Good morning. Are you feeling the Blitz spirit?<\/p>\n
The defining message of Keir Starmer\u2019s conference speech pitches Labour at war for the soul of the country, engaged in a battle every bit as momentous as rebuilding Britain after the second world war. The assembled Labour ministers, staff and paid-up members of the public alternately clapped and waved their union jacks.<\/p>\n
It followed a week of rallying cries to the Labour<\/a> base, in which Starmer decried the \u201cdivision and decline\u201d under the \u201csnake oil merchant\u201d Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n Yet earlier this week, as I walked around Liverpool\u2019s Albert Docks the atmosphere at Labour\u2019s 2025 conference felt subdued. Despite the prime minister\u2019s bombastic call to arms, there was a striking absence of energy among conference attenders, few of whom even appeared to be grassroot activists at all, so dominant were the lobbyists, parliamentary apparatchiks and thinktankers.<\/p>\n I spent the conference speaking with the members who remain. Some were energised by Starmer\u2019s message; others sounded disillusioned or exhausted. But can Labour really win again without them? We\u2019ll explore that in today\u2019s newsletter, after the headlines.<\/p>\n Five big stories<\/p>\n Gaza | Donald Trump has given Hamas an ultimatum<\/a> of \u201cthree or four days\u201d to respond to his proposed peace and reconstruction plan in Gaza, warning the militant group would \u201cpay in hell\u201d if it rejects the deal, as the Israeli offensive continued, inflicting further civilian casualties.<\/p>\n US politics | The US government shut down on Wednesday<\/a>, after congressional Democrats refused to support a Republican plan to extend funding for federal departments unless they won a series of concessions centered on healthcare.<\/p>\n Afghanistan | Afghans are living under a near-complete communications blackout after Taliban authorities cut internet and mobile phone services <\/a>for a second day as part of an unprecedented country-wide crackdown. The administration offered no immediate explanation for the blackout, although in recent weeks it has voiced concern about pornography online.<\/p>\n UK news | Police have responded to online speculation after a gang-rape in Banbury by saying that there is no evidence linking the crime to migrant accommodation<\/a>. The force said that \u201cany assumptions being made are unfounded and unhelpful\u201d.<\/p>\n Inequality | Scientists have linked the impact of living in an unequal society to structural changes in the brains of children<\/a> \u2013 regardless of individual wealth \u2013 for the first time. The findings suggest \u201cinequality creates a toxic social environment\u201d that \u201cliterally shapes how young minds develop\u201d, researchers said.<\/p>\n In depth: \u2018We will fight you with everything we have\u2019The cabinet applauds Keir Starmer. Photograph: Hannah McKay\/Reuters<\/p>\n During his conference speech, Starmer sounded most passionate \u2013 almost inspiring, if you can believe it \u2013 when defending the country\u2019s diversity. \u201cIf you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern: it\u2019s criminal. This party is proud of our flags, yet if they are painted alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to \u2018go home\u2019, that\u2019s not pride; that\u2019s racism,\u201d he told activists, to loud applause.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you say or imply that people cannot be British because of the colour of their skin, if you say they should be deported \u2026 mark my words we will fight you with everything we have,\u201d he added. It was a message many in Liverpool have longed to hear from their leader.<\/p>\n The speech was, overall, a success, according to the Guardian\u2019s snap analysis<\/a> by Andrew Sparrow. Later, the Guardian\u2019s political editor Pippa Crerar noted that Starmer\u2019s steeliness and determination<\/a> will give him much-needed breathing room. The BBC and The Times struck a similar note.<\/p>\n Thinktanks on the left joined in on the applause. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said Starmer \u201cset out the start of a big progressive vision\u201d. British Future, which is focusing on community cohesion, praised the speech for \u201cdefending the principle of asylum as well as secure borders, challenging racism while addressing\u201d. The New Economics Foundation, a leftwing thinktank, welcomed the prime minister\u2019s focus on the \u201cimportance of a \u2018muscular state\u2019 with adequate public investment\u201d.<\/p>\n Starmer, it seems, has finally found his voice. But will enough people rally to his battle cry?<\/p>\n The architect of Valhalla<\/p>\n Before we dive too deeply into what went down at conference, let\u2019s first lay out just how bad things are for Labour. On Monday morning, legendary pollster John Curtice delivered a sobering presentation at an event on Labour\u2019s current polling predicament. The room watched in silence as he laid out the scale of the crisis: Labour has suffered the sharpest fall in support for a newly elected government in history. A poll released that morning found Keir Starmer to be the least popular prime minister in the history of their polling. It was pretty grim stuff.<\/p>\n So what should Labour do? Curtice\u2019s big warning was that \u201cyou can\u2019t just focus on Reform if you\u2019re going to recover from the situation that you\u2019re in\u201d. Labour, he stressed, was bleeding votes not only to Reform, but also to the Liberal Democrats and to the Greens, now led by eco-populist Zack Polanski.<\/p>\n The real drivers of discontent, Curtice said, were not immigration but frustration with the economy and the NHS, the very issues that had brought Labour into power in 2024. And most crucially, he argued that the government needed a powerful, unifying vision.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Keir Starmer did last year was say, \u2018Hello, I am your nice, friendly local plumber. I believe you\u2019ve got quite a lot of leaks in your policy pipes. So I\u2019m going to come along and bung it up for you,\u2019\u201d Curtice said. \u201c[But] the public aren\u2019t looking to politicians to be their local friendly plumber \u2013 they\u2019re looking to their politicians to be the architect of Valhalla. They want a new house, not the old house repaired, and it\u2019s the sense of: what does the new house that this country would occupy look like?\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier, when Curtice was asked if there was any glimmer of hope in the data, he was silent, sparking nervous laughter across the room. \u201cThe honest answer to that is no.\u201d<\/p>\n What do members want to hear?<\/p>\n My gut feeling, that true members were hard to find, is borne out by the data. Labour has lost almost 200,000 members in the past five years, according to the party\u2019s latest annual accounts. Membership now stands at about 309,000, down from a peak of more than half a million.<\/p>\n This decline matters because the fight against Reform cannot be won through rhetoric alone. It requires people willing to take the argument into their local communities: to deliver leaflets, knock on doors and persuade neighbours of Labour\u2019s vision for the country.<\/p>\n As I wandered through the conference halls on Sunday and Monday, speaking to those activists present to get a sense of what they hoped to hear in Keir Starmer\u2019s big speech, the same topics came up again and again: the removal of the two-child benefit cap, tougher sanctions on Israel, and greater investment in local communities.<\/p>\n Those demands were largely unanswered in Starmer\u2019s speech, though the Guardian\u2019s reporting suggests the government is looking into removing the two-child benefit cap<\/a> and exploring options of a new tapered system.<\/p>\n Still, members and local councillors welcomed the direct attack the prime minister launched against Reform. For many, clearly stating what Labour is opposed to felt like the first step toward defining what it actually stands for.<\/p>\n Tansaim Hussain-Gul, a Labour party member and trade union activist, knows Labour has a big battle ahead of it in Wales, where she\u2019s based. Polls currently show Reform as set to off-set Welsh Labour at next May\u2019s local elections.<\/p>\n \u201cI am glad they\u2019re on the attack because it means we can give back as good as we can get,\u201d Hussain-Gul said. \u201cWe know we\u2019ve got a fight, we\u2019ve got a threat there, but the best way forward is making sure we show the positives, the changes that we have done as a Labour government over the last couple of years in Wales and show our members what the consequences will be if Reform do get in.\u201d<\/p>\n Where are the young people?<\/p>\n The lack of younger activists this year was also notable. The data shows youth membership has plummeted from 100,000 to 30,000.<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s speech attempted to send a strong message to those who can\u2019t remember a world without social media, promising to scrap Tony Blair\u2019s aim to get 50% of young people in university, replacing it with a new mission where two-thirds of children get a degree or gold-standard apprenticeship.<\/p>\n Again, he sounded more heartfelt when discussing how he was put on a pedestal for attending university, while his siblings were looked down on for taking a professional trade. But it is unclear whether the promise of more apprenticeships will be enough to mobilise young people.<\/p>\n Before the speech, I spoke to 25-year-old Jack Ballingham, who was slumped on the floor alongside others taking a break. He talked to me about the impact of losing so many young members. \u201cYou need fresh perspectives in the movement because if you don\u2019t have that, you get stuck in the same old ideas. I think young people are really at the sharp end of a lot of problems in society and know what the solution should be, but they\u2019re not really being listened to.\u201d<\/p>\n When I asked if he felt reinvigorated by being at conference, he said: \u201cThis year the conference has been,\u201d he paused. \u201cIt feels quite unusual. There\u2019s not as many people, and the people that are here seem to be more obvious corporate types rather than activist members and delegates. It\u2019s supposed to be a big democratic exercise for the party, but it feels a bit more like a policy convention for policymakers who want to try and get a bit of influence.\u201d<\/p>\n What lessons can Labour learn from defeating the BNP?<\/p>\n Reform is not the first populist right insurgency Labour has had to deal with. In 2010, the British National Party posed a serious challenge to formerly staunch Labour constituencies such as Barking, where its leader, Nick Griffin, stood for parliament.<\/p>\n Labour lost nationally, but in Barking it held the seat with an increased majority and wiped the BNP off the local council altogether. The story of how Labour saw off the far right has since hardened into folklore; one that, amusingly, many now claim to have witnessed first-hand.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Margaret Hodge is rightly at the centre of this tale, as the MP who beat Griffin. In a recent post on Substack, Fraser Nelson, the former editor of the Spectator, noted her warning that labelling Reform \u201cracist\u201d could push disillusioned voters closer to Nigel Farage, and that engaging with their concerns was essential. Others, like Morgan McSweeney, are cast as masterminds, credited with ensuring the council delivered on basic service; and doing very simply what a council should do as key to fighting off the far right.<\/p>\n As someone who grew up in Barking, a former child refugee who gained citizenship and turned 18 the month before casting my first vote in 2010, some of this myth-making makes me chuckle. It is true that Hodge threw herself into conversations her peers had once avoided. But what often gets forgotten is the sheer scale of mobilisation<\/a> it took to oppose the BNP: there were 150,000 letters sent, 22,000 doors knocked, 9,000 voter contacts, 20,000 questionnaires delivered.<\/p>\n And beyond Labour, up to 1,000 anti-fascist activists campaigned relentlessly. The Hope Not Hate campaign temporarily moved its base of operations to a warehouse in neighbouring Dagenham<\/a>. Other organisations such as Love Music, Hate Racism would come to our schools and offer a vision of Britain worth dancing and fighting for.<\/p>\n It was a deeply politicising moment. We felt our home was under threat and rallied to defend it. It is that same fighting spirit that the Labour leadership has adopted at this conference, but I did not see that same energy among the base. If Labour is serious about meeting the threat from Reform, it will not only need a vision worth fighting for, but also a core of diverse people of all ages, races and religions who passionately want to be part of that fight.<\/p>\n What else we\u2019ve been reading\u2018His appearance is so coolly detached and rarefied that he looks more like a drawing\u2019 \u2026 Marina Hyde on Jared Kushner. Photograph: Alex Brandon\/AP<\/p>\n Yesterday, Jared Kushner completed a leveraged buyout of video games behemoth Electronic Arts and heard his father-in-law praise the Gaza \u201cpeace plan\u201d he has allegedly worked on with Tony Blair. Marina Hyde says<\/a> maybe we\u2019ve misjudged this guy. No, just kidding. Archie<\/p>\n The world\u2019s biggest sporting event arrives in LA in 2028, under the shadow of a turbulent second Trump presidency. Our US colleagues spell out<\/a> what\u2019s at stake, and why, for Trump and city politicians alike, the Olympics\u2019 success or failure could mean mutually assured destruction. Aamna<\/p>\n Pjotr Sauer has a good piece<\/a> about the Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, and his tentative attempts to mend fences with the west \u2013 without blowing his relationship with Vladimir Putin. Archie<\/p>\n Putting on a convincing Irish accent is an art. As Helen Mirren recently learned<\/a>, getting it wrong can spark virality for all the wrong reasons, and invite brutal criticism. Aamna<\/p>\n My own objection to the dystopian creation of Tilly Norwood, the nonexistent AI \u201cactor\u201d allegedly being touted as the next Scarlett Johansson, is what a pathetic white bread name they picked. \u201cShe\u201d is also, Stuart Heritage points out<\/a>, the average movie executive\u2019s \u201cplatonic ideal of what an actor should be\u201d. Archie<\/p>\n SportGalatasaray\u2019s Victor Osimhen celebrates scoring their first goal Photograph: \u00dcmit Bekta\u015f\/Reuters<\/p>\n Football | Victor Osimhen\u2019s first-half penalty sent Galatasaray on their way to a 1-0 Champions League win<\/a> at home after a limp performance from Liverpool. Separately Jos\u00e9 Mourinho\u2019s return to Stamford Bridge ended in defeat as an own goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 win against Benfica<\/a> in the Champions League.<\/p>\n Athletics | The coach who guided Laura Muir to Olympic and world championship medals has been banned for three years<\/a> for serious misconduct, which included driving at speed with an athlete in his car following a disagreement before abandoning them at the roadside.<\/p>\n Tennis | Carlos Alcaraz won his seventh title from nine consecutive finals<\/a> at the Tokyo Open, beating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4. His 92% win rate this year is among the strongest of the last decade.<\/p>\n The front pagesGuardian front page 1 October Photograph: Guardian<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Decency or division\u2019: Britain faces an era-defining choice, says PM,\u201d is the splash on the Guardian on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe day Labour dragged politics into the gutter,\u201d says the Daily Mail. \u201cI can clean up the almighty mess as next PM,\u201d writes the Express. \u201cStarmer musters flag-waving Labour for \u2018patriotic\u2019 battle against Reform,\u201d is the lead story at the FT, while the Metro has \u201cPM: \u2018Snake oil\u2019 Farage wants Britain to fail,\u201d and the Mirror: \u201cPride over prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018I won\u2019t surrender our flag\u2019\u201d says the Telegraph, as the i opts for: \u201cTwo-child benefit cap will be lifted in Reeves Budget,\u201d and the Star: \u201cKeir\u2019s snakes and leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, the Sun with \u201cNicole files for divorce after \u20183yrs apart\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n Today in FocusSir Keir Starmer addresses the Labour Party conference. Photograph: James McCauley\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Starmer takes aim at Farage<\/p>\n The Labour leader entered conference with the polls against him and Reform UK snapping at his heels. He came out fighting \u2013 but was it enough to change his critics\u2019 minds? Peter Walker discusses with Helen Pidd whether it was enough to change the minds<\/a> of Starmer\u2019s critics.<\/p>\n Cartoon of the day | Ben JenningsBen Jennings cartoon Illustration: Ben Jennings\/The GuardianThe Upside<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/p>\n Don\u2019t just roll with it, give yourself a push \u2026 Composite: Catherine Falls Commercial\/Guardian Design; Catherine Falls Commercial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n At some point in their career everyone experiences feeling unfulfilled at work. But with confidence in the UK job market weakening, and competition for roles increasing, more people than ever are clinging to positions they would rather leave.<\/p>\n