Boris Johnson is 'lost in the woods' Sir Keir Starmer will tell Labour conference in headline speech

Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer prepares his Labour Party conference speech in his hotel room in Brighton before addressing delegates tomorrow for the first time since becoming leader of his party in 2020 (PA)

Boris Johnson’s Government is “lost in the woods”, Sir Keir Starmer will say on Wednesday, as he gives his first headline speech in-person as leader of the Labour Party.

Politics in the UK “needs to grow to meet the scale of the challenge”, Sir Keir will say, as the country grapples with issues such as recovering from the pandemic, and negotiating a new relationship with Europe.

The speech to the conference hall will come at the end of a sometimes turbulent conference for the party, following in-party fights over leadership election rules and the unexpected resignation of a Shadow Minister.

It is thought that he will focus on the “big questions” facing the country and promise that under his leadership “Labour will be back in business.”

Sir Keir will tell attendees that the country needs “a contribution society in which everyone has their role to play” and is expected to say: “I see the government lost in the woods with two paths beckoning.

"One path leads back where we came from. None of the lessons of Covid are heeded.

“The divisions and flaws that were brutally exposed by the pandemic all worsen.

“But there is another path down which we address the chronic problems revealed by Covid with the kindness and the togetherness that got us through. That path leads to a future in which a smart government enlists the brilliance of scientific invention to create an economy in which people are healthy and well-educated.

"A contribution society in which everyone has their role to play.”