Starmer has settled Labour nerves - but it cannot be a one-off

To his left, a challenger from within - the self-styled King of the North, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, who’s been touting his own leadership credentials in recent weeks with a staggering lack of subtlety.

To his right, the man riding high in the opinion polls, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

In his speech to the Labour faithful, the prime minister took them both on - in different ways.

He indirectly rebuked Burnham by stating the government’s fiscal rules are “non negotiable” - a thinly veiled reference to the mayor’s recent comments that Downing Street shouldn’t be “in hock” to the bond markets.

It’s a message other cabinet ministers have delivered this week, as well.

The PM’s criticism of Nigel Farage, however, was far more direct.

Whereas once a Labour leader would have taken aim at the Tories, this time it was Reform getting all the flak.

Starmer accused Farage of peddling the “politics of grievance”, selling “Brexit lies” and wanting to turn Britain into a “competition of victims”.

His flag-waving audience lapped it up and the message was clear: Labour’s vision of patriotism stands in stark contrast to Reform’s.

Downing Street will be delighted with how Starmer’s speech was received in the hall.

It was a protest-free display of progressive patriotism, and it was the speech the PM needed to deliver.

As she left the conference hall, I spoke to Labour grandee Dame Emily Thornberry, who said she’d arrived in Liverpool feeling worried, but would be leaving feeling confident in her party again.

No doubt she was turning on a bit of spin, but her sentiment is one I’ve heard echoed through my conversations with MPs and activists.

Burnham’s putative leadership challenge now appears over before it had officially begun.

He was spotted leaving the conference centre shortly before the prime minister’s speech.

As he boarded his train for Manchester, he will have been aware that he leaves Liverpool a diminished figure.

Party activists may be dissatisfied with the government’s performance in office, but they like disloyalty even less - and the consensus seems to be that Burnham has overplayed his hand.

With echoes of the time Michael Portillo was caught installing telephone lines at his office ahead of a rumoured challenge to John Major, Burnham has hubristically torpedoed his own prospects of reaching number 10.

But if Burnham is vanquished, at least for now, Nigel Farage is a man who will be far harder to overcome.

Within minutes of Starmer leaving the stage in Liverpool, the Reform leader was starting a speech of his own - this time accusing Labour of inciting violence against his party’s elected officials and campaigners by labelling their immigration policies as racist.

It was a reminder that however forcefully Starmer denounces Reform, Farage will hit back just as hard - if not harder.

The PM’s punchy performance today will have settled Labour nerves, but it cannot be a one-off if the party is to recover.

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