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, speaks at an IPPR fringe event. Other cabinet ministers speaking at fringe events include Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, at a Think Labour event; Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, at an IPPR event; Streeting at a BAE event; and Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, recording a What’s Left? podcast. After 3.20pm: Alex Norris, the justice secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, speak at the conference in a debate covering crime. I’m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog. If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com. You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.