Labour’s conference comeback?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, the Political Fix team comes to you from Liverpool — with all the news from the annual Labour Party Conference. Sir Keir Starmer struck a patriotic tone to the Labour faithful, promising to fight Nigel Farage’s “politics of grievance” and build a renewed, healthy Britain “with the flag waving in our hands” — flags he was keen to reclaim from his opponents on the nationalist right.
And that confident tone had also been struck by his chancellor, the day before. Rachel Reeves reaffirmed the need for economic responsibility and a willingness to take tough decisions, whilst taking pot-shots at the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, in the wake of his thinly veiled bid for the Labour leadership last week.
The prime minister arrived in Liverpool with widespread discontent over his leadership, speculation that he could face a challenge and a calamitous -54 poll approval rating. So did Starmer do enough to salvage his floundering premiership?
Host George Parker is joined by Jim Pickard, Anna Gross and Stephen Bush to unpack what the annual conference might mean for the future of the Labour party — and the nation.
Follow George on Bluesky @georgewparker.bsky.social; Stephen @stephenkb.bsky.social; Jim @pickardje.bsky.social and Anna on X @AnnaSophieGross
What did you think of this episode? Let us know at politicalfix@ft.com
Want more? Free links:
Starmer urges Labour to launch ‘patriotic’ fight against Reform
Rachel Reeves signals Budget tax rises, saying ‘world has changed’
Reeves will struggle to sell growth case to UK fiscal watchdog, economists warn
‘Lost the plot’: Tony Blair’s role prompts incredulity —– and some hope
Sign up to Stephen Bush's morning newsletter Inside Politics for straight-talking insight into the stories that matter, plus puns and tongue (mostly) in cheek. Get 30 days free at https://www.ft.com/InsidePoliticsOffer
Presented by George Parker, and produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're looking for a straight talking podcast about money and pensions, you've just found it. |
| 0:05.0 | On the Pension Confident podcast, we get into the personal finance questions that really matter. |
| 0:10.5 | Where is the best place to put your savings? |
| 0:13.1 | Why should you bother with a pension? |
| 0:15.4 | How can you improve your credit score? |
| 0:17.4 | Every month, we tackle a fresh topic with a panel of financial experts who really do speak |
| 0:22.0 | your language when it comes to money. Join me, Philippa Lam, for the Pension Confident podcast. Find us |
| 0:28.0 | wherever you get your podcasts. I'd like to introduce you to your Prime Minister, Mr Kea Starman. |
| 0:37.4 | Hello and welcome to this special episode of Political Fix with me, George Parker. |
| 0:42.8 | We're dropping this show a little early this week as we are live from Liverpool, |
| 0:46.8 | bringing you all the news from the annual political circus, that is the Labour Party Conference. |
| 0:52.8 | Over the last few days, we've seen some juggling acts from Kirstama, |
| 0:56.4 | a high wire act as he tries to salvage his floundering premiership, |
| 1:00.1 | an attempt to tame the roaring lion of Nigel Farage's Reform UK. |
| 1:04.5 | Well, you get the idea. |
| 1:06.0 | Now, this was the Prime Minister speaking in the conference hall |
| 1:08.6 | a few yards from our coffee cup-strewn media centre |
| 1:11.7 | a couple of hours ago. Yet at the end of this hard road, there will be a new country, a fairer |
| 1:18.2 | country, a land of dignity and respect, a Britain that has rediscovered, the belief, the togetherness, |
| 1:26.2 | the pride to take control of its future. |
| 1:29.4 | That's what we're building conference. That's national renewal. A Britain built for all. |
| 1:36.5 | Stama, according to numerous ministers we spoke to, was helped in Liverpool this week |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Financial Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Financial Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.