Keir Starmer warns of trade-offs as he vows to rebuild Britain

The keynote address in Liverpool comes three months after Labour’s landslide general election victory.

With the government already focused on delivering its manifesto promises, the speech contained few new policies.

Instead, Sir Keir focused on long-term reforms, which he argued had been dodged by his Conservative predecessors – including on housebuilding and energy.

He did not repeat his rhetoric from last month about a “painful” Budget, insisting there would be “light at the end of the tunnel”.

But he said he wanted to be straight with people about the challenges the county faces.

“If you bury your head because things are difficult, your country goes backwards,” he told Labour delegates.

“So if we want justice to be served some communities must live close to new prisons.

“If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud.

“If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground otherwise the burden on taxpayers is too much.”

One policy announced by Sir Keir was a confirmation that the headquarters of GB Energy would be in Aberdeen.

He also promised that care leavers, victims of domestic abuse and veterans would get a “guaranteed roof over their head”.

Housing charity Shelter said changing the eligibility rules for social housing would not address the shortage of homes available.

The PM also announced reforms to the apprenticeship system, which he said was a “first step” in a plan to eradicate youth unemployment entirely.

The BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam said the target sounds ambitious and expensive, echoing Gordon Brown’s future jobs fund from the financial crisis.

The PM also addressed the summer riots triggered by the Southport knife attack.

He denounced the violence as “thuggery” and said people who were concerned about immigration should not be confused with those who “smashed up businesses” and “attempted to burn refugees”.

He said the government wanted to reduce “both net migration and our economic dependency upon it” but added: “The debate is not about the worth of migrants – that is toxic and we must move beyond it.”