Liverpool (AFP) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to protect public services and ruled out austerity measures as the Labour Party’s annual conference kicked off on Sunday, its first in 15 years as a governing party.

The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes almost three months after Labour secured a runaway general election victory over the Conservatives.

But the new government is already under pressure on several fronts.

The party will have to find a balance between celebrating Labour’s long-awaited victory, defending its record, and not letting up on reminders of “difficult decisions” to come.

After months of gloom about Britain’s economy, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner struck a more optimistic note in an opening speech on Sunday, standing in front of a red background emblazoned with the slogan “change begins”.

Rayner, who is also in charge of housing and communities, promised to “fix the foundations and put Britain back on the path to growth”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rousing speech with chants of “Britain is back”.

Ahead of the conference, Starmer told the Observer newspaper that his government had in 11 weeks done “far more than the last government did probably in the last 11 years”.

He cited ambitious homebuilding targets, the setting up of a publicly owned green energy investment body and the recruitment of police officers and teachers.

However, an Opinium poll for the Observer ahead of the conference showed that Starmer’s approval rating had suffered a huge drop since July, with only 24 percent approving of the job he was doing.

- ‘Changed Britain’ -

Despite laying the groundwork for likely funding cuts and tax rises in the budget due at the end of October, Starmer told the Sunday Mirror he would not go “down the road of austerity”.

He repeated his warning that he would do the “tough things first”, but also told the Observer he would “make sure that our public services are functioning properly”, and that he would shield working people from tax hikes.

Rayner, in her speech, announced a “historic” overhaul of workers’ rights that will be put to parliament next month, including a ban on zero-hour contracts and a rise in the minimum wage.

She also announced housing measures, weeks after a damning report on the deadly 2017 Grenfell tower blaze in London. They include bringing forward a plan to tackle unsafe cladding and ensuring affordable housing improvements.

Lammy focussed on his mission to return Britain to the global stage in his speech. He spoke about moves to “reset” London’s relationship with Europe and repeated claims of the need to “stand up for international law”.

He also vowed to take action against the threats to Western democracy posed by Iran and Russia.

He devoted a large part of his speech to the conflict in the Middle East, including the latest escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon.

Lammy said that alongside his belief in Israel’s right to be “safe and secure”, he also believed in the “justness of the Palestinian cause”.

- Union pressure -

The conference brings a much-needed morale boost after a week dominated by negative headlines for Starmer.

He was reported to have received more than £100,000 ($132,000) in declared gifts and hospitality since December 2019 – the most of any MP.

While the gifts did not breach parliamentary rules, the row broke as his government was pushing Britons to accept short-term “pain for long-term good” to help fill the £22-billion “black hole” in public finances that he says the Tories left behind.

Labour member Mark Scanlon, 68, told AFP the row was “a ridiculous own-goal after all the fuss and bother” with the scandal-tainted previous Conservative government.

“Daft things like glasses, stuff like that – it’s crazy,” he added.

Criticism by the media and opposition also followed an unpopular move by the government to means-test winter fuel payments that slashed benefits for 10 million pensioners.

The fallout from the cuts has also increased pressure on Labour from unions.

Unite trade union secretary general Sharon Graham said bringing about a turnaround on the policy was a “priority”.

“It’s a cruel policy. I’d like him to say that he’s made a misstep and to reverse that policy,” Graham told Sky News on Sunday.

Starmer hinted at further possible cuts, however.

“It’s going to be tough,” he told the Observer, referring to the budget due at the end of October.

The Conservatives will hold their conference next week amid divisive battles over leadership and the direction of the party.