28/09/2016 - Live Morning Session Labour Party Conference

Morning, conference. Hello! Yay. I seek not everyone was ruined by the

Labour students do is go last night, that was just me, so apologies for

the husky voice. Welcome to this session of conference, we start by

receiving the report of the conference arrangements committee,

welcomed the chair of the committee, Harry Donaldson.

Chair of conference, as you will see from the detailed agenda on page

three this afternoon we'll hear from the leader of the party, Jeremy

Corbyn. His speech will be at 2pm and entrance to the hall is by

ticket only. Queues should be ticket only. Queues should be

expected and delegates are thanked in advance for their patience. Every

delegate is allocated a seat for the whole of conference, including the

leader's speech. However, delegates are advised to take their seats

promptly as empty seats may be given to visitors shortly before the

speech begins. If somebody finds somebody sitting in their allocated

seat they should speak to a steward or member of staff. For those

without a ticket there is an official screening in a whole, seats

on a first-come, first-served basis. Later this morning refugees would be

debated as part of the home affairs debate. Notes on page four. The

results of the constitutional amendments can be found on page six

of the report. The results of yesterday's NCC ballots will be

announced shortly by the chief scrutiny. Following the

announcement, printed copies will be available from the party stand. The

CEC wishes to thank the venue staff, police, party staff and stewards who

worked so hard through the conference to make it an experience

for all. APPLAUSE Conference, you will recall that I

informed conference a further emergency motion was being

considered yesterday. For the purposes of information I can

confirm to conference and inform conference that motion has now been

withdrawn. I hope you all enjoy the final day of conference.

Thank you so much, Harry. Can I ask if anyone has any questions or

wishes to make any points on the conference arrangements committee

report? One delegate over there. Good morning, conference. I'm a

first-time delegate, I'm really not a speaker today, it's just a quick

point, really point of order. Shimon Peres has died, and I would ask

conference to commemorate this great figure, architects of Israel and

Nobel Prize winner. Thank you. APPLAUSE

Thank you. And just for information, we were actually going to make a

moment about that after we've taken the report. Any other points

questions on the report? No? Just quickly responding to the

delegate, we have taken consideration of the request and it

will be timetabled at some point during the course of today, thank

you. Conference, we're just going to move

this up the agenda slightly. On behalf of the entire Labour Party,

we need to pay respect to Shimon Peres who passed away today. He was

a giant of Israeli politics, serving as both President and Prime

Minister. His Nobel Peace Prize for his negotiations between Israelis

and Palestinians reminds us of the piece to which we must all aspire. I

would suggest, conference, we all stand and pay respects for a minute.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Harry, thank

you for all your work on the Congress arrangements committee, you

are a bit of a star. Can I just ask, for a show of hands, everyone in

favour of accepting the report, please? And those against? Thank you

very much, conference. Thank you, Harry. How now ask the chief

scrutiny to present the results of the NCC ballot. -- chief scrutineer.

Chair, conference, I'm Cathy Mitchell, chief scrutineer, they

have the results for the NCC ballot. Maggie receives 53.3% of the vote.

Peter Day, 4831, that's 2.11% of the vote. David Hall, 5775. 2.52% of the

vote. Mr Singh, 4357, 2.04% of the vote. Chris Williamson, 91,540.

40.02% of the vote. The total votes cast were 228,000 721. Therefore,

Maggie Koza is elected with 121,918 votes. Thank you, conference. --

Maggie Cozen. Congratulations to Maggie, commiserations to the other

candidates. We're going to start the debate on home affairs and

equalities. The annual report is on pages 30-35 of the National Odyssey

Forum report and the priorities issues document is on pages 82-89.

We also be taking the contemporary, site on child refugees. We have a

lot of speakers this morning, so I'd ask everybody to keep their

contributions brief so we can take as many delegates as possible. Ellie

Reeves, move the report on behalf of the National executive committee.

Ellie. APPLAUSE .

Conference, it has been a privilege to have co-convened the home affairs

policy commission with Andy Burnham this year. The commission has

covered a broad range of policy areas including home affairs,

justice, equalities and the Cabinet Office portfolios. To start the

debate today I want to talk about two issues close to my heart. Gender

equality and access to justice. Conference, as an employment rights

lawyer providing advice and assistance to women facing maternity

discrimination, icy day in, day out, how the Tories have made access to

justice unaffordable for so many people. By reducing the scope of

legal aid, introducing Tribunal fees, and closing courts. Since the

introduction of employment Tribunal fees, there has been a 70% reduction

in claims. It costs ?250 simply to submit a claim to an employment

tribunal and another 950 to go to a hearing. If you've lost your job,

have rent or mortgage to pay, children to feed and clothe, for a

lot of people they simply can't afford to submit a claim, no matter

how badly they've been treated. This is a travesty for access to justice.

The next Labour government must abolish employment tribunal fees.

APPLAUSE Another huge barrier for access to

justice, particularly in maternity dissemination claims is time limits

if only got three months to bring an implement tribunal claim. Think

about that for a moment. You've been dismissed, demoted, maternity leave,

perhaps you've been denied a bonus. You've got a newborn baby that wakes

every few hours, you are most probably exhausted. The clock is

still ticking on your claim. That is why the equality and human rights

commission urged the government to increase the time limit in respect

of maternity claims, and what did the government say? No. The next

Labour government must reverse this injustice. APPLAUSE

Conference, as a working mum I know first-hand the challenges women face

in the workplace. It is an acceptable that the gender pay gap

still stands at almost 20%. That one in five mothers experience

harassment or negative comments in the workplace related to pregnancy

or flexible working. That 29% of women earn less than the living

wage, and that childcare costs have risen by over 30% since 2010.

Conference, I was saddened to see new statistics released at the

weekend which showed women would not reach pay equality with men until

2069. Certainly not in my working life, maybe not even in our

children's working lives. Conference, we must take action to

reverse this now. APPLAUSE Conference, yesterday I spoke to a

man who'd just had her request for flexible working refused. Fighting

back tears and having been up all night with worry, she told me it

would be hard enough leaving her baby to go back to work. But that it

was being made a whole lot worse by an employer unsympathetic to the

needs of working mums. Yet there is so much more that could be done. All

jobs should be advertised on a flexible working basis, aching work

flexible by default. Dads should be entitled to proper paid paternity

leave, childcare should be affordable and accessible to all so

no parents are left behind. It should be mandatory for all

employers to publish details of the gender pay gap in their organisation

so companies who fall behind are named and shamed. APPLAUSE

Let's push forward with these changes to end gender inequality in

the workplace once and for all. Conference, I want to end with this:

today marks the end of my ten year term on Labour's National executive

committee, and it's been a privilege and honour to serve you the last

decade. As they move on to new challenges and refocus my effort on

supporting wearing facing discrimination at work, I will be

fighting tirelessly for equality and justice. -- on supporting women

facing discrimination at work. Thank you, conference. APPLAUSE

Thank you, Ellie, it's been a privilege to work with you on the

National executive committee. Wow now invite the Shadow Lord

Chancellor Richard Burgon to address us. -- I will now invite.

I am honoured to open this debate on justice and home affairs and I am

proud to be to you today as Shadow Justice Secretary. But, conference,

I do have a confession to make. Before entering Parliament, I was a

lawyer. You can cheer the bits later on! A trade union lawyer

representing people injured at work, because bosses cut corners,

representing people sacked because of their gender or the colour of

their skin. Representing people not paid a fair day's pay for a fair

day's work. Ten years of that taught me an important lesson. The lesson

that justice and the rule of law are essential ingredients to create a

fairer society. The type of society that the Labour movement, our

movement, has always fought for. The legal profession in our country is

much derided, as the booing showed, but who is it that defends the

rights of striking workers in the courts? Who represents victims of

domestic violence? Who prosecute criminals who terrorise

working-class communities? Who provides legal assistance to the

heroic grassroots campaigns for justice for all grades, for the

Shrewsbury Town to four, and for the families of those killed at

Hillsborough? Conference, I want to pay tribute to

those families and I want to pay tribute to our Shadow Home Secretary

Andy Burnham for backing them all the way.

Justice goes to the heart of what we are is a movement. And the values we

hold dear. It is the justice system that protects our freedoms, our

rights, and helps hold our society together. But, conference, I am sure

that you are all aware that our legal system is creaking under the

strain of this Conservative Government's brutal onslaught of

austerity and ideological dogma. The privatisation of our prisons, of our

probation service, making the working conditions of our dedicated

prison and probation officers tougher and tougher. Cutting legal

aid to the poorest and imposing, as we have heard, on affordable

employment tribunal fees. Slashing the Ministry of Justice budgets by a

whopping and reckless 34%. But what of the flag bearer of these failing

policies's let me turn to my Conservative opponent, also from

Leeds, Liz truss. Believe it or not, she is best known for railing

against the importation of foreign cheese. If you remember the

conference speech. It is fair to say that her appointment as Justice

Secretary was not universally welcomed. Many said that, as another

non-lawyer, she did not fulfil the requirement for a person qualified

by experience. Her colleague even resigned from the front bench cos of

it, just imagine that. Others criticised her for being loyal to

her party leader, although there is nothing wrong with that. But what I

will criticise Liz truss for is voting for legal aid cuts. For

privatising our probation service and for closing down the courts we

need to deliver justice in our country. Conference, we need a

change of direction. Justice policy will be at the core of Jeremy's

drive for a fairer society. I must take this opportunity to thank

Willie back for the review he has conducted into how rest to deliver

the improved access to justice we need in our country. A major review

requested by our Labour Party leader. But one of the most

reprehensible policies of the Conservative Government has been the

introduction of employment tribunal fees. It means that those who face

discrimination in the workplace, often people struggling to make ends

meet, are expected to fork out even more to try to achieve justice. It

will come as no surprise to delegates in this hall that the

number of cases brought to employment tribunal 's has

plummeted, as many just give up hope that they will ever achieve justice.

But, conference, under Labour, people will not only be able to

hope, people will be able to take action, because Labour will abolish

these cruel employment Tribunal fees once and for all and give wrong

workers the access to justice that they deserve. -- wronged. It was

once said that the degree of civilisation in a society can be

judged by entering its prisons. What is the state of our prisons today?

Overcrowded, understaffed, awash with drugs. This must change, and

under Labour, it will change. No longer will profit and privatisation

drive policy. We will do all we can to ensure that when prisoners are

released, they turned their backs on a life of crime. And there is no one

better to spearhead this progressive agenda than our shadow prisons

Minister Joe Stevens. Conference, we will achieve our

goals by working with and, most importantly, treating with respect

those who work in our justice system and the trade unions that represent

them. Human rights have always been at the top of Labour's agenda.

Indeed, it was our Labour Government that introduced the Human Rights Act

in the first place to protect so many of the freedoms that we

cherish. And act introduced by three great Labour Justice Secretary 's,

Terry Irving, Charlie Faulkner and Jack Straw. And today, I want to

assure them and I want to assure all of you that in the aftermath of

Brexit, Labour will fight to ensure that none of these hard-won rights

and freedoms are dilutive or diminished by this Conservative

Government. So, conference, the next Labour

Government will have much to do. Ending austerity. Rebuilding public

services. Delivering a fairer society. At the heart of this

approach will be strengthening our justice system. Conference, we will

turn our backs on the failed approach of the Conservative

Government so that once again our rights and freedoms will be

protected and enhanced. In this way, we will build together a fairer

society that we can all be proud of. I Labour justice system in a Labour

Britain. Conference, there is work to do. Together, let's get on and do

it. Thank you. Our next Speaker is Kat

Smith, Shadow Minister for voter engagement and young people.

Thank you. It is a pleasure to speak in today's debate. This is an

important debate. The policies being pursued by this Tory Government

will, if unchallenged, cause lasting harm to our communities. Cuts to

local authorities have resulted in spending being cut by ?387 million

since 2010. That is 3600 youth worker jobs lost. That is 603 youth

centres closed. That is 138,000 places for young people gone. These

cuts have had a disproportionate effect on some groups, many LG BD

specific youth services have been forced to close, and because of the

structural racism and failures in our educational system, young black

people have been disadvantaged more than their peers. This is a fulsome

economy. Rather than supporting young people now, the Government is

storing up problems. These problems will grow. They will become more

compensated and cost more to address in future years. Figures for

poverty, arterial deprivation and unemployment all show young people

suffering the most. It is clear young people and future generations

have been disproportionately hit by failing Tory austerity. The

challenge for us is, how do we respond? We need to expose the

Tories for what they are, the party of the past. The legacy of David

Cameron's Government is a nation divided. Theresa May was at its

heart, she will not unite the country. She cannot give Britain the

change we need. It is our responsibility as Labour to heal the

divisions. It would be wrong to allow an artificial divide to be

created between our younger people and older generations. We need to

stand together. Young people want to know that they will be a state

pension, not only to look after their parents and grandparents, but

that will be there for them as well. Our parents and grandparents want to

see the next generation well educated, engaged and healthy. Age

is not the only divide the Tories have created. They are failing --

they're failing austerity agenda says there is not enough to look at

the refugees, to support our homeless, and women's refuges,

proper care and support for disabled people. But make no mistake,

austerity is a choice, made by the Tories, it is not an inevitability.

Their failed policies are taking the country backwards. Theresa May wants

to return us to an education system that most of the country moved on

from 40 years ago. I am proud that as a Labour Party we are engaging

with young people and investing in our future. Restoring the

educational maintenance allowance will give young people the

opportunity to fulfil their potential. We will ensure that

education is not just a commodity for those who can afford it, but it

is financially accessible to everyone. We want a society that

will support future generations in education, training and the

workplace, and we have an historic opportunity. Young people are more

politicised than they have been for generations. Around three quarters

of a million young people registered to vote in the month prior to the EU

referendum. And then after that surge in registration we saw a 20%

jump from the general election in young people using their vote. The

Tories have ignored this. They are too busy disenfranchising the 2

million people in their rush to gerrymander constituency boundaries.

In contrast, we have listened to our young people. We heard you're the

man for votes at 16 and we did all we could to secure 16 and

17-year-olds a vote in the referendum, that impact their lives

more than anyone, given the Tories have no answer to what Brexit means.

Austerity, grammar schools and Brexit chaos, the Tories are looking

to the past, Labour is the party of the future. We lead the polls

amongst young people and tens of thousands of young people have

joined the Labour Party since the referendum. I am proud that we have

the largest political youth wing in Britain. We have more members aged

under 27 than Ukip has in total. Conference, I attended the young

Labour events, I have heard the idea is our younger members have, and

they have so much to offer our party. We must value them. They must

be more than people to deliver leaflets, they should also be our

elected representatives, political leaders, perhaps even an England

football manager. For too long, we have called our young members the

future of the Labour Party. They are not, they are the Labour Party. We

are all the Labour Party. APPLAUSE

Our future, our country's future, depends on us all being united. When

life is becoming harder for the majority of people, we cannot let

the divide and rule politics of the Tory party distract from our

mission. We have a moral, political and historic obligation to work

together on behalf of working people. Conference, we are one

party, one family, we one Labour. Thank you. APPLAUSE

Are we now take 11 on child refugees, to be moved by Walthamstow

CLP. Could Bracknell CLP be ready to second, please?

Helena Darla more, Walthamstow CLP. Conference, we meet this week as the

conference in Syria deepens and the plight of the Syrian people worsens.

After a glimmer of hope at the start of the month with the ceasefire, the

Syrian people are now being bombed relentlessly and have been without

aid for months. The future of Syria is hanging by a thread. Aleppo is

without running water. There is an outbreak of deadly meningitis, and

yet more reports of chemical attacks. In Calais hundreds of

unaccompanied children are living in squalid conditions that should shame

us in a developed country. Many of them have a legal right to come to

this country and join their family here in the UK. But the

unsympathetic government of Theresa May is sitting on their claims and

delaying this. Meanwhile, these children are dying, desperately

trying to cross the Channel by clinging to the bottom of lorries or

rickety boats. Conference, only the most desperate and characters of

situations leads a parents to put a child on an overcrowded boat without

a life jacket to cross the Mediterranean. Since the start of

this year more than 3000 people have died making that journey. That's the

same as the number of people in this room. These are human beings.

Politicians in this country should ask themselves, what will happen if

we allow a generation to grow up without food, water or and

education? Conference, those are not the ingredients of a stable and

prosperous world. APPLAUSE It is our job in the Labour Party to

make sure we come in Britain, live up to our international

responsibilities. We should remind the Tory government that 86% of the

world's refugees are hosted in developing countries. The number of

refugees here in Europe or in Britain pales in comparison.

Conference, we must take our fair share of those fleeing conflict and

persecution. APPLAUSE We must also put pressure on the

government to live up to the commitment they made to take 3000

unaccompanied children in the dubs amendment.

Conference, we also have to get to the roots of the conflict and stop

people fleeing in the first place. The people of Syria urgently need

food, water and shelter, that will only come with another ceasefire.

Theresa May and Boris Johnson must drag the US and Russia to the

negotiating table until they agree another ceasefire. We must not stand

by and watch when Assad drops chemical weapons on his own people.

Conference, the amendment either brilliant Alf Dobbs, and the work

about great Labour MPs like Stella Creasy and Yvette Cooper has

achieved great things from the backbenches. But conference, look

how much more you can do when you win power. Our mayor Sadiq Khan in

London is showing the world London is open to refugees. In Canada

Justin Trudeau has taken 25,000 refugees. And while she may not

share our politics, Angela Merkel in Germany has shown true leadership by

taking over 1 million refugees. APPLAUSE

Conference, our words and motions in this hall will mean little unless we

beat the Tories. People fleeing conflict and oppression do not have

a government to represent them so it is our job in the Labour Party to

speak up for them and show solidarity. The world is facing a

humanitarian crisis the likes of which we've not seen since World War

II. We have a moral duty to act, by giving asylum to those we can, and

by leveraging our influence in the world to secure a peaceful solutions

to conflicts around the world. Conference and history will judge us

by how we respond to this conflict, so please support this motion, and

let's get a Labour government elected. Thanks. APPLAUSE

Morning. Paul Bidwell, Bracknell CLP, town councillor and first-time

speaker. Every child around the world

deserves the experience of their childhood. The situation in Calais

is intolerable, with the number of unaccompanied children estimated to

be now around 600. Why estimated? Because as I speak we don't actually

know. We don't even know how many have made it to this country. And in

what condition or sad situation they may find themselves in. No parent

would send their child across the world in the hope of a better life

unless they were extremely desperate. Very few daughters are

sent because the parents know the dangers involved. However, all these

children are vulnerable, all have a very traumatic experiences. The

children arrive in Europe full of hope, but obviously, they are

desperately missing their parents. Often their parents never know they

have made it this far. Some children have never been to school before in

their lives, but the children I know who have made it to England have

entered our schools and done extremely well. They are so

motivated to succeed and repay this country that has given them a chance

to survive. But the children in Calais, the ones still there, are

now losing hope. They are so vulnerable to recruitment and abuse

by others. The immigration bill stated some of these children would

be supported to enter Britain, but only those who arrived before March

31. However, though more arrive each week, the government has not kept

its promises. Even food for these children is running low and

conditions will no doubt get worse with the onset of winter. Britain

has a long history of helping to support refugees. Conference, the

government must act, and act quickly, to fulfil its commitment.

Finally, I would like to share Abdul's story. He is a ten-year-old

living alone in the Calais migration camp, the jungle. Abdul is bothered

by the rats, the rustle around him, while he sleeps. And the effort

involved in getting enough food in the wake of a decision by French

authorities last week to close down the camp that fed children for free.

He's frightened of the local police who often sprayed tear gas at him.

Most of all, he worries about his nine-year-old nephew, who is solely

his responsibility. And who is struggling to cope with their

five-month flight from violence in Afghanistan. A ten-year-old child, a

ten-year-old child, I ask you. Conference, every child matters, not

just those in the UK. Bracknell CLP second this motion. APPLAUSE

We'll take speakers from the floor on this in a second. I'd like to

invite and like to report to us on the women's conference held on

Saturday. -- invite Good morning, conference. Chair,

conference, scrutineer, vice chairman for women reporting back on

Saturday's National women's conference. Angela Rayner, Shadow

Minister for Women and Equalities, opened the conference, and in

sharing her own story she showed us how she and labour can help us

reconnect with the disadvantaged and voiceless, who need the love Twitch

need the Labour government most. We had from Kezia Dugdale battling to

rebuild Labour in Scotland. While we welcome Jeremy Corbyn re-elected

with an even bigger mandate for his first major speech of the week. I

reported on the work of the gender representation group, part of Tom

Watson's party reform project. I thank Kate Green MP and Emma Meehan

for their huge contribution, and look forward to working with Angie

Reyna in future. The recommendations were aimed at promoting open

inclusive and welcoming local parties, raising women's

representation at every level of the party, and at increasing the

proportion of women elected to public office in Parliament and

everywhere else. There were then sessions on pension inequality,

ending domestic violence, workplace 2020, and the one I attended an

reclaiming the Internet. If that Yvette Cooper compared the situation

with 20 years ago when women were told that to stay safe they should

stay in after dark and certainly never go out alone. Then women

refused to be their homes and went out and marched to reclaim the night

will stop now women who call out misogynistic, racist anti-Semitic

homophobic abuse, get rape threats and death threats, are told to stay

safe. They should just get off-line. And the response now has to be the

same as Ben, why should women, and indeed men, be excluded from social

media by threats and intimidation? We can start within our party,

following our leader Jeremy Corbyn's repeated absolute commitment to a

zero tolerance of all forms of abuse. APPLAUSE

Otherwise, women will not stand as counsellors, they will not stand as

MPs, they will not stand for the NAC, and they will not want to work

for a party which does not defend them. -- NEC. And we have the ever

popular open mike session, Dawn Butler's firm Charing allowed more

than 40 women to speak on anything they chose. The impact of benefit

cuts and women, standing candidates in Northern Ireland, closing

Magistrates' Courts, abortion, and the double discrimination faced by

women who are disabled or gate or from ethnic minority backgrounds,

and everything they seek to do. -- disabled or gay. There will be an

annual National women's conference with a formal role in policy-making,

and that's important, because... APPLAUSE

Because every year women bring their energy, ideas and experiences, and

then it all disappears and we just come back and say the same thing

again next year. We do have to now go back and develop structures and

accountability without getting bogged down in endless references

back, points of order, and arguing over what is and isn't the

contemporary motion. APPLAUSE We have to keep the open, inclusive,

tolerant atmosphere of which four members, visitors and delegates

makes women's conference special. I will see you next year in Brighton.

Thank you, conference. They will now take speakers from the

floor. If you would like to indicate. There is a woman there.

There is somebody with a red bag over there. And the gentleman there.

Conference, representing Junos on. I have seen first-hand the savage cuts

to our policing. This has affected many of our members. Although in

last year's Autumn Statement George Osborne announced that the police

protect us so we will protect them, we will note that is just another

Tory lie. The reality I live and breathe everyday, our members losing

their jobs. Including PCSO 's. There has been a lot of these jobs into

the imposition of the Tories' cuts, and our communities pay the price.

Since 2010 there are now 5109 fewer PCSO 's. On our streets could --

helping to keep us safe. We must work for a Labour Government that

can bring back community policing and help our members keep us safe.

We are told crime is falling, but we know that many offences go

unreported and many people are now targeted online. Cyber crime is on

the increase. The ONS report that one in ten adults has been a victim

of hate crime. Now the world I work in has changed. Since the start of

the referendum campaign. Part of my day job is monitoring and promoting

the reporting of hate crime. Since Brexit, it feels we have gone back

in time. The appalling abuse suffered by hate crime victims has

significantly increased, with the tone of racist hate crime following

a similar theme, to the toxic election message, which I and many

others were appalled by doing the referendum. I am proud to be a

member who fought and continues to stand up against all forms of

discrimination and hate speech, where ever we find it. Our general

Secretary said, surely it is time for all of us to take responsibility

for the cooling of the political temperature, finding ways to build

bridges, not barricades. Hatred and contempt have no place in our

politics, and they should have no place in our communities. I though

add it has no place in this hall or in our party. We must stand

together. Unions, party and members of our community, against hate

crime. Because nobody should be victimised just because of who they

are. Hate crime has a devastating impact on victims and increasing the

fears in our communities. We oppose the cuts to policing and we send a

message from fear, our Labour Party -- from here. We will always have

zero tolerance to such vile behaviour. Thank you.

Colleagues, conference. Since the referendum the outcome has faced a

huge rise in hate crime. Any people who have previously harboured

xenophobic feelings now feel encouraged to be abusive and

violent. Sadly, the comment to go home has been expressed and heard

too many times. I was told to go home. I recall replying, I am home,

in Wakefield. We are witnessing a frenzy of

hatred. Science describing Polish people as vermin, school people

being told to go home, people wearing T-shirts, anti-Muslim

literature being distributed, shot being firebombed, residents waking

up to racist graffiti in their neighbourhood. The list goes on.

Recently, we heard of the murder of a Polish man in Harlow. Followed by

a number of his -- assaults of members of his community. It is sad

and disgusting, it makes me angry. Many people don't report these

attacks come they suffer in silence, because they are afraid, feel

ashamed or do not have the trust in the police. Let me shed a light on

this, the human impact of racial violence. People need to safeguard

themselves and their well-being. I have found myself doing the same,

looking behind me, surveying fellow passengers when using public

transport, they can sure I stand away from the edge of a platform.

Making sure I sit in the middle of a carriage, just in case. Like

domestic violence, racial harassment leaves you feeling humiliated,

abused, degraded and worthless. You soon have low self-esteem, your

confidence is shattered, depression can set in, you feel shame, even

though you are the shamed. This is a reminder of the days of no Irish, no

dogs and no blacks that I recall my parents telling me about. People

have genuine concerns of the lack of affordable homes, decent resourced

schools and access to health, and wanting decent wages and conditions

at work. However, it is wrong to blame the situation on migrants and

foreigners. The blame lies with the excessive Government and bad

employers. What is to be done? Raising awareness and educating and

tackling racial hatred and harassment safely, and reporting the

matter correctly. In my region and nationally we are looking to not

just raise awareness, we are being proactive in standing up to racism,

it unites us all. I urge you to join us on this and look out for

information coming through on the trade movement. Thank you.

Just before this Speaker starts, I would like to see an indication for

other people who would like to speak in the debate, so we can line people

up. The lady there, the lady there and the gentleman at the back with

the tartan or striped tie. Tonight, in Greece, in Italy, in

Calais, in Dunkirk, hundreds, thousands of children will be lying

by the Street in the jungle in Calais, without any support, with

nobody to protect them, probably not enough to eat, frightened, possibly

the victims of criminality. And then there is a threat by the French to

bulldoze the camp. If they bulldoze it, and don't make adequate, decent

provision for the people that Tom that would be a disaster. And then,

the British Government says we will build a wall, 1.7 million. Walls are

negative. I would say, spend that money on refugees, not on building

walls. Let me also say this. I believe

public opinion, when faced with a choice of helping child refugees or

not, it will say yes. I believe it is a safe issue, a great issue, an

important issue, I don't denigrate other refugees at all, but as far as

children are concerned, I believe the majority of the British people

say I'm a yes, we are willing to give safety to at least some of

them. I have been to Calais a couple of times, there are some wonderful

NGOs working there, volunteers, giving their time, their efforts, to

provide some help to the people there are they are wonderful people,

and it is humbling to see such great people there doing it with little

publicity and recognition. There was a meant -- and amendment to the

immigration act on it was passed, a tutorial MPs backing Labour MPs, the

Government gave in, and I had the pleasure of seeing Theresa May's

name on the amendment. Fair enough, and that is not what it is about.

The Government said they would accept the letter and the spirit of

the amendment. You would think that was not bad, a good commitment, but

what has happened under the terms of the act to the latest date not a

single child has come to Britain. That is a disgrace.

The bonds that have come those with family here, who have been

identified by NGOs. One of them had family here, he was killed on the

road in Calais, trying to get on the back of a lorry. If any of us were

in the position of those kids in Calais, we would do the same thing.

If there was no hope, you will take a chance, even on a dangerous

crossing. What can we do? There is only one thing at the moment,

political pressure. Political pressure on the Government to stick

by their obligation under the terms of the immigration act, not to back

out or find excuses, to get on with it and drink these children here.

There is a bill going through Parliament that will have an

amendment which will seek to protect refugees as well. Another way of

bringing political pressure. There has been a fantastic response in

local communities, there are organisations who are campaigning on

behalf of refugees. That is encouraging. Some local authorities

are stepping up to the mark. I came to this country as an unaccompanied

child refugee, I was a lot younger, six. This country gave me great

opportunities. I shall always be thankful for that.

I would like other unaccompanied child refugees who get to Britain in

safety to have the same opportunities that I had.

Proud town councillor, proud to be Britain's youngest mayor. We have

seen youth engagement in our party exploded over the recent years. I

say, well done. It is young people that often face the Tory Government

the worst. Scrapping Iain a, the rays intuition fees, maintenance

grants. This is unacceptable, and the Tories must be warned, you keep

attacking students, we will fight back through Labour. We must

encourage young people in our constituencies to register to vote

and to vote Labour. We must encourage young people to get

involved, stand as local representatives, to be key

policymakers in their area. Tim Farron has the audacity at the

Liberal Democrat conference to encourage Labour members to vote

Liberal Democrat. Listen to this, the students will never forget your

lies at the last coalition. You said you would vote against any rising

tuition fees. I am sorry, Nick Legg, sorry will never be good enough, you

lied to the voters. Labour will run but that, and students with, in the

universities, we will remember and vote Labour. The students are here,

they are the Labour Party, and we will fight back. Thank you,

conference. Vera Baird, police and crime

commission for Northumbria. Conference in last May's elections

Labour PCCs took three constituencies of the Tories. We

took Leicestershire, we took a Humberside, and we took Cheshire. In

fact, we think we started George Osborne's downfall by taking

Cheshire, because his constituency of Tatton is right in the middle of

it and here is the lad who did it, David Keene. There are 16 Labour

Police and Crime Commissioner is, we run every metropolitan force, two

thirds of British policing, covering 21 billion people. We consult with

our communities to find the policing priorities they want. We use our

budget to make sure the police deliver it. We deliver almost all

victims services. We have protected neighbourhood policing. APPLAUSE

All this despite that woman of the poor, Theresa May. Conference, she

cut 23% of funding of Labour Northumbria's policing, and off

Tory's Surrey conference she cut just 12%. She says she can cut

police because crime is down but it's not, it's changing to a high

harm, formerly hidden crimes, like child sexual exploitation and

domestic abuse. And it is foolish to underfund those. In most forces only

23% of calls to police concern crime, the rest are about welfare.

Those calls have increased hugely with health and local authority

cuts. Half of them are about mental health. An example of our work,

we've designed a partnership with mental health trust so a community

psychiatric nurse is out on shift with police. When an officer sees

someone who needs help he can call the nurse, who can access health

records as police cannot, and advices given. Prior to that the

person had to be detained, taking to a psychiatric hospital, after

long-term, until an assessment occurred. The cops tell me the same

people came round and round again. Now they don't, they get a good

health outcome, they are out of the criminal justice system, where they

should never be, and we are saving 900 police hours a month.

We're now a permanent part of Labour in government. We use our Labour

values to transform crime prevention and community safety. Our

re-elections last May and our victories last May show working with

communities is the road to success for us all. As a group of 16 we

lobby government nationally. I'm shortly to meet the new Home

Secretary. Can't wait. My force has lost, quite typically, over 400

officers and 1000 police staff. My message will be quite simple. For

the future of our communities, Amber, Noel Roddy cuts! APPLAUSE

-- note Roddy -- no ruddy cuts. Conference, Stella Creasy, labour

and co-operative MP for Walthamstow. APPLAUSE

Conference, ten days ago a 14-year-old boy was killed trying to

run across a motorway to jump on a lorry. Stuck in the Calais refugee

camp on his own he just wanted to get across the Channel to be here

with his family in the United Kingdom. She had

he had given up hope help was coming so he tried to make the journey

himself. Who knows what he could have become. What contribution to

our country he could have made. I was so proud to stand with our

Labour family this March, to be with Yvette and Alf Dubs, who forced us

to do the right thing with child refugees, we would not let them risk

their lives crossing busy, suffocating in lorries come in the

hands of smugglers, to get to a place of safety. I was so ashamed

three weeks ago to stand with Alf in Calais and listen to children tell

us they had been there for months. But that amendment, that promise we

made, meant nothing. Because despite that vote not a single child is yet

to come here under the Alf Dubs and amendment. It is a promise that Alf

knows matters can he was a child we gave sanctuary to. We didn't look

the other way as children were in danger from the Nazis and we

shouldn't look the other way now. APPLAUSE

There are over 1000 children in that camp right now, some as young as

eight. All of them running from conflict, whether in Eritrea,

Afghanistan, Sudan and or Syria. Not of their own making, but making

their lives hell. In the last month there has been a 51% increase. 11

children arriving every single day, to dodge the tear gas and rubber

bullets. To beg for food and shelter. Little boys trying to be

big men, showing no fear. Hiding in the bushes from the traffickers.

Because there is not a single British or French official fair to

ask for help. Conference, just as we are angry with this government as

they ignore these children, so we should be proud of the many British

volunteers out there filling the gap. APPLAUSE

The French asylum system has ground to a halt and as elections approach

and the far right goes strong, the politicians are competing to punish

those children, not protect them. That driver who hit that boy didn't

stop, but because we are Labour we will. We will not pretend we don't

see these children. Conference, there are many difficult and

complicated problems facing Britain right now. How to deal with Brexit,

an ageing population. Just what is the point of Liam Fox? LAUGHTER

This isn't one of those complicated problems, because the problem isn't

refugees, the problem is politicians. APPLAUSE

These kids... Need our government to do their job and put in place a

process to safeguard them. Today the Home Office knows of 387 children

who have family here or a right to be here under the Dubs amendment.

They have somebody who could care for them if they can come here

legally. Still this government does nothing. Over the seat and out of

Theresa May's mind. These children sleep in tents with strangers

because of a want of somebody to process their paperwork. Now they

face a new threat. Sorry, Stella, could you wind up? Last time the

French clear the camps over 100 children went missing. I tell you

this, conference, people are wondering, what is the point of the

Labour Party? Would we invent it in 2016 if we knew what we knew now? We

exist for causes like this, we exist to speak up for children like this.

We exist to make Britain a better country like this. APPLAUSE

Conference, we have three weeks to show the world's labour and Britain

can be a force for good. Please back this motion and let's get these kids

out of that camp by Christmas. APPLAUSE

Conference, I think we have room for just one more speaker before I ask

Yvette to indicate. I saw that lady first, going with that.

Good morning, conference. I'm the delegate for Islington South and

Finsbury, this is my first time speaking to conference. APPLAUSE

I'm absolutely delighted to make this my first speech in Liverpool.

I'm a proud Londoner but with maternal family from Liverpool.

Several generations worked for JB B and sons on these docs here, so

thank you liveable for the strong, tenacious women that brought me up.

APPLAUSE Conference, we know that austerity

costs lives. Nowhere is this more evident than in our criminal justice

system. I've worked in our prisons for the last eight years. Whatever

you think, of prison and its purpose, it cannot be right that

people are dying at a rate of two per week. There are two suicides a

week that could be prevented because of the cuts that have been imposed

with this pernicious Tory government. APPLAUSE

Some years in our prisons there have been no murders at all, in the last

year there have been six homicides. That's what happens when you cut

prison staff by a third commits what happens when you close prisons with

nowhere for people to go, and bring in a load of bunk beds to put more

people in the spaces made for four or 500 that now sleep 1000. These

places are receptacles of pain. When 70% of prisoners have two or more

diagnosable mental health disorders. When 25% of women in prison have

tried to take their own lives. 24% of people in prison have a care

leaving background. If we want to have less victims, not more, both

inside prisons and outside, we have to act, we have to speak strongly on

the state of our prisons. APPLAUSE People are spending longer in their

cells because of a shortage of staff. Now, I've worked in prisons

for a long time but one memory that will never leave me was the day I

walked into an association room to begin a counselling session with

somebody, and a person was stood on the edge of a sofa, with a home-made

noose hung from the light fitting and as they saw us walk in that they

threw themselves of the sofa. We rushed in, held this person up while

shouting, somebody hit the emergency button. At which point about ten

prison officers appeared from nowhere. This was eight years ago.

Would that happen today? When you hit that button? I know the answer

is no because of the cuts to staffing. Many wings often have two

or three officers on them at any given time and that is why there has

been this increase, a 20% rise in the last year, in the number of

suicide in our prisons. The rate of suicide in prison is 12 times that

of the rate in the general population. We cannot tolerate this

abuse. We must speak out against this abuse of power. The families of

those in prison have suffered enough. Austerity kills. It's

killing in our prison. This is not justice, this is a national

disgrace. We must all this government to account and work for a

Labour justice system with the values of rehabilitation and

restoration of our community at its heart. Thank you. APPLAUSE

Thank you, conference, I'd like to invite Yvette Cooper to address us

on the work of the refugee task force. Yvette. APPLAUSE

Conference, thank you. We have heard powerful stories are powerful

speeches, this morning. And ultimately the story of children.

I'll take you back to the story of two children. Aged ten and nine.

Primary school children. By the side of a busy road. A ten-year-old whose

father was killed when extremists to go for their village. Whose mother

paid smugglers to take the boys away. And now they live on their own

in a muddy tent. Each night, they run along the side of a motorway,

waiting for a lorry going slow enough to climb aboard. And they get

scared. And they should. Because two weeks ago a 14-year-old fell off the

lorry he clung to, and was hit by a car. Killed trying to reach his

brother in Britain. He had a legal rights to be here, yet he lived for

months in danger and squalor and he died by the side of a road. How have

we let this happen? Sometimes people say to me, this is not our problem.

That we should just walk by on the other side of the road. But these

are children whose lives are at stake. This is someone's young son,

someone's teenage daughter, this is all of our children, our common

humanity, conference, an suffering children in this country and this

party must never turn our backs. APPLAUSE

I want to pay tribute to those who are working so hard to help the

community groups we have worked with, Save the Children, Unicef, the

churches, synagogues, mosques, community groups in towns and cities

across the country, to thank Jeremy and Tom, Andy Burnham and Kate for

the support they have given and continue to give for the refugee

task force, those who have played important roles, councils across the

country, encouraged by Nick Forbes, who stepped forward to help, and the

campaigners from all parties who worked together to change the law so

we could do our bit, just as we did when we rescued 10,000 Jewish

children from the Nazis in Europe. We heard earlier from Alf dubs, one

of those children. He was put on a train at six in Prague map and for

England, to escape the war. Three quarters of a century on, Alf, a

lifelong campaigner, a Labour councillor, MP and Lord, each time

leading the way with his amendment so that Britain does its bit again

to help a new generation of child refugees, giving them the new future

our country gave him. Alf, we pay tribute to you today.

This is a global crisis that we face. 65 million people have been

driven from their homes by conflict or persecution. You will hear the

Government sometimes talk of people factor. What about the push factor?

We see some of the pictures from Aleppo. The bonds launched by the

Syrian regime that ripped through reinforced concrete, creating

craters 20 metres wide, so there is no bunker, no seller where families

can hide, no wonder they run. Most incredible of all, those who stay,

the doctors, the White helmets who rescued those left alive, and on

Saturday we remembered the humanitarian work that Jo Cox fought

for throughout her life. Today I also want to pay tribute to her

family, who threw their support for the White helmets are keeping her

work alive now. No country can solve this alone, but

every country needs to play its part. Nobody says it is easy, people

are worried about security, that the system can be abused or will be out

of control. Helping refugees does not mean open borders. We need

strong border checks to stop the smuggling gangs, the criminals, the

extremists exploiting the crisis. We need robust asylum procedures so

that refugees get swift help and illegal migrants have to return, so

everybody can have faith in the system. We need proper integration

plans and support for refugees and their families. Immigration and

asylum are different. Too often, this Government treats them as

though they are the same. Many people I have spoken to who want

more controls on the number of people who come here to work also

think we should do our bit to help those who have no safe home to which

they can return. Refugees only make up around 5% of those who come to

our country. We must never let fear of a difficult politics of

immigration paralyse us from helping desperate refugees.

Nor must we be paralysed from debating immigration reform either.

Or our tin ear will undermine public confidence in our case for helping

refugees. Just as people want to know the asylum system is fair and

managed and controlled, they want to know that the immigration system is

as well. It is not racist to talk about how best every country should

manage migration or to say that whilst immigration is important, low

skilled migration should come down. This should not sparked a row, it

should open up a sensible debate. In the referendum, a lot of people

voted against free movement, but there is no consensus over what

people voted for, between cities and towns, Scotland and England, young

and old, and we should be part of a serious debate on what their rules

should be, and we cannot do that if we take in from the start. Here is

what we must never do. We will not use fear on immigration is reason

not to help those most in need. We will not call people swarms or holds

when they are mothers, fathers and children, and we will never do what

Nigel Farage did in the referendum campaign and use a poster of

desperate refugees to stoke fear and hatred. That man should be ashamed.

Conference, our country leads the way with international aid, and I am

glad the Conservative Government has maintained the commitment, just as I

am proud that it was Labour campaigners who said that target and

the last Labour Government that wrote it in. On century, as we have

heard earlier, our country is not doing enough. 3000 of the promised

20,000 Syrian refugees have come. After the amendment so far no

children from Greece or Italy have been helped, and Calais should be a

scar on the conscience of both France and Britain. 10,000 people,

1000 children alone, scabies rifle, violence and sectarianism in the

camp, lorry drivers facing intimidation and serious safety

threats, no one assessing the asylum cases, no one protecting children.

This is a shameful failure or the French authorities and their basic

duty to keep children safe but written has a responsibility as

well. Hundreds of those children have family in Britain, but they

still stuck, waiting for months. The foot dragging, bureaucracy, delays

are a disgrace, and we should support the contemporary resolution

today and Parliament should back the new amendment, crafted by Stella

Creasy, to bring in safeguarding for child refugees. The plans to

dismantle the camp, moving people to accommodation centres across the

country, where asylum claims could be assessed, they are right to do

so, but there are no places being provided for lone children, and the

Last Panthers for it is cleared part of the camp, over 100 children just

disappeared. Instead of the normal stalemate between our two countries,

written and France, let's agree each to take half of the loan children of

Calais straightaway. Get them into safety fast.

Let's get all of them into safety fast while they are having their

assessments done, don't wait until after the paperwork is finished, so

no child is left alone because this stalemate over children is

dangerous. Too often France says it is Britain's problem, Britain says

it is up to the French, I am sick of the stand-off when children's lives

are at risk. Both governments should act.

I have heard from child and teenage refugees who want to be engineers or

scientists or doctors or footballers. The one who surprised

me was a teenager, helped by citizens UK and our political

campaigns, to rejoin family in Britain who came to Parliament to

meet us, and he said he wants to get involved in politics. He said that

politics destroyed his country, but politics also saved his life. Now he

wants to help to give something back, just as Alf has done so many

years on. Because politics matters. So if ever you despair at the state

of our politics, or even the divisions you think there are in our

party, if ever you think of walking away, if ever you want to know why

so many others carry on, if you have any doubts, think of those children

we can help, think of them and the lives Labour governments have saved,

and of them, future doctors, poets, husbands, sisters, mothers,

children, the amazing things we can do together, the amazing people we

can help, the things that Labour can do. That is what our politics is all

about. Thank you. Thank you so much for that. I would

now like to invite Andy Burnham to reply to the debate.

What an incredible range of powerful, principled and passionate

speeches. We have had the privilege to hear them this morning, it makes

you proud to be Labour. Please join me in thanking all of our speakers

this morning. This time next year, I hope to be addressing you in a new

capacity. As the first Labour mayor for Greater Manchester.

For someone 15 years a Greater Manchester MP, and who grew up in

the area that I represent, what an honour you have given me. In return,

I will give my all to the people of Greater Manchester and make this

party proud. It is no secret, though, that I also

have ties here. Steve Rotherham asked me how I am going to handle my

football loyalties. It is very simple, Steve. I will be utterly

impartial. As mayor, I will be equally in favour of both city and

United beating Liverpool on a regular basis.

Shame on you! This year, this is the right place for me to deliver my

last speech to you as Shadow Home Secretary. At last, a city of

justice. But not a country of justice. 27 dog

years tell us that. Our mission must be to make it so, a country where

truth and justice are the equal right of all, and no longer linked

to class or connections. To this city, let's make this vow today, to

make Hillsborough a moment of real change. Is it not make you angry

that 30 years on former miners are still struggling for the truth?

Ordinary people who are fighting for their jobs, their communities, their

future, whose own country then tried to put them on trial. It is why even

today Britain still feels like two countries. Norman Tebbit, remember

him? He says an enquiry into all grief will be a waste of money. He

would say that. Let me tell him why it is not. Kevin Thorn, a former

miner who was there, came to Westminster recently to lobby the

Home Secretary for an enquiry. He was asked why, after all of these

years, he is still campaigning. He said this. I want my grandchildren

to be able to trust the police, as I was brought up to do.

Families of those who died in the Birmingham pub bombings were denied

legal support by the Home Secretary. How can that possibly be right? How

can the victims of contaminated blood field they still lost in the

wilderness, searching for the truth? New injustices are happening all the

time. Things are no better today for bereaved families at inquest than

they were for the Hillsborough families in 1990.

They find themselves up against an army of top QCs hired by public

oldies who question them as if they were on trial. This James battled

for a new inquest into the death of his daughter at the deep cut

barracks. When it finally took place, do you know what happened?

The QC representing Surrey Police accused him and his family of

distracting the force from the Milly Dowler investigation. This was the

same QC who just weeks earlier was rerunning discredited slurs about

Liverpool supporters in a Warrington court room. Do you know what sticks

in the throat? He was paid by your taxes to do it. Public money should

pay for the truth, not for the protection of the public sector and

the destruction of bereaved families in the court room. That is not a

country of justice. How much longer will we allow public money to be

spent on the telling of lies, to let the state put bereaved families on

trial? For the rest of my time in Parliament I will fight for the

proposed Hillsborough zero, to rebalance the justice system away

from the establishment and decisively in favour of ordinary

people. I ask you to get fully behind that campaign to stop a law

that says no public body can distort or withhold the truth at inquest,

that guarantees all bereaved families a level playing field and

equal legal funding. And yes, that should include those Birmingham

families. A country of justice. That is our

cause. Achieving it means getting back to our campaigning best. This

is my tenth conference, speaking to you as a Cabinet or a Shadow Cabinet

Minister. And it will be my last. Was that a cheer I heard? It is time

for me to turn my fault focus to Greater Manchester. That is why I

can tell you all first today that I have asked Jeremy to plan for a new

Shadow Cabinet without me, although I will of course stay until it is in

place. It has been my privilege to represent our great party over these

last ten years. But at times the last 12 months have made me

profoundly sad, to hear the achievements of our Labour

Government, in which I was proud to serve, being dismissed as if they

were nothing. Sad that old friendships have been strained.

Sad that old friendships have been strained, that some seem to prefer

fighting each other than fighting the Tories. I have given my all to

this party. I have always put its interests above those of factions

and personalities. I have given exactly the same loyalty to all four

of the Labour leaders that I have had the privilege to serve.

Some say that makes me inconsistent. But you know what? I have an

old-fashioned belief that a Labour government of any kind is a million

times better for my constituents than any Tory government, and that

is more likely to happen if Labour is united.

So let us unite. Let's have an end to divisive talk about deselections.

In return, let's have more respect for the democratic will of you, our

members. This city has taught us all a

lesson, hasn't it. It has reminded us of all people of the immense

power of true solidarity. Let's learn from it. Let's turn the page

and turn our fire on the Tories. Where we have been turning inwards,

they have been taking liberties, bringing back selection in our

schools, abandoning promises to the north, plotting a hardline

right-wing Brexit that burns Britain's bridges. We are the only

hope for people who don't want that. Yes, Labour must listen to our

voters who voted to leave, but let's be the champions of a fair Brexit,

not a hard Brexit, a hard Brexit will hurt our economy, hurt the poor

areas hardest, and turn Britain into a place it has never been, divided,

hostile, narrow-minded. That is how the world is starting to see us.

They think we've changed. After the referendum, the Prime Minister could

have done one simple thing to correct that. She could have secured

the status of EU nationals who chose to make this their home. People who

work in our NHS, care for our relatives, who make a net

contribution to our public finances, whose children are now facing taunts

of, go home, in the playground. Whose homes are painted with

swastikas and whose cars are sprayed with paint saying Polish vermin. She

could have done something to help them, and she chose not to. And

things are not improving. There is a frightening spike in hate crimes. A

young man stabbed in the neck which the broken bottle in Telford earlier

this month are speaking Polish on a night out. And the death of a Polish

man in Harlow just for speaking his language in the street. This is

Britain in 2016. Conference, what are we becoming? When I called a

vote on the status of EU nationals in Parliament, even Boris Johnson

voted with Labour and said Leave campaign had never threatened to

send anybody home, but it seems our new Prime Minister is now

positioning herself to the right of the Leave campaign. At every stage

of the biggest refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War, she

has dragged her feet as Europe has struggled with the enormity of it,

Britain has been wrapped up in its own selfish little world. It has

been left to the courage of people like Alf guards and Yvette Cooper to

stand up for basic British decency, and conference, let us today again

thank them both for it. And now Theresa May rules out a

points-based system for EU migration, saying it is not tough

enough. Where is this heading, Prime Minister? This is not taking our

country back. It is turning us into something we have never, ever been.

It will end up punishing everyone. It risks isolating Britain, damaging

our economy and creating even more hostility on our streets. It will

lead to a tit-for-tat battle with the EU, and the spectre of a US

style ESTA for travellers. That is not what people want, but it is why

people need us to speak for them. Let Labour stand for it fair Brexit,

not a hard Brexit. One that is true to Britain's past, protects our

economy but crucially also provides the change that people voted for.

Conference, this party must fully face up to this fact. Millions of

lifelong Labour supporters voted to leave the EU, and let's be honest,

they voted for change on immigration. We haven't yet even

begun to show them that we understand why. I don't want to hear

this party makes a patronising argument that people didn't

understand their referendum vote. They understood it very well. The

truth is, the EU was working better for some parts of our country than

it was for others. For some of our country's least

affluent areas, it wasn't working well at all. Remember, these were

the places that lost industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and no government

of any side did anything like enough to give them help to get good jobs

back, no government did. Places like my constituency. These are places

that saw house prices collapse and hold terraced streets bought up by

absent private landlords, places that then experienced even more

rapid social change when the EU expanded, cuts to wages, job

insecurity, more pressure on primary schools and GP services. But once

again, no extra help from the Government to cope with it all. And

in fact, it is even worse than that. The same council areas which have

had the biggest cuts from the Tories and are left to take practically all

of the country's asylum seekers while more comfortable areas like

Prime Minister's constituency take none at all.

We have to ask ourselves, is that fair on them? No wonder this feels

like two countries. No wonder some places feel forgotten and abandoned

by the political class. Europe wasn't working for them, and we were

way too slow to see it. Labour voters in constituencies like mine

are not narrow-minded, nor xenophobic, as some would claim.

They are warm and giving. Their parents and grandparents welcomed

thousands of Ukrainians and polls after the Second World War, and

today, they continue to welcome refugees from all over the world.

They have no problem with people coming here to work, but they do

have a problem with people taking them for granted, and with

unlimited, underfunded, and skilled migration which damages their own

living standards, and they have an even bigger problem with an out of

touch elite who doesn't seem to care about any of the issues that they

are facing. If Labour now argues for the status quo, it will look like we

have abandoned them, too. So let's develop a plan for a fair Brexit

deals with these concerns but also supports our economy, and keeps the

Britain we have known open, welcoming, playing its part in the

world, because the truth is, conference, a hard Brexit would hit

these Labour areas hardest of all. The vote in June was about much more

than immigration in Europe, though. It was actually a cry for a real

change in the way our country works. The truth is this. Westminster over

decades has failed the North of England.

APPLAUSE It has created a very unequal

country. Unequal access to truth and justice. And unfair distribution of

wealth, health and life chances. Two countries. Theresa May's response

has been to threaten to pull the plug on the Northern Powerhouse and

Tory promises of investment here. If you do, Prime Minister, it will be

as big a betrayal of the North as Margaret Thatcher's in the 1980s.

Surely the right answer to a Brexit is to deepen the commitment to the

Northern Powerhouse, not abandon it. Try and catch a train from lime

Street later today to Manchester, Leeds or the Northeast, as many of

you no doubt will, then compare to a journey in the south-east. You would

think you were in a different country. 32 years ago, I joined

Labour just 20 miles down the road here towards Manchester to even

things up, to make this a country of justice, and I am still fighting

now, because progress has been far too slow. If anything, the gap has

got wider. My 15 years in Westminster have told me that there

isn't a real will in the British establishment to close that gap, to

listen to the people here. For 20 years, it ignored the cries of

injustice from the city. If it could have ignored them in perpetuity, it

would. I'd just like now, it tries to ignore the Birmingham families,

the Allbritton Shrewsbury Town per in as and those who suffer from

contaminated blood. After the referendum, it is trying

to go back to business as usual. Well, I'm not going to let that

happen, because that will create a crisis in our democracy and a field

day for those who want to peddle hate and division. Have there,

there's a demand for big changes in the this country is run. This party

should be the voice for that change. That is why I am ready to leave

Westminster. It's time to make a change, to challenge the status quo

from the outside. It's time to get the verse of the North heard like it

has never been heard before. For Northern Labour to come to life!

APPLAUSE It is time for Northern Labour to

come to light. Let's seize this moment, put our stamp on devolution

and make it a Labour campaign for a more equal England. Conference, I

thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for the support you have

given me over the last ten years. You have given me the strength to do

things are never thought I could. And in my new capacity coming can

help me do even more. In case you didn't get the hint that means you

are expected in greater Manchester next year to help with the campaign.

APPLAUSE Whatever happens, you know me. You

know I will always be there fighting for this great Labour Party. It is

still the best hope for millions of weaponry working people, and I know

you will be there fighting for it too. So keep the faith, keep

fighting the good fight. From one country, not two, for a country of

Justice, a country where no area is forgotten, when North and South are

equals, where people who come here from around the world are welcomed

as friends, where no kid is labelled second class at age 11. While many

people no longer have to plead for the truth. Where bereaved families

are never put on trial. Where justice doesn't take 27 years. A

country of justice forever Labour's fight, and the legacy we owe to

those 96 lost souls. APPLAUSE Thank you so very much for that,

Andy, and I know I speak for the conference when I say we are with

you in the campaign and every success. Conference, we must now

take the votes on this morning's business. On child refugees, it was

moved by Wilson stole CLP. Can I see are those in favour, please. And all

those against. Carried unanimously, I think. APPLAUSE

The home affairs policy commission annual report, can I see all those

in favour please? And those against? And the home affairs policy

commission priorities commission document, can I see all of those in

favour, and those against. Those are carried. Thank you, conference. In a

second I will hand over the chair to Paddy Lowe less. Before I do just

wanted to say this is my last duty as an NEC member. APPLAUSE

Six years ago, I stood for the NEC to give voice to grassroots

activists, and I hope during that time I have fulfilled on my promise

to put members first. CHEERING APPLAUSE

I've always tried to make sure that you know what is going on at the NEC

and that your views on known to leadership. I have always sought to

speak truth to power and for the duration of the 60s I have been on

the NEC, I have sought a permanent voting position -- the duration of

the six years, I have sought a permanent voting position prevails

on the NEC. APPLAUSE And I'm very proud, conference, that

you agree to that yesterday. Because that fight for people like me who

are from small towns on the West of Scotland, it is not about internal

politics. It was about recognising the devolved settlement across our

nations. APPLAUSE I just want to say thank you to

everybody here who supported me in my time as an NEC member. A review

at conference, the members beyond, members of party staff wouldn't get

recognised enough. It has been an honour and a privilege and I look

forward to seeing you on the Labour doorstep.

Conference, we have had a great conference here in Liverpool with

inspirational speeches and passionate debate, we would like to

thank all of the following organisations and staff that have

helped us with your organisation and delivery of this conference. The

exhibition centre in Liverpool, Liverpool City Council, Merseyside

Police, Burford live, Brad Smith productions, prompt action, OCS

solutions, mobile creche company, north-west Ambulance Service, local

solutions mobility, Mendis displays, EPLF 's electrics and of course our

Labour Party students. -- stewards. APPLAUSE

Conference, on a personal note, I want to record my thanks to the

members of the CAC, who worked tirelessly throughout conference to

help make sure it is a success, so to Harry and his colleagues, I say

thank you. I also want to thank our party staff, including general

Secretary Eoin McNicholl, too often that work behind-the-scenes that

goes unnoticed. Without it we would not be able to achieve half the

things we do as a party. I want to give my personal thanks to you the

members of the party who were the first time delegates or

long-standing veterans have attended conference and contributed to our

debates and discussions, as well as the hundreds of thousands of members

who aren't with us in Liverpool, that through their commitment and

hard work, week in, week out, make labour the campaigning force it is

in our local communities across the country. Finally, colleagues, please

PM your seats by 2:15pm for the leader's speech, after which

conference will close in the traditional way, singing the red

flag and Jerusalem. Thank you all. Conference stands adjourned until

quarter past two.