'The future's bleak and scary' Allies believe in PM, but does the country?

In the imposing marble rooms of the Methodist Central Hall in the heart of Westminster yesterday, the great and the good of the progressive movement gathered at what many fear is an existential moment for their brand of centre-left politics.

- Pippa Crerar Political editor

Keir Starmer was on punchier form than usual, telling the summit that he was up for the fight against the populist right’s “industrialised infrastructure of grievance”.

But while his onstage discussion with Canada’s Mark Carney and Australia’s Anthony Albanese was met with murmurs of approval from the room, there was an underlying unease that it might not be enough to counter the political storm unleashed by Nigel Farage.

“It all sounded so reasonable and reassuring,” said one former UK government adviser at the event. “But is the future really bright for progressives? Far from it. It’s bleak and scary.”

The scale of Starmer’s challenge at home - from the right, from a critical public and, increasingly, from within his own party - will be on stark display as he arrives in Liverpool for Labour’s conference this weekend.

Much to his frustration, the prime minister’s autumn got off to a disastrous start, with announcements on a US tech deal, the Hillsborough law and an expansion of free childcare overshadowed by missteps and resignations which left doubts over his leadership. With Labour MPs now openly questioning whether Starmer can survive, the party’s internal warfare broke into the open this week with Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, saying he would seek to challenge the prime minister if there was a path to do so.

Starmer desperately needs this conference to draw a line under the chaos, to prove to his party and the country that he is best placed to challenge Reform despite lagging behind in the polls, and, perhaps most importantly, that he can leave them feeling hopeful for the future.