Thursday’s local elections mean that it is now life or death for this Labour government – and for the Labour Party.

The fate of the last Conservative government is a stark warning of what can happen to a great political party when they lose the trust of the people. Boris Johnson won big in 2019 and six years later no one listens to a word they say.

On the doorstep, the message was the same everywhere: people have had enough.

Enough of low wages and sky‑high bills. Enough of high streets being left to rot.

Enough of crumbling infrastructure and public services that don’t work. Enough of broken promises. Enough of a political class that listens to lobbyists and consultants, not citizens – and lets officials, lawyers and quangos overrule democratic politics.

The late Pope Francis said that we are not living through an era of change, but a change of era. He was right about that.

The era of Tony Blair and New Labour was one of globalisation, of free movement and the European Union. Everybody should go to university and industry was a dirty business best left to China. 

Questioning any of it, we were told, would be as futile as ‘debating whether autumn should follow summer’.

Well, the world we are in now is very different. It is an era of nation states, of war, of industry. Donald Trump is pursuing protectionism in the White House as part of a Great Power rivalry with China. A land war drags on in Europe’s periphery. Suddenly, national production, where things are made and who makes them, matters again.

It’s an era that demands security, sovereignty and solidarity. An era that cries out for Labour values – if only we can rediscover faith in our own tradition. That tradition is embodied in Ernest Bevin, Aneurin Bevan and Barbara Castle. Labour was always a patriotic party: built by the working class, for the working class, of the working class.

And it was the working class that turned its back on Labour last Thursday. They understand that the present system is not working in their interests or for their values. People feel abandoned – not just economically, but morally. 

They look at Westminster and see strangers in charge. More and more, they are turning to Reform. Not because they think Nigel Farage has the answers, but because, as one voter put it: ‘He can’t be worse than the rest of them.’

In their eyes, the political establishment has for decades failed to provide a well-run health service, build the homes we need or control immigration and asylum. Voters are resolved to punish those responsible. The democratic politics on which we pride ourselves only works when people believe that they matter. It hasn’t worked like that for a long time.

It doesn’t work for you, but it works for Westminster.

Over decades, Westminster has snuffed out the role of civic society in our body politic. What’s been left is a cumbersome state that’s large and bloated but ineffective, as well as a rigged market that entrenches low pay, low productivity and oppresses every aspect of our lives.

Families are pulled apart by unaffordable housing, insecure jobs and public services that can’t cope. The sense of common purpose has been lost.

I lead a group in the House of Commons called Blue Labour. And we believe the party can still be saved – if it remembers who it was built for. We believe Keir Starmer could be a great prime minister. 

But that will only happen if he turns words into action, if he governs with the strength now needed. We see glimpses of the right direction. But it’s time to set out a strategy for national renewal.

We believe Brexit was a turning point in our national story. But we are yet to grasp the opportunities the Leave victory gave us. The role of government is to protect our freedoms, defend our democracy and uphold the peace of the realm. And that starts with sovereignty.

Politicians have to face the truth: globalisation and neo‑liberal economics have hollowed out our industries, stripped us of skilled jobs, auctioned off the family silver to profiteers, and enabled oligarchs to leech our wealth and stash it in offshore tax havens.

The Chinese have the same symbol for threat and opportunity, and Trump’s election is exactly that. The world order is being shaken up and Britain must assert its place within it. Sovereignty requires us to hold our own and have the strength to lead, as we have on Ukraine.

It begins with restoring the strength of our Armed Forces. Vladimir Putin’s invasion has changed Europe. If Britain is to lead, it must be able to act.

Increased defence spending is not only a security matter, but a platform for rebuilding our economy. It can be the spark for wider re-industrialisation – reviving sectors that improve lives, from medical manufacturing to steel, aerospace and clean, home-grown energy – while creating secure, unionised jobs. 

If we don’t do this, then all the mistakes of the Tories will be repeated: an endless shuffling of the deck and projects that vanish. It’s time to get Britain building and making again.

This also requires a new approach to education. I would close half our universities and turn them into vocational colleges. We need to renew the skills required for production, not produce an endless stream of graduates for email jobs and human resources.

Artificial intelligence is a potential blessing as well as a menace. If we ensure it serves workers instead of replacing them, AI can become part of the next industrial revolution – anchored in public investment and national purpose.

I represent one of the most deprived areas in the country – Walton in Liverpool. It is a place blighted by despair. I want that to change, and I believe it can.

Labour’s mission is in its name – with a decent job comes personal dignity and pride.

We can be proud again – of our industry, history and purpose. Labour can deliver national renewal, but only by rediscovering its tradition and cause.