Start off now. Um, this session and to introduce Anthony Albanese, I'm asking Kirst, please.
Thank you.
Thank you, conference. Thank you.
Absolute privilege to introduce a friend of mine, a real inspiration to those of us on the left, someone who is leading his country in the politics of renewal, and of course winning a landslide victory earlier this summer in Australia. Now, Albo and I have known each other a long time. We've met in many places around the world. We were in Canada early this year together at the G7, and we decided to brave a walk around the forest when there were rumors of some bear lurking around. But Ali, it was really great to see you there. And this week, it's been a particular pleasure to welcome Albo to our country at the Global Progressives Conference on Friday as a key partner in standing up the divisive politics of the right, taking the fight for the soul of our countries to those who peddle grievance, armed with our shared values and our determination to deliver change. And then later on on Friday to my home in Downing Street, where Albo came armed with cans of Elbow beer. I kid you not. And now here in Liverpool as part of our family, our sister party, a fellow member of this great movement. I am delighted because our two nations don't just share history and values, a monarch and even a language, but Albo and I are actively working together to make our world more secure and to improve the lives of people in our countries. From our partnership to the Australian soldiers who are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with British troops, training Ukrainians for the front line. From our free trade deal and our investment in each other's countries, creating wealth, jobs, and opportunity and boosting our economies. This is a relationship that really matters. So, I am delighted to introduce to the stage a true friend of Britain, my friend, the Prime Minister of Australia.
[Applause]
Well, thank you so much for that very warm Labor Party welcome. Here in Liverpool, we're 10,000 miles from where I joined the Labor Party. A long and winding road. Got that in early. But in our mighty global movement, you never walk alone. And just for balance, a shout out to all the Everton supporters out there as well. And thank you to my friend K for the Arsenal jumper, number 31 on the back, that I received on Friday. Thank you to my mate and your leader, Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Thank you for the extraordinary honor of inviting me to speak to your conference and thank you for your kind and generous introduction. Keir and I got to know each other pretty well during our time as leaders of the opposition back when we thought that was the toughest job in politics. In opposition, I was always grateful for the chance to share ideas and compare notes. In government, I value the opportunities we have to work together and get results. To take action together on issues that really matter to our two nations and to the wider world. From standing together with the coalition of the willing to help secure peace on Ukraine's terms, to striving together to mobilize global action on climate change, to investing together so our citizens can build and crew a new generation of submarines through our security partnership, and working together to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build something better by recognizing the state of Palestine as a step towards the two-state solution. We want to see, and we understand that is so essential for Israelis and Palestinians to be able to live in lasting and secure peace. Can I also acknowledge a great Australian, a Labour legend, and my friend, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, who's here with us. Friends, none of us who join the labor movement, whether in Australia or here in the UK, do so in search of an easy life. And no one comes to a labor conference expecting a quiet weekend. Our conferences are big, diverse, and passionate family gatherings. And like any family, when we all get together, occasionally we have our differences. Commentators sometimes fixate on those. But the debates that we hold here are not just healthy, they're essential. They are a sign of life. The energy and enthusiasm of our rank and file members has always been the beating heart of our movement. As parliamentarians, we stand on your shoulders. And as parties, we draw our strength from solidarity of values, not uniformity of thought. That's what all of us who belong to the labor movement understand. The reason passions run high at our conferences is because we really care. Because the stakes are really high. Because what happens here really matters. Because our conferences are about what we want for our respective countries. We deal with real issues grounded in the real lives and aspirations of the people that we seek to serve. And just like Liverpool itself, this great city of creativity, invention, and reinvention, our conference has always been a place for us to define our mission and renew our purpose. That is how we have endured and evolved. By having the courage to test ourselves, to demand more of each other, and by demonstrating to a new generation that we are alive to the challenges they face and engaged in the work of solutions. That's what both our nations did after the Second World War. When Clement Attlee and Ben Chifley and their Labor governments worked to build societies worthy of those who fought to defend the world from fascism and tyranny by opening the doors of opportunity through education. By creating secure, well-paid jobs in manufacturing, by treating housing as not only the need but the right of every citizen. By making medicine affordable for all through Australia's world-leading pharmaceutical benefit scheme and with the launch of that great pioneering endeavor in universal health care, the National Health Service. A promise that still binds, defines, and drives both our Labor governments: that no matter where you live or how much you earn, you should be able to access and afford the health care you need. The same work of renewal drove Harold Wilson and Gough Whitlam through the 1960s and 70s when their governments made equality for women a labor cause. When they grasped that for labor to continue to be the party of fairness and justice, we had to become a party for the elimination of discrimination and prejudice. Just as in the 1980s and 90s, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating passed the torch to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown where in both our countries Labor was able to remain the party of compassion and opportunity by embracing our role as the party of openness, aspiration and prosperity. In the pages of the history books and with the benefit of hindsight, all that seems like a natural progression. But we know different. We know every generation encountered resistance. We know every generation had to overcome skeptics and cynics. And we know that every labor generation understood that to fulfill their purpose, achieve their goals, give life to their values, and keep faith with the people and movement they served, they had to be in government. Government is where you get things done. The Labor mission has never been a theoretical exercise or just a rhetorical one. Our work is measured in deeds and it depends on delivery, on change our citizens can see, tangible, practical outcomes that make a positive difference to people's lives. This is where all of you here in the UK had the most valuable resource for any Labor government. The asset every progressive leader in every positive and ambitious government wishes they had more of: time. To give you some sense of that, in Australia, my colleagues and I were reelected less than 5 months ago and yet our next election is due before yours. For Labor governments, every single day counts because it takes time to turn promises into progress. It takes time for plans to work and be seen to work. For inflation to fall, wages to rise, new homes to be finished, new energy connected, new hospitals to open, new investments in education to flow into results. It takes time to tackle problems that have been created over decades. It takes time to repay trust by delivering on commitments and in doing so build trust for future action. It takes time to make change with people and make change work for people. And none of that means we can expect or ask for patience. Cost of living pressures do not wait. Communities that need new jobs and homes cannot wait. Families that need better schools and hospitals cannot wait. The challenges that the world throws at us, from economic turmoil to threats to our national security, never wait. And the action that we need to take on climate change, the work we need to do to seize the jobs and opportunities of clean energy, that cannot wait. So, while governments always need to be able to tell the difference between what's urgent and what's important, in the end, we have to do both. To take immediate action in a way that anticipates and creates future opportunities. To navigate stormy seas while always keeping our eyes on the horizon. And to bring both optimism and urgency to the work of delivery. To acknowledge the pressures that people are under, explain the causes and take action to help. To make it clear that while we cannot always predict or control the challenges we will face, we can determine how we will respond. In Australia, our election came against the backdrop of the worst global inflation since the 1980s and the biggest international energy crisis since the 1970s. And there was no quick fix, no easy answer. These same circumstances had brought about the defeat of incumbents around the world and had some predicting that our first term Labor government would be defeated or reduced to minority. But one of the reasons we won re-election and indeed were able to increase our majority is because in difficult times we offered people real hope. We didn't pretend that we had solved every problem in just three years, but we could point to an economy that was turning the corner. Inflation down, wages up, unemployment low, and interest rates starting to fall. And we offered a second term agenda that built on the patient and disciplined work we had done in our first term, a positive plan to cut taxes, boost wages, build homes, and make it easier to see a doctor for free. That is the work we are focused on delivering now. That's the essential task of every Labor government: to apply our timeless labor values to the challenges of our time. And friends, in 2025, our values and purpose and effort are needed more than ever before. In an era where artificial intelligence is transforming our economies, we must stand up for secure jobs and fair wages, we must show our citizens that what Harold Wilson called the white heat of technology can forge new opportunities for working people. At a time where young people feel the housing market is beyond their reach, we must build the new homes and create the economic opportunity that revives the dream of home ownership for cities and regions on the front lines of economic change. We must invest in the education and training that empowers people to fulfill their potential. And we must build the clean energy that will power new jobs and industries. We approach this work with determination and with optimism because all of these problems can be solved. All of these opportunities can be seized. But only if our people continue to see our institutions as the best way to make it happen. We all know this is a time when trusting governments and institutions is under challenge. We all sense this is an era where our capacity for peaceful disagreement is being tested. But what I see here in UK labor under this man, this leader, this prime minister, my friend, is the same determination that I know lives in every member of the Australian Labor Party. An absolute resolve to stand together and defend democracy itself.
[Applause]
Friends, this is where one of the oldest choices that both our parties made remains one of the most important. In Australia and here in the United Kingdom, the trade union movement chose to advance the rights of working people not just in workplaces but by forming a political party. In Australia and the UK, labor as a movement chose democracy. We chose parliament and progress over protest. We chose to be both a movement for change and a party of government. We chose to make ourselves part of a system where our political fortunes rise and fall on the power of ideas and the judgment of our citizens. We set ourselves the task of winning people's trust and proving worthy of it. And make no mistake, when we chose democracy, we chose the hard road because building to last takes time. Delivering change is more difficult than just demanding it. Working within the system is tougher than railing against it. And creating solutions requires more of us than just shouting slogans. In a democracy, being a party of government means grappling with uncertainty and complexity. It means dealing with the gritty realities of the world as it is. And it means making and yes owning tough decisions in the national interest. Being honest with people about the scale of the challenges facing us and the time and effort required to meet them. But friends, we wouldn't have it any other way. We're better for all of that. Our plans and policies are stronger for it. Our vision and our ambition for our people is bigger because of it. And our countries are better for it, too. Because in the end, the hard road is the only one that takes us anywhere. Tearing things down is easy, but it doesn't leave you with anything. The low politics of fear and resentment are easy, but they only divide the country. They don't advance it. But things worth doing are hard and things worth doing are worth fighting for. Friends, democracy was a defining choice that both our parties made. I want to finish with an old truth that both our movements know. A message that the men and women of the trade union movement carried on their banners more than a century ago: Unity of labor is the hope of the world. That has always been labor at our best. Unity of party and unity of purpose. A movement that looks out to the world with hope for the future and works together to make it better. Unity of labor reflects the power of solidarity to drive change and it reflects the responsibility of labor to promote unity, to foster cooperation and understanding in the world and to build cohesion, respect and harmony at home. We do that by embracing patriotism as a truly progressive cause. By demonstrating that our love of country is what drives us to serve it and also to change it for the better, by encouraging pride in everything that sets our nations apart from the world. By building faith in everything that brings us together. And by making it clear that the strength and power of the symbols that unite us lies in the faith that they belong to all of our citizens, not just some. Because in both our nations, our democracy, our laws and our values are for all of us. For all of us to take pride in, for all of us to protect, for all of us to build on. Unity of labor is the hope of the world. And in that spirit of hope, unity, and solidarity, I wish you all the very best for an absolutely fantastic conference. Thank you for having me.
[Applause]
Okay, everybody. I'll just let everybody get settled and then we'll get started. Again, settling will take a while.
I think so. It could take a while.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Too much talking.
Are we nearly there, conference? I'm sure there are seats for everyone. Come on.
Okay. Well, conference, I'm sure you'd agree that was a fantastic way to start the afternoon session, followed on by equally fantastic session, bits of the session, I think. First off, we have speakers from Scotland. The first of which is our new Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander. Douglas, thank you.
Conference, it is an honor to address you as Labour's Secretary of State for Scotland. And let me start by paying tribute to the work of my friend and my predecessor who kept the flag flying for Scottish Labor in the toughest of times. So Ian, thank you for the work that you've done and the service you have given our party. Now, at last year's general election, when, let us remember, we held just two seats in Scotland, we made a promise that there would be Scots at the heart of a Labor government. And just over a year later, right across government, Scottish Labor ministers are harnessing the power of the United Kingdom to deliver for Scotland. Not just Ian's work on the creative industries at the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, but Kirsty McNeil's work to deliver local regeneration from the Scotland office, Michael Shanks and Martin McCluskey's work to deliver good jobs and clean energy from the Department of Energy, Blair McDougall's work to deliver our modern industrial strategy, and Zuber Ahmed's work at the Department of Health, proving that with a Labor government, waiting lists come down. We pledged, conference, that a vote for Scottish Labor wasn't just a vote to send a message. It was a vote to send a government. A promise made, conference, a promise delivered. Now, we all understand that across Scotland and indeed across the whole of the United Kingdom, people are still suffering. Too many people feel ignored and forgotten and there is still so much to do. We hear you. We get it. But the simple truth is this: no government, however determined, could undo all the damage of 14 years in just 14 months. So I want to assure you today that the work of change in Scotland is now underway. And the difference that we're making as a Labor government inspired by Labor values is both meaningful and measurable. Our Labor government has already raised the minimum wage and delivered a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest paid workers in Scotland. We've delivered a 10 billion pound frigate deal that will secure 2,000 well-paid, unionized jobs and so guaranteed the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde. We've delivered the largest budget settlement for Scotland in the history of devolution, burying Tory austerity once and for all. And conference, thanks to the campaigning efforts of our Scottish Labor MPs, last week a Labour-led Scotland office delivered direct funding of almost 300 million pounds for regeneration to communities across Scotland, from the inner cities to the outer isles. So why, with the UK government now delivering record levels of investment to Scotland, do our communities feel that their public services are worse and not better? The facts don't lie. 20 years of the SNP running Scotland has taken our nation backwards on education, on health, on housing, on ferries, and backwards on pretty much everything for which they are responsible. That's why their election strategy seems to be: we've made a mess of everything we're responsible for, so let's talk about anything other than how we are running Scotland, like independence or Nigel Farage or independence or Donald Trump or independence or pretty much anything other than the present state of Scotland. Never has so much political capital been accumulated by one political party to so little effect. 20 years of Salmond, Sturgeon, and Swinney and there is so little to show for it. Can you really claim to be stronger for Scotland when you've weakened our public services and stagnated in government? Jackie Bailey put it best: the truth is, if John Swinney knew how to fix the challenges Scotland faces, he'd have done it by now. But conference, if the SNP won't talk about their record, then we surely will. In our hospitals, one in six of us are on waiting lists in Scotland. 100,000 Scots waiting in preventable pain for more than a year. In our schools, a sorry record of rising violence and falling standards. A housing crisis that continues to worsen. An economy held back. The majority of the Scottish public already know that the SNP are bad enough, that they deserve to lose. So our challenge over the coming months is to convince the majority that we're good enough, that we deserve to win. Together, from now until next May, we will make the case that a different and better future for our nation is possible. The SNP as a nationalist party is dedicated to making Scotland independent. Everyone understands that. But the harsh truth is that if you wake up every morning thinking, what can I do today to move Scotland closer towards independence, that means you start the day focused on difference, on division, and on grievance. And in today's world of political, economic, and technological tumult, that approach is just letting Scotland down. Now is the time to focus on building and not breaking, on cooperating not on conflict, on working together and not pulling apart. We need and deserve in Scotland a first minister committed to solidarity and not separation, to ensure that Scotland's aspirations are backed by the full strength of the United Kingdom. That is why the next first minister has to be someone who will put the people of Scotland first before constitutional obsession or party advantage or populist politics. Someone who will have both the ideas and frankly the energy. Someone willing to tackle the failure and complacency and be the person who wakes up every morning thinking, "What can I do today to make Scotland's public services fit for the people of Scotland? And who can I work with today to make that happen faster?" My friend, our leader, Anas Sarwar, has dedicated his life to public service. From working as an NHS dentist in Paisley to calling out racism and speaking up for the marginalized, to delivering 37 Scottish Labor MPs and most recently delivering victory in Hamilton, Larkhall, Stonehouse and yes in Barrhead and Anas Sarwar. And Anas just keeps listening, keeps working, keeps leading and yes, keeps winning. Conference, let me ask you to show your appreciation for our Scottish Labor leader, the man I believe with your support will be Scotland's next first minister, Anas Sarwar. A year ago, we delivered a UK Labor government. And in just seven months' time, we can start the journey for change in Scotland, too. And that election is a choice. Do we carry on as we are or do we take a new direction? Do we see our parliament as a vehicle for protest or a vehicle for change? And that choice is a simple one. A third decade of the SNP carrying on the managed decline, or do we take a new direction with a Scottish Labor government and a Scottish Labor First Minister working every day to make life better for the people of Scotland and seeing government as service to you? Scottish Labor, ambitious for Scotland, ambitious for the future. Ready to win and ready to serve. Conference, thank you.
