Keir Starmer was forced to shrug off a shouting protester who threw glitter at him ahead of his keynote Labour Conference speech.
A clearly-irritated Mr Starmer quipped: "It was just as well it was me because my wife's dress is really beautiful" after the screaming demonstrator stormed the stage. Protest group People Demand Democracy later claimed responsibility.
A 28-year-old man has been arrested. After the demonstrator was dragged from the stage, Mr Starmer outlined his vision for a "decade of national renewal". He launched a withering attack on Tory failure to tackle crime, NHS waiting lists and housing.
In his keynote speech in Liverpool, Mr Starmer said all eyes are on his team to undo "never-ending Tory decline". He announced plans for a huge housebuilding drive with new towns and suburbs springing up across the country..
Ahead of the address, officials said he âwill answer the question, 'Why Labour?ââ as he outlines how firing up economic growth, providing safer streets, cheaper homegrown British power and a ârejuvenatedâ NHS âwill get Britain its future backâ.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
He said: âWhat is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt.â Mr Starmer will tell delegates that under his leadership it is âa changed Labour Party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protestâ. He will add: âThose days are done, we will never go back.â
Follow our liveblog below for the latest on the Labour leader's speech
A senior Tory has said his party needs to respond to the housing "challenge" laid down by Keir Starmer.
Simon Clarke posted on Twitter: "The “green belt” isn’t all beautiful verdant land. This all-too-effective title has allowed politicians and NIMBYs to hide behind it for too long to block much-needed new homes. My party needs to respond to this challenge."
Officials have said Mr Starmer wasn't bothered by the protest at the start of his conference speech.
A Labour spokesman said: “He was completely unfazed by what happened and it shows the strength of his character that he got on and delivered the speech of his life.”
Aides admitted a plan for Mr Starmer and his wife Victoria to walk out through the crowd following his 55-minute speech was changed at the last minute.
But they said he returned to the official conference hotel and will be attending a series of receptions tonight.
Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer delivers his keynote speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool with his hands covered in glitter after a protester ran onto the stage. Picture date: Tuesday October 10, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Labour. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Housing and homelessness charity Shelter said Mr Starmer's housing pledge has "huge potential" - but said social housing must not be overlooked.
Polly Neate, the charity's chief executive, said: “Keir Starmer's bold vision has huge potential; the first generation of new towns had social housing at their heart.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
“The drastic decline in social homes is at the root of this country's housing emergency. It has pushed ever more people into wildly expensive and under regulated private renting and forced hundreds of thousands into homelessness. In order to the end this crisis, any plans for new towns must have social housing in their DNA.
“Housing will be a critical issue as we head into the next general election, voters want real solutions not piecemeal promises. All political parties need to commit to building 90,000 genuinely affordable social homes each year that this country desperately needs.”
The hard-left Momentum group has given a thumbs down to Keir Starmer's speech, saying you can't "fix a broken country on the cheap".
Mr Starmer and his top team have maintained that they won't make uncosted pledges ahead of the general election.
Hilary Schan, the group's co-chairwoman, said: "By failing to back up this fine rhetoric with cold hard cash, Keir Starmer has fatally undermined his own prospects. You can't fix a broken country on the cheap.
"Keir rightly said we need to get the NHS back on its feet, but as the British Medical Journal has said, we can't do that without a major injection of funding.
"New towns are welcome - but without investment in social rent council housing, they won't touch the sides of the housing crisis. The idea that we can fix this deeply scarred country with vague promises of reform and a magic growth tree is a fairy tale. Where is the higher minimum wage, the free school meals, the investment in our crumbling schools?
"The tragic reality here is that the Labour leadership is guilty of the very sticking plaster politics it rightly derides."
Yaz Ashmawi, named as the protester who threw glitter over Sir Keir Starmer, is an Extinction Rebellion (XR) activist, but the climate group said the stunt was not organised by them.
An XR spokesperson said: "We agree with Yaz that true democracy is citizen-led and that our politics needs an update. The greatest crisis we are facing is the climate and nature emergency and it is clear the political system is unable to cope with this.
"This is why XR is demanding a UK-wide, independently-run citizens' assembly on the climate and nature emergencies."
(James McCauley/REX/Shutterstock)The Liverpool exhibition centre where Mr Starmer's speech was disrupted said staff had dealt with the protest "appropriately".
A spokesman for The ACC Liverpool Group said: "A protest incident took place during the leader's speech at the Labour Party conference when an attendee gained access to the stage.
"Whilst The ACC Liverpool Group recognises the rights of all groups and individuals to free speech and freedom of expression, the safety of all those attending events including speakers, performers, customers and staff is of the utmost importance to us.
"Highly trained stewarding and security teams ensured the incident was dealt with appropriately. We will assist Merseyside Police as required."
Mr Starmer will probably be more heartened by the reaction from tne Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Carys Roberts, the charity's executive director, said:“Keir Starmer is right to say that progressives need to be the builders of the 21st century. This will need to be a decade-long programme of change and reform.
“He set out the building blocks of what that progressive programme should look like, reflecting IPPR’s thinking on reform in the health service, investment for a clean energy future, ending the hoarding of power in Westminster, and unleashing a new wave of housebuilding across the country.
“Labour’s task was to present itself as a credible government in waiting. Today’s speech was an important step on that journey.”
Not sure Jeremy Corbyn was a fan of that speech.
As the Labour leadership rolls out the red carpet for climate vandals, arms firms and private healthcare, thousands of us are organising for the bold change this country needs.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 10, 2023
We will keep campaigning for social justice and peace.
We are the movement for the many, not the few.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a 28-year-old man was arrested after Keir Starmer had glitter thjrown at him.
A protester was bundled off the stage moments after the Labour leader walked onto the stage. The force said: "We can confirm that a 28-year-old man from Surrey has been arrested following an incident at the Labour Party conference earlier this afternoon.
"The man was detained by security at the event and handed over to the police who arrested him on suspicion of S39 assault, breach of the peace and causing public nuisance.
"He has been taken to a police station where he will be questioned by police."
It got off to a difficult start, but Keir Starmer's speech finished to loud applause from supporters in the room.
During his hour long address, the Labour leader promised to "bulldoze" his way through restrictions to build a new Britain, with new homes and businesses and an NHS "back on its feet".
Promising to reshape the country with 1.5 million homes including new towns, modernised infrastructure and support for green industries, he said "the fire of change still burns in Britain" and it "lives on in Labour".
And he warned that the "dangerous" Tories would "scorch the earth just to get at us".
(Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Activist group People Demand Democracy has claimed responsibility for the disruption at the start of Mr Starmer's speech.
The protesters have called for a massive shakeup of election laws, demanding a House of Citizens, selected by democratic lottery.
The group said: After years of battling over Brexit, lockdown parties, abuse claims, crumbling public services and crashing living standards, people are sick to the back teeth of politicians. And we are furious there is no way to make our voices heard. This has got to change. We need a democratic alternative that gives the people of the UK a voice to deal with the major challenges of our time: rampant inequality, an escalating climate crisis, political corruption and on. But what do we have instead? A Labour Party offering very little in terms of real change.”
Labour will build new towns across the country, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
He said: "Sometimes the old Labour ideas are right for new times. So where there are good jobs, where there is good infrastructure, where there is good land for affordable homes, then we will get shovels in the ground, cranes in the sky, and build the next generation of Labour new towns."
Allaying fears of green belt destruction, he said: He said: "Labour is the party that protects our green spaces. No party fights harder for our environment. We created the national parks, created the green belt in the first place - I grew up in Surrey - but where there are clearly ridiculous uses of it: disused car parks, dreary wasteland.
"Not a green belt, a grey belt - sometimes within a city's boundary - then this cannot be justified as a reason to hold our future back. We will take this fight on. That's a Britain built to last."
Mr Starmer has made a pitch to Tory voters who are in despair at the state of the party.
He said: "If you're a Conservate Party voter who despairs at this and look in horror at the descent of your party into the muddy waters of populism and conspiracy with no argument for economic change... let me tell you Britain already has (an answer) and you can join it. It's called the Labour Party."
The Labour leader said his party will fight the next general election on economic growth.
Mr Starmer told the conference that the Tories had given up on its leveling up programme, instead opting for "easy options". He said: "As soon as they counted their votes they turned back, back to the easy answers of trickle down nonsence."
Private school tax breaks can be changed to fund mental health support in classrooms across England, Mr Starmer said.
He stated: "People will say 'don't rock the boat, we've always done it like this, is this really necessary?'
"I've reformed a public service before, I know how it goes. But it's our responsibility to do it, and across our public services the prize is huge. Because if we call time on wasteful police procurement then we can have a community policing guarantee. More police in your town, fighting anti-social behaviour, taking back our streets.
"If we ignore appeals for the status quo on private school tax breaks or outdated national curriculum, then we can have mental health staff in every school, more expert teachers in the classroom, more creativity, speaking skills, confidence."
The protester who disrupted Mr Starmer's conference speech was wearing a t-shirt which appears to tie him to a group called People Demand Democracy.
The group's website says: "People Demand Democracy is a group of people from all across Britain calling for an upgrade to our current political system and using civil disobedience to get our message across. We are calling for a fair, proportional voting system for Westminster elections and a permanent, legally-binding national House of Citizens, selected by democratic lottery.?
"People Demand Democracy has written letters to the leaders of the two leading political parties, Labour and the Conservatives, with an ultimatum: implement our demands by September 1 2023 or we will take proportionate action to get our message across."
(Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Sir Keir Starmer promised NHS reform, warning the Labour Party conference: "If all we do is place the NHS on a pedestal then I'm afraid it will remain on life support.
I know some people don't like the word 'reform' but I tell you now there's no other option. We must be the government that finally transforms our NHS. We can't go on like this, with a sickness service. We need an NHS that prevents illness, keeps people healthy and out of hospital in the first place.
"We must use technology to overhaul every aspect of delivery, move care closer to communities, deploy the
power of artificial intelligence to spot disease quickly. Mental health treatment when you need it: we'll guarantee that. The 8am scramble for a GP appointment: we will end it. Dangerous waits for a cancer diagnosis: we will consign them to history."
The next election will be a crucial fight for the NHS to prevent Tories "putting it in the ground", Mr Starmer said.
The Labour leader said: "How has it come to this? Working people paying for their own healthcare in a cost of living crisis?" And he continued: "The next election it's on the line. The Conservative Party that put it on it's knees will put it in the ground.
"We've got to get it back on its feet."
But he warned about putting the healthcare system on a "pedestal" - saying the NHS will need reform.
Keir Starmer said public services are "broken" as he said the UK is in an "age of insecurity".
He said: "People are looking to us because they want our wounds to heal, and we are the healers. People are looking to us because these challenges require a modern state, and we are the modernisers. People are looking to us because they want to build a new Britain, and we are the builders."
He said: "Changing the country isn't like ticking a box, it's not the click of a mouse, long term solutions aren't oven ready'.
Our photographer in the room, Ian Vogler, has captured some dramatic images of the protester who stormed the stage at the start of the speech.
Mr Starmer brushed off the incident after the man threw glitter over the Labour leader.
(AFP via Getty Images)Mr Starmer warned the "way back" from 13 years of Conservative Government would be hard.
He said: "Thirteen years of 'things can only get better' versus thirteen years of 'things have only got worse'. Conference - this is what we have to fight: the Tory project to kick the hope out of this country."
He added: "I have to warn you: our way back from this will be hard. But know this. What is broken can be repaired. What is ruined can be rebuilt. Wounds do heal. And ultimately that project - their project - will crash against the spirit of working people in this country. They are the source of my hope."
The Labour leader has said that Labour will oversee a "decade of national renewal".
"Today we turn the page and answer the question 'why Labour?'" He got a huge standing ovation as he said a two-state solution is needed following the atrocities in Israel.
He said he was "shocked and appalled by events in Israel". He added: "I utterly condemn the senseless murder of men, women and children - including British citizens - in cold blood by the terrorists of Hamas.
"This party believes in the two state solution. A Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel. But this action by Hamas does nothing for Palestinians, and Israel must always have the right to defend her people.
"And conference, these events, the war in Ukraine, they show precisely the test of our era. The world is becoming a more volatile place."
(Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Mr Starmer is scathing about Rishi Sunak, quipping "I can see how Liz Truss won" last summer's leadership race.
He mocked the PM for choosing to announce the cancellation of HS2 in Manchester last week, hitting out at Westminster "chaos".
"What is ruined can be rebuilt - wounds to heal," he stated. The Labour leader told cheering delegates: "This is what we've got to fight, the Tory project to kick the hope out of this country."
We've only just started and a protester has already disrupted proceedings.
The man stormed the stage shouting "our whole future is in crisis" and sprinkled glitter on the Labour leader.
He was swiftly bundled off the stage by security staff. Mr Starmer was forced to remove his jacket "If he thinks that bothers me he doesn't know me," he said.
"It was just as well it was me because my wife's dress is really beautiful."
(Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)In a sign that he will resist further tax rises while people's living standards are squeezed, Mr Starmer will tell activists: "We should never forget that politics should tread lightly on people's lives, that our job is to shoulder the burden for working people - carry the load, not add to it."
He will promise a government that "takes care of the big questions" so working people have "freedom to enjoy what they love" with "more time, more energy, more possibility, more life".
"That's what getting our future back really means," he will say. He will promise to devolve power to towns and cities across England, giving them the kinds of powers enjoyed by London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, the Guardian reported.
"If we want to challenge the hoarding of potential in our economy then we must win the war against the hoarders in Westminster," he will say. "Give power back and put communities in control."
Pat McFadden, Labour's national campaign co-ordinator, said Sir Keir Starmer is levelling with the public about the challenge at hand by talking about a decade in power. He told BBC Breakfast: "What he's doing is he's setting out realistically that after 13 years of the Conservatives it's going to take time to turn things round.
"He is levelling with the public here. He's saying we can't solve everything overnight but what we can do is turn the page and begin a process of national renewal. He's assuming nothing. He's being honest with the people about the time it's going to take to face up to the challenges the country is facing right now."
The Labour leader has said his party is ready for a general election - although it is not yet clear when it will be.
But by law Rishi Sunak must take the country to the polls by January 2025 but many believe the vote will be held in either the spring or autumn next year.
Speaking to business leaders Mr Starmer said he would not predict the outcome of the general election, "nor when it will be". But he added: "Though obviously it will be either May or October, and our team is ready for May because I don't think anybody would rule out May."
The clearly irritated leader attempted to laugh the whole thing off and get on with his speech.
Shortly before Mr Starmer's speech, Yvette Cooper described her heartbreak after watching a video of a dying teen as his mum sang to him - vowing a Labour Government would get tough on knife crime.
She said watching the footage, shown to her by a mum in Hartlepool, as "one of the hardest things I have done in this job". She said the Tories have taken a "wrecking ball" to the criminal justice system and vowed to get tough - with new youth hubs to be rolled out to steer youngsters away from crime.
In a rousing speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Ms Cooper also pledged police will use methods used to track terrorists to ensure that Britain's most dangerous sex offenders are taken off the streets. She said there must be no more cases like that of Raneem Oudeh, who repeatedly asked police for help after being threatened by her ex.
Click here for the full story
(Getty Images)Keir Starmer today will pledge to tackle the scourge of shoplifting as he vows to make Britain’s streets safe again.
The Labour leader will end the scandal that has seen criminals escape proper punishment if goods are worth less than £200. And he will introduce a new law so those who attack shopkeepers face toughen sanctions.
In what is expected to be his final party conference address before an election, Mr Starmer will vow to “give the country its future back”. Ahead of the speech, last night he insisted “Labour is the change this country needs” as he declared he is ready to begin his campaign to get to No10, saying: “Bring it on.”
The Mirror has been demanding urgent action to tackle the epidemic of shoplifting that is sweeping Britain's high streets. Our campaign to Clamp Down on Shoplifting has been calling for the reversal of Tory laws that downgraded the theft of goods worth less than £200 to a minor offence, which has meant that thieves get off with just a fine in the post.
Keir Starmer will today launch his bid for 10 years as Prime Minister as he unveils plans for a “decade of national renewal”.
The Labour leader will vow to “turn our backs on never-ending Tory decline” and give the British people the “government they deserve” when he addresses activists at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool. Officials said his speech “will answer the question, 'Why Labour?’” as he outlines how firing up economic growth, providing safer streets, cheaper homegrown British power and a “rejuvenated” NHS “will get Britain its future back”.
Striking an optimistic tone, Mr Starmer will say: “What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt.” During his three-and-a-half years rescuing the party after its worst general election result since 1935, Mr Starmer overhauled party structures and pledged to root out anti-Semitism which gripped the grassroots under Jeremy Corbyn’s premiership.
The party chief will tell delegates that under his leadership it is “a changed Labour Party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protest”. He will add: “Those days are done, we will never go back.”
Click here for the full story
(Getty Images)
