Campaigners accused Sir Keir Starmer of “casting aside” older people as he tells the country that short-term pain means long-term gain.

The Prime Minister will attempt to reset his beleaguered government with a speech promising to “build a new Britain”.

At Labour’s autumn conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir will defend taking unpopular decisions, such as cutting the winter fuel allowance for 10 million pensioners, by insisting everyone will benefit in the end.

He will repeatedly emphasise the party’s commitment to “working people” and promise to work to “retain the privilege of serving their interests”.

Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said workers were being prioritised over pensioners.

He said: “Why are working people and families being prioritised? Of course, they are extremely important but so are older people.

“It is like we are being cast aside. We are no longer worth prioritising as far as the government is concerned.

“Who is speaking for us? We are the only group that is having a cut in living standards this winter.

“They keep making the same old lame arguments about why they are doing this.”

Sir Keir has faced a difficult first conference as Prime Minister after protests by the trades unions over his winter fuel cuts and continuing revelations about the donations he and his Cabinet have received.

After a fall in business and consumer confidence sparked warnings the government could talk the country into a recession, Sir Keir will try to set a more upbeat tone.

He will set out plans to “build a new Britain”, insisting the tough decisions he is taking for the short term are the first step on the journey of “national renewal”.

The Prime Minister will promise to put the “country first, party second” and insist his desire is to unite the whole country by creating “a Britain built to last, built with respect and built with pride.”

Sir Keir will say: “The politics of national renewal are collective. They involve a shared struggle. A project that says, to everyone, this will be tough in the short-term, but in the long-term – it’s the right thing to do for our country. And we all benefit from that.”

The Prime Minister will say the short-term pain of “tough decisions” will mean long-term gain, insisting three will be higher living standards and lower waiting lists.

“The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do: higher economic growth – so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future – waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community; stronger borders; more opportunities for your children; clean British energy powering your home; making our country more secure… then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.”

He will add: “I know this country is exhausted by and with politics. I know that the cost-of-living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives and that people want respite and relief, and may even have voted Labour for that reason. Our project has not and never will change.

“I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people. And that is exactly what we will do for Britain. But I will not do it with easy answers. I will not do it with false hope.”

The Prime Minister will claim that he has delivered more in 11 weeks than the previous administration did in 14 years.

He will add: “A Government of Service must act in everything it does to show – to the working people of this country, that politics can be a force for good, that it can be on the side of truth and justice, and that it can secure a better life for your family through the steady but uncompromising work of service.

“Make no mistake, the work of change has begun. Planning – reformed. Doctors – back in theatre. New solar projects. New offshore wind projects. The onshore ban – lifted. Great British Energy – launched. One-word Ofsted judgements – ended. MPs second jobs – banned. A Border Security Command. A National Wealth Fund – getting Britain Building Again. The Renters Reform Bill – stopping no fault evictions. The Railway Services Bill – bringing our railways back into public ownership.

“And we’re only just getting started.”

Sir Keir will again attack the Conservatives and try to lay the blame for his winter fuel cuts on a £22 billion shortfall in the public finances.

He will add: “It will be hard. That’s not rhetoric, it’s reality. It’s not just that financial black hole, the £22bn of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the Tories, it’s not just the societal black hole – our decimated public services leaving communities held together by little more than good will – it’s also the political black hole.

“Just because we all want low taxes and good public services, does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored. We have seen the damage that does, and I will not let that happen again. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people of this country.“