Keir Starmer jokes about glitter as he praises Mirror at Labour Conference party

11 October 2023 , 07:55

1155     0

Keir Starmer jokes about glitter as he praises Mirror at Labour Conference party

Keir Starmer joked that he had put glitter in his hair in preparation for the Daily Mirror's famous party at Labour Party Conference last night.

In a speech to guests in Liverpool, the Labour leader said he was ready for a general election, declaring: "Bring it on." He praised The Mirror's reporting and campaigning, saying: "There are many many unsung heroes who work day in day out to make sure we get the information and scrutiny that we need." Leading a round of applause, he added: "Thank you for everything you do."

The party was sponsored by Diageo and organised in partnership with iNHouse Communications. Guests raised money for charity Buttle UK, which gives grants to children and young people in need of life’s essentials such as a bed, a laptop for school, uniform or crockery at home.

The Labour leader also got to meet the famous Mirror Chicken at the party (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

The karaoke night, which saw frontbenchers Jonathan Ashworth, Lisa Nandy, Wes Streeting and Lucy Powell show off their singing skills, took place just hours after Mr Starmer's conference speech. Making light of the earlier disruption that saw a protester throw glitter at him, he joked, "I glittered my hair ready for the occasion."

"I have to say, when that guy came on stage I thought you're not stopping four years of work in this party to get to where we are today," he added.

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

Mr Starmer praised the Mirror's Clamp Down on Shoplifting campaign. The Labour leader has promised to end the scandal that has seen criminals escape proper punishment if the value of the goods stolen is below £200. "I've spoken to some of these shop workers," he said. "The abuse and the violence that they face is huge so I'm proud that we have been able to put our muscle behind that campaign."

Would Keir be a good Prime Minister? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

Kicking off the Mirror bash, Mr Starmer said it was "fantastic" to be at the "iconic party". "This is the third conference in a row that I've come to as Leader of the Opposition facing a different Prime Minister. Three of them. What a shower," he said. "What do they have in common? Failure, chaos, decline, dishonesty.

"Honestly, when Rishi Sunak stood up last week and said all the wrong decisions had been made over the last few years and we need change, I thought spot on. Absolutely spot on. I say in response to that we've put out our positive case - that is what we were doing today - welding together reassurance and hope. And we say to Rishi Sunak, if you want change bring it on. Bring it on."

Letting their hair down in what could be the last party conference before the next general election, Mr Ashworth and Ms Nandy treated revellers to a rendition of Pulp's Common People. Ms Powell sang Don't Look Back in Anger while Mr Streeting serenaded the crowd with George Michael and Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me alongside the Mirror's Political Editor John Stevens.

* Find out about the work of charity Buttle UK, which has been helping children for 70 years.

Dave Burke