Prime Minister opens Labour conference in Liverpool with tribute to Hillsborough families
Sir Keir Starmer spoke about a new law created in their name
Last updated 28th Sep 2025
The Prime Minister has opened Labour's conference in Liverpool with an emotional tribute to the Hillsborough families, celebrating a new law in their name.
Sir Keir Starmer told the party's members:
"I am delighted to say that this year we do not have to make any more vows - we have a law, the Hillsborough Law.
"A law which shows that this Government is on the side of justice, that we will do the hard yards for working people, and that we're building a country which sees and respects everyone.
"It's an incredibly important moment for the 97, for Liverpool, but most of all, for the whole country. And conference, we must recognise that it was an unacceptably long and hard fight for the campaigners, for the families and victims of Hillsborough to get us to this point.
"And so it's not the Government that should be thanked, it's not me that should be thanked. It's the families and campaigners, who after such unimaginable loss, had almost every obstacle put in their path to get to justice."
A campaigner whose father died in the Hillsborough disaster has warned MPs that she "will be watching" when they debate a law named in honour of the victims.
Campaigner Charlotte Hennessy said their "input hasn't ended just because" the Government backed the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law.
Instead, supporters of a new law will follow its progress through Parliament until it is on the statute books, she said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer brought Ms Hennessy onto the stage at his party's conference in Liverpool.
"Our group is filled with the kindest, most empathetic, fierce, tenacious and powerful people, all who continue to battle injustice, yet through their own suffering, they want to protect others and wanted to change the flaw within our justice system," Ms Hennessy told the conference audience.
Her father, Jimmy, was one of the 97 victims who died after the fatal stadium crush involving Liverpool FC supporters at the Sheffield Wednesday ground in 1989, when she was aged six.
She said their families were "left with no transparency, no truth" only "justice cover-ups and a system that closes ranks and protects those who we should trust - ordinary people that are thrown into an alien system designed to shield the state from scrutiny and accountability.
Ms Hennessy said supporters of a duty of candour for public officials included victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people, and the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
She also revealed she had declined Labour's invitations to speak in previous years.
"And after a frank and honest conversation with the Prime Minister, I shared my reasons why but I also shared why this year is different, and I said that I wanted to come and tell people about what we have achieved," she said.
The campaigner said: "I told the Prime Minister, 'don't let this Public (Office) Accountability Bill be watered down now. Our members have been through enough'.
"And he looked me in my eyes and said, 'it doesn't need watering down, Charlotte.'
"I hope that message runs clear to all those who fear the truth and still continue to oppose this law.
"Our input hasn't ended just because it's started its journey through Parliament.
"We will be watching, we will be listening, and we will continue to follow its progress until it is passed in its entirety.
"No more fighting the state alone with no money for legal representation.
"No more cover-ups, no more protecting those who abuse their position of power.
"And for those who choose to ignore this legislation, you will face criminal charges and you will go to prison."
After her speech, Labour Party delegates and activists stood with Sir Keir to sing the Liverpool FC anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, joined by the Liverpool Show Choir.
Three men in the crowd, two wearing Liverpool FC ties, held up a red and ochre scarf as they sang.
Prime Minister warns Labour of 'fight of our lives' with Reform UK
The Prime Minister has also pleaded with Labour members to give him space to lead the party in the "fight of our lives" against Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged the public's frustration with the time taken to deliver the change people voted for in last year's landslide general election win.
But he insisted he can turn the situation around and called on Labour to end the "introspection" and "navel-gazing" as speculation mounted about his position.
In an interview on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir Starmer said there is "a lot of hard work to do" for his administration to deliver the change promised as he secured the election victory last year.
The scale of the challenge facing Sir Keir has been underlined by a poll indicating Mr Farage could be on course for Downing Street, with Labour reduced to just 90 seats.
The slump in both Labour's poll ratings and Sir Keir's personal approval has fuelled leadership speculation, with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham suggesting he has been privately urged by MPs to challenge the Prime Minister.
Sir Keir said he will be "judged at the next election" on whether he has improved living standards, the NHS and security.
"I'll be judged at the end of that five years, and quite right too," he said. "But I just need the space to get on and do what we need to do, to do those three things above all else, but also - in a world which is more volatile than any of us have known for a very long time - to ensure that the United Kingdom is safe and secure.
"We have got the fight of our lives ahead of us, because we've got to take on Reform, we've got to beat them.
"So now is not the time for introspection or navel-gazing. There is a fight that we are all in together and every single member of our party and our movement, actually everyone who cares about what this country is, whether they vote Labour or otherwise, it's the fight of our lives for who we are as a country. We need to be in that fight united, not navel-gazing."
Asked how much trouble he is in, Sir Keir said: "We've got a lot of hard work to do."
He highlighted achievements including increasing NHS appointments and rolling out an expansion of childcare.
"We inherited a complete mess, a broken economy, a broken public services," the Prime Minister said.
"We said we would change that, and I always said that would take time. But I do understand people are frustrated."