I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. [applause] Of my generation of politicians, myself included.
We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of this century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market. I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good. [applause]
The politician in me wants to give the usual tub-thumping conference speech today. But the patriot in me tells me something very different is needed. This country isn't where any of us would want it to be. Politics as usual has taken it backwards. More of the same isn't good enough. That's why I feel I have to break the mold today. I'm going to give you a real speech.
I left Westminster a decade ago because of my frustration at its failure to face up to what happened at Hillsborough. Its refusal to treat all parts of the country equally and fairly. Its capitulation in the face of the social care crisis. So, I became an outsider from the Westminster club. When I asked the people of Makerfield to support my return, it was not because I missed Westminster so much. It was to come back to change it. To make politics work for you.
Everyone can see the position Britain is in. Everyone knows things are not working as they should. Everyone is talking about how life is too expensive. Everyone wants less drift and more direction. Today, I answer that call. Hope. Hope comes from honesty. And we will have hope again, but first, honesty. It comes from saying the things politicians usually avoid. I will say it straight. Britain has been on the wrong path for a long time. Deindustrialization, deregulation, privatization, austerity, Brexit. And what has it given us? A country run for vested interests, not in the public interest, with power held in too few hands, and too many places left to drift. I am ready to do things my predecessors wouldn't. I will make a break with the direction of the past 40 years and put Britain on a new path. Build a new economy and a new politics. That is the case I make to you today.
Conference, change will be difficult. It always is, but I know we can do it. Because we have done it before. In 1945, we had the vision to build the peace. We had the bravery to make change. We built good homes, secure jobs, health and education for everyone. We gave Britain hope again. We made working class aspiration feel real for families like mine. We built the common good. Or at least we did until the 1980s. Suddenly the commonwealth we had created, this party, the wealth we had created for the many was seen as an opportunity for the few. Homes, water, energy, transport, care. [cheering and applause] Care. Broken up and sold off. [applause]
The British right talk about taking back control. Never let them forget they are the ones that gave it away in the first place. [cheering] Thank you. Economic control diminished by selling off essentials. Political control corroded by the hollowing out of councils. Immigration control weakened by Brexit. Later this year, we will publish our plan for Britain. It will set out how over 10 years, we will make this country work for you again. More control of the basics so that we can make it more functional. And we will be a Britain confident of our place in the world. It has changed dramatically since 2016. And in the spirit of this speech, we have to be honest. Brexit hasn't given us control. [applause]
We've lost some of the control we had over our economy as a decade of low growth has put us in a weaker position. And we've lost some of our control over immigration. At its most fundamental level, this is a debate about fairness, so I understand the anger about what's happening in the channel. Shabana has done a great job in restoring our grip over the system. [applause]
People are arriving on small boats down 40% on the last year, 50% from the early 2020s. Net migration down more than 80% since the peak of the Boris Johnson era. Comes as we make these changes, but we will always be grateful, always, and we thank them for those people who have come here and are contributing to our country. Thank you to them. [applause]
But control over immigration was weakened when we lost collaboration with our European partners and we are still having to work hard to bring it back. Later this year there will be a UK-EU summit where one of the issues on the agenda will be how we best work together on immigration. Beyond that we will work to secure gains for our British industries most harmed by Brexit. Conference, these are important concrete steps but they are not enough. I say this to you and the country: we will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of this century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market. [applause]
I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good. [applause]
We need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity for Britain. So I will take the opportunity around the summit to lay out to you, to lay out to the country what I believe the different options are for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners and there are all different options and I will see if we can find consensus around one which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in.
