The Spectator

OK. It’s time for some optimism. It doesn’t seem like a year since we last met together in Birmingham. When we did so, my Department had been in existence for little over two months. We had the challenge, but more importantly the wonderful opportunity, to build a new department designed for the trade challenges of the 21st century. It has been a huge honour to be at the centre of such a historic project and to work alongside some of the most talented and energetic people in our country. In a short time, we have achieved so much. We have attracted the brightest and best talent from across Whitehall, the private sector and abroad in order to make sure that we have the skills we need to help British business succeed.

It’s great to be here in Manchester. Or as I call it, the Southern powerhouse. I want to talk to you about the general election. In fact, I want to talk to you about two of them. The first one - two years ago.  And for us in Scotland, the same old story. Knocking our pans in. Hitting countless doors, delivering thousands of leaflets, too many conversations to count, another pair of boots ruined.  And at the end of it all? We started with one MP. We ended with one MP.  We’d survived the SNP tsunami, but were no further forward than when we began.…we were still outgunned by those sodding pandas.  But, two years later, we had a second election – this June. Back on the stump.

We meet here this week as a united Party, advancing in every part of Britain, winning the confidence of millions of our fellow citizens, setting out our ideas and plans for our country’s future, that have already inspired people of all ages and backgrounds. And it’s a privilege to be speaking in Brighton.  A city that not only has a long history of hosting Labour conferences, but also of inspirational Labour activists. It was over a century ago, here in Brighton, that a teenage shop worker had had enough of the terrible conditions facing her and her workmates.

Conference, thank you for being here. Thanks for your enthusiasm, for your passion,  for all your hard work on behalf of the Labour Party, on behalf of our country. I’m grateful to every one of you. Last week, the Prime Minister made yet another speech to reboot, yet again, her Brexit strategy. She chose to deliver this latest oration in the great city of Florence, though no-one seems to know why. For politicians, Florence, even more than the city of Dante, the Medicis and Michelangelo, is the city of Niccolo Machiavelli. I can only assume Michael Gove picked the venue. Michael Gove, who undermined his own Tory leadership bid last year, by admitting he doesn’t have the right skills to be Prime Minster.  For once in his life, he was right.

Conference, it's great to be back in Labour Brighton. And it's great to see our Labour Party so fired up under Jeremy Corbyn. Labour confounded all expectations at the general election this year. Let's be clear, Theresa May called this snap election to try and wipe us out. And boy did she fail. It was inspiring to see millions of people vote for the first time - especially so many young people. And it was inspiring to see so many people who used to vote for our Party return home to Labour. We made huge progress in the general election and the credit for that goes to one person – the leader of our party - Jeremy Corbyn. He mobilised our movement. He motivated our activists and reached voters we hadn't reached before.

It’s good to be here in this great city of Florence today at a critical time in the evolution of the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. It was here, more than anywhere else, that the Renaissance began – a period of history that inspired centuries of creativity and critical thought across our continent and which in many ways defined what it meant to be European. A period of history whose example shaped the modern world. A period of history that teaches us that when we come together in a spirit of ambition and innovation, we have it within ourselves to do great things. That shows us that if we open our minds to new thinking and new possibilities, we can forge a better, brighter future for all our peoples. And that is what I want to focus on today.