Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has addressed delegates, MPs and party staff as the Labour Party conference begins in Liverpool.
The conference is the first to take place since Labour returned to government in July.
Rayner outline the government’s plans to tackle the housing crisis and raise the standards for new homes built across the country, as well as plans to roll out devolution across the country and implement a new package of workers’ rights.
Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves began conference at 11am, becoming the first Labour government minister to address delegates for 15 years.
Follow all the updates as they happened from the conference hall…
11.58am: ‘Let’s get on with it’
Angela Rayner has received a huge standing ovation from those in the hall as she concludes her remarks to conference.
11.56am: ‘Northerners will no longer be dictated to by Whitehall’
Rayner has said: “We will be the government to complete devolution in the north”.
“Just this week conference I agreed 8 devolution deals”… “this government will change the future of the north of England… we will be the government to complete devolution in the north”.https://t.co/1OLcw8WMEX
— LabourList (@LabourList) September 22, 2024
11.55am: ‘We will complete devolution task’
Angela Rayner has said that the Labour government will complete the task of rolling out devolution across the country and said that Labour mayors have shown the good that Labour can do in office.
She also said that mayors will gain greater powers over housebuilding.
11.49am: ‘We will end no-fault evictions for good’
“We will end no fault evictions for good” and “free leaseholders from the tyranny of a medieval system” and put Britain on track to end homelessness, says the MHCLG Secretary.
— LabourList (@LabourList) September 22, 2024
11.46am: Employment Rights Bill will be tabled next month
The “historic legislation” with the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation will be tabled in Parliament next month, Rayner has confirmed. The legislation will bring an end to fire and rehire and ban zero hours contracts, she said.
11.44am: ‘Change has begun’
Rayner has talked though some of the achievements of the Labour government over just the last few weeks since taking office and said: “Conference, change has begun.”
11.41am: ‘We won because we had the courage to change our party’
Angela Rayner has said it is the “honour of my life” to open conference as Deputy Prime Minister. She said that while the Tories thought the Labour Party was history, “but this year conference we made history together”.
Rayner hits out at Kemi Badenoch for her leadership campaign, accusing her of doing side-deals with the Daleks for her attacks on former Doctor Who star David Tennant.
She takes a pop at the Tory leadership race “beating each other to different shades of blue on a show that no one’s watching”, saying that as Shadow Housing Secretary it’s good that Kemi Badenoch’s expressed a concern about a tenant, “It’s just a shame it’s David Tennant”.
— LabourList (@LabourList) September 22, 2024
11.34am: Standing ovation as Angela Rayner takes to the stage
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has taken to the stage and received a standing ovation from everyone in the auditorium.
11.31am: ‘Fair and humane immigration policy’
A representative of Rushcliffe CLP has taken to the stage to criticise the decision to block their motion calling for a “fair and humane immigration policy” – you can read our story on this here.
11.29am: While we wait…
While we wait for Angela Rayner to address conference, here is a reminder of some of the events LabourList is hosting today.
11.18am: ‘We will fight for fairness, we will fight to win’
Ellie Reeves repeats Harriet Harman’s words from 2009, saying they are as true now as they were then: “We will fight for fairness, we will fight for equality, and most importantly, we will fight to win”.
— LabourList (@LabourList) September 22, 2024
11.15am: ‘Worst inheritance in living memory’
Reeves has discussed the inheritance left behind by the Conservative government and said tough choices have to be made, but heralds the efforts Labour has already made so far in government, including House of Lords reform, setting up GB Energy and beginning the process of nationalisation of the railways.
11.12am: ‘When Sunak called the election, we were ready’
Reeves said that Labour was ready when Rishi Sunak called the election early – and quipped that the party was more ready than the Conservatives were.
She also said the party had a “ruthless twinning strategy” to ensure the party won in the places it needed to the most.
11.10am: ‘David Evans represents best of our movement’
Reeves has thanked David Evans, the outgoing general secretary, for his efforts in office and said that he “represents the best of our movement”.
11.08am: Ellie Reeves: Harriet Harman a ‘trailblazer for women’
Ellie Reeves has become the first government minister to address conference in 15 years. She paid tribute to Harriet Harman, “a trailblazer for women”, who was the last to address conference back in 2009.
11.05am: Patrick Hurley addresses delegates
First to speak today is Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Stockport, who is talking about the attack in the city which left three people dead in July.
Delegates are taking part in a minutes’ silence to remember the victims.
11.00am: Conference about to begin
Follow all of the news and debate at party conference 2024 by LabourList here, the leading dedicated platform for Labour supporters on all things Labour:
READ MORE: LabourList events not to miss on Sunday – from our rally to debates on childcare, privatisation and the Greens
READ MORE: Sunday at conference: Five of the best speeches, panel events and receptions to prioritise
READ MORE: Anger as women’s conference assigned only 20 minutes to debate each motion
READ MORE: Anneliese Dodds writes on why the election was a win for women
READ MORE: The full LabourList events programme, from karaoke to key panel debates
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