Labour conference votes to put pledge to introduce PR in manifesto - despite Starmer already ruling it out The proportional representation motion has been carried. There is quite loud cheering – even though Keir Starmer has said he will ignore the vote, and not include PR in the Labour manifesto. The motion says: Labour must make a commitment to introduce proportional representation for general elections in the next manifesto. During his first term in office the next Labour government must change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR. Labour should convene an open and inclusive process to decide the specific proportional voting system it will introduce. There is a long history of Labour leaders ignoring conference votes they don’t like – even though conference is supposedly meant to be the supreme policy making body in the party. But that does not mean votes of this kind are always pointless. Opinion on policy shifts over time, and at the very least this makes the case for PR harder to ignore. As my colleague Jessica Elgot has pointed out (see 8.19am), the Labour manifesto could include some ambiguous waffle that does not commit the party to PR – but that could keep open the option of a move in that direction were Starmer to change his mind. Early evening summary Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has vowed to reinstate the top 45% rate of income tax and put the money into NHS recruitment. Delegates at the Labour party conference have voted to include a commitment to proportional representation in the manifesto for the next election – even though Keir Starmer has already ruled out the idea. (See 6pm.) Labour would renationalise the railways, its conference has been told, although Keir Starmer will continue to face pressure after delegates unanimously passed union-backed motions urging public ownership of Royal Mail and inflation-proof pay rises. Sterling came under fresh, heavy pressure on the world’s financial markets after the Bank of England ruled out an emergency rise in interest rates to defend the struggling UK currency. The Green party has welcome the Labour conference’s decision to vote to put a commitment to proportional representation in the manifesto. (See 6pm.) Zack Polanski, the Green’s deputy leader, said: It’s promising to see Labour members vote overwhelmingly to join with the rest of Europe and embrace modern, fair and proportional elections in the UK. However, it’s disappointing that Keir Starmer appears to remain unmoved by the democratic rights of his own members. The Labour leadership needs to honour the wishes of members – as well as a growing number of unions and many Labour MPs – by ending their defence of a broken first-past-the-post system. Two-party politics is long dead. We are in an era of multi-party politics, particularly for those who support progressive centre-left policies. It is in the interests of both Labour and the majority of the British public for their party to embrace PR. If Keir Starmer does not listen to his members and back PR, it will leave him ensuring future Tory victories. Labour conference votes to put pledge to introduce PR in manifesto - despite Starmer already ruling it out The proportional representation motion has been carried. There is quite loud cheering – even though Keir Starmer has said he will ignore the vote, and not include PR in the Labour manifesto. The motion says: Labour must make a commitment to introduce proportional representation for general elections in the next manifesto. During his first term in office the next Labour government must change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR. Labour should convene an open and inclusive process to decide the specific proportional voting system it will introduce. There is a long history of Labour leaders ignoring conference votes they don’t like – even though conference is supposedly meant to be the supreme policy making body in the party. But that does not mean votes of this kind are always pointless. Opinion on policy shifts over time, and at the very least this makes the case for PR harder to ignore. As my colleague Jessica Elgot has pointed out (see 8.19am), the Labour manifesto could include some ambiguous waffle that does not commit the party to PR – but that could keep open the option of a move in that direction were Starmer to change his mind. The “in conversation” has just ended. “You’ve all got fringes to go to,” Lucy Powell says. But first they have to vote on the afternoon composites, including PR. Starmer says mini-budget means Tories can no longer be party of aspiration, because they only care for those at top Keir Starmer says the reaction of the markets against the mini-budget is not abstract. It means investors think their investments are at risk. He says the Tories can never again claim to be the party of sound finances. He says Kwasi Kwarteng would never have been able to get a plan like that past Rachel Reeves. Her fiscal rules are like iron, he says. And he says the mini-budget also means the Tories can never claim to be the party of aspiration, because they are holding back the aspirations of millions of people and only favouring those at the top. Johnson "all about character", Truss "all about ideology", says Starmer Keir Starmer urges Labour members to “enjoy just for one minute” that they got rid of Boris Johnson. That gets a round of applause. He says Johnson was “all about character”. Liz Truss is “all about ideology”. He says it is astonishing that Truss thought lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses would help people with the cost of living. And he objects to the idea that the only people who grow the economy are those at the very top. He says this approach does not work, and it is immoral. And he says the people how grow the economy are people like bus drivers, software engineers and teachers. The “in conversation” has turned from football to politics, and Gary Neville says he was shocked by the mini-budget last week. And he suggests that the reason why Liz Truss opposes a windfall tax on energy companies is that she once worked for Shell. Starmer says cross-party support for independent football regulator not guaranteed with Truss as PM Starmer says he recently visited the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield. He says, with his son now going to football matches, he found it extraordinarily moving reading the names and ages of the people who were killed. He says when Labour gets into power, it will set up an independent regulator for football. (See 4.51pm.) He says this will bring justice for Hillsborough. He says there was cross-party support for the report by Tracey Crouch proposing a regulator. But he thinks the plan is now under threat, because Liz Truss is ideologically opposed to “anything that looks like regulation”. Starmer and Gary Neville in conversation Keir Starmer is in conversation now with Gary Neville, the former England footballer and TV pundit. They are appearing with Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary. Earlier I said it was not clear who was interviewing whom, but now we know. Powell is moderating, and pitching questions to Starmer and Neville. Starmer sounds a bit star-struck. He can’t stop laughing. Powell asks him if he has any advice for Neville. Starmer says coming into politics a bit later in life was helpful. He says Neville’s experience would stand him in good stead. (But Neville said earlier today he does not want a career in politics. See 2.56pm.) "No, nay, never" - Ian Murray restates Labour refusal to do deals with SNP Labour will never do any deals with the SNP, the shadow Scottish secretary, Ian Murray, said in his speech. He told delegates: [The SNP] don’t want to make devolution work. They don’t want a Labour government. Conference, let me be very clear – the SNP are not our friends – they exist for one reason only - to rip Scotland out of the UK. And don’t forget, at the last election Nicola Sturgeon encouraged people in England to vote Green, not Labour. So let me reiterate Keir’s message - No deals with the SNP. None. No, nay, never. The only deal we want to make is directly with the Scottish people. Nandy says Labour wants to see more people in social housing than in private rented sector Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, told delegates in her speech that Labour wanted to make social housing the second most common form of housing again. She said: The Tories have turned housing into a racket. Incentivising speculation and profiteering while millions languish on waiting lists in cold damp homes. So we will mend the deliberate vandalism of our social housing stock. Because the idea of a home for life handed on in common ownership to future generations. Is an idea worth fighting for. Council housing is not a dirty word. So today, I can announce we will be the first government in a generation to restore social housing to the second largest from of tenure. This will be our mantra. Council housing, council housing, council housing. We’re going to rebuild our social housing stock and bring homes back into the ownership of local councils and communities. According to the latest English Housing Survey, 65% of households in England in 2020-21 were owner-occupiers, 19% were in the private rented sector and 17% were in the social rented sector. There are almost twice as many people saying they have confidence in Keir Starmer and Labour to tackle the cost of living crisis as there are people saying they trust Liz Truss and the Tories to deal with it, new polling from YouGov suggests. Lucy Powell confirms Labour will set up independent statutory regulator for football At the Labour conference event where Keir Starmer and Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary will appear with Gary Neville (see 2.56pm), which will start shortly, Starmer and Powell will confirm Labour’s commitment to an independent statutory regulator for football. Powell said: Football brings our country together. Clubs are at the heart of communities, and great sources of identity and pride in our towns. The meteoric rise of the Premier League has put English football at the top of the world, but the benefits are not being fairly shared in the football pyramid. Without financial oversight and regulation, many clubs have been left open to transient owners taking big gambles with their club’s future. Despite bigger revenues than ever coming in to football, the financial sustainability of the pyramid has never been more at risk. The government is abandoning the football community, particularly across the north and Midlands, which are calling out for reform. Labour will legislate for an independent regulator to safeguard the long-term sustainability of football. Kwarteng decides Westminster will have to wait another eight weeks for OBR"s verdict on mini-budget Economists, currency traders, MPs and everyone else will have to wait another eight weeks until they can read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s verdict on the mini-budget, the Treasury has announced. The OBR will publish its next economic forecast on Wednesday 23 November. That will coincide with Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, announcing his medium-term fiscal plan on that day. Kwarteng was strongly criticised for not allowing the OBR to produce a forecast alongside his mini-budget on Friday. If the OBR had been allowed to do one, it is likely that it would have said that Kwarteng was on course to break his fiscal rules, that the tax cuts announced were inflationary, and that any impact the tax cuts had on growth would not be enough to compensate for the significant increase in borrowing. Kwarteng was able to avoid an OBR forecast because he decided not to treat the Friday statement as a formal budget. He had been expected to hold a formal budget later this year, but the Treasury has said that now it will be in the spring. As a proper budget, it will be accompanied by a further OBR forecast.