“When Keir Starmer relaunched his govt this month an ally of the PM told Bloomberg his new unofficial slogan was “just f***ing do it” – no more tinkering or half measures on growth, planning, migration.” Alex Wickham, Bloomberg UK Political Editor 

Labour conference was way more positive than I expected. Much of the commentary one sees coming from Liverpool is nonsense.  

Parts of the media would have you believe everyone was sobbing as they searched for Andy Burnham.  

Instead, there remained plenty of hope from a government only 20% into its term and Andy had got on most people’s nerves about a week before conference started. 

Absolutely the Labour Party is terrified of Reform.  

And of course, there’s an orderly queue of MPs (and others) who might fancy being our next Prime Minister. But that is literally how politics works. That is always the case.  

Yes, things are difficult. And no, I’m not confident a bad budget or terrible elections next May won’t trigger a tailspin.  

Keir’s well positioned speech – authentic, passionate and focused on values – helped answer the main point of discussion in the bars and fringes: how does the party craft a message that is compelling to those tempted by Reform, the Greens and traditional Labour voters? Heck of a coalition to build.  

But knocking back Farage will need more than a speech. It’ll need government that can create the economic conditions for growth. The direction of travel on planning and development remains decent but as the mist of Conservative planning destruction clears, it is increasingly clear there are much more fundamental issues at play.  

Planning is part of this. So are the new towns. And there’s much further to go on both.   

But if the house costs more to build than someone can buy it for then we’ve got a problem. If those looking to invest can’t because of the tax straitjacket, or uncertainty that created then everything else is placed in jeopardy. 

The inequality that a failing housing market and faltering public services creates is exactly why people are looking for something different.  

I’m not yet convinced Reform has longevity but as a society we must take Reform and the many people who are inclined to vote for them seriously. And treat them with respect. 

But between now and the next general election, Reform will win countless elections and their growing number of councillors and mayors will make an impact.  

There’s not yet a Reform plan for the economy for me to judge them by but if Labour is going to stand tall when they’re 40% through their term, they’re going to have to just f***ing to do it. They’re going to need to be brave and do something different at the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November.