Keir Starmer speech - live: Labour leader shakes off glitter ambush and unveils ‘mission for government’

Heckler storms stage shouting ‘we are in crisis’ before being dragged off by security

Starmer speech

Keir Starmer vowed to oversee a “decade of renewal” if Labour wins the next election after his conference speech got off to a shaky start when a protester stormed on stage and covered him in glitter.

The Labour leader set out his mission for government, promising to build 1.5 million homes in what he described as a “new generation of towns”.

Shocking footage captured the moment the heckler evades security and dumps glitter over the Labour leader while wrapping his arms around him and shouting “we are in crisis” before finally being bundled to the ground.

The heckler was heard shouting: “We demand a people’s house, we are in crisis – politics needs an update. We are in crisis”. Footage emerged online afterwards of the protester being dragged from the building by police.

Removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, Starmer was applauded for keeping his cool and regaining control of the podium. He told the audience: “If he thinks that bothers me he doesn’t know me. Protest not power, that is why we changed our party conference.”

Key Points

• Starmer shakes off glitter ambush and unveils ‘mission for government’
• Starmer delivering speech on day three of conference
• We ‘have to build’ on greenbelt, says campaign chief
• Labour leader to promise ‘decade of renewal’ in keynote address
• Who else is speaking? Full list and timings
• Former Bank of England governor backs Rachel Reeves

[9 October 2023 18:50 · Joe Middleton]

Rachel Reeves says Labour will 'rebuild' Britain's economy after 'wreckage of Tory misrule'

[9 October 2023 19:31 · Joe Middleton]

Rishi Sunak admits list of HS2 replacement projects just ‘illustrative’ and not pledges

Rishi Sunak has admitted that some of the promised transport projects he said would get money from cancelling HS2 were only “illustrative” and not meant as pledges.

There has been widespread criticism of the PM’s Network North plan after it emerged that some projects already exist, while others were dropped from an initial government press release.

Since the big move to axe HS2’s northern section, first revealed by The Independent, the prime minister has repeatedly promised that “every penny” of the £36bn removed from HS2 would go to transport alternatives.

[9 October 2023 20:50 · Joe Middleton]

Rishi Sunak insists ‘terrorism will not prevail’ as he pledges support to Israel after Gaza attacks

Rishi Sunak has condemned the “horrific violence” unleashed by Hamas on the people of Israel, insisting “terrorism will not prevail”.

The prime minister hailed Britain’s “solidarity” with the people of Israel, days after Hamas gunmen crossed the border in surprise attacks by land, sea and air.

Mr Sunak spoke movingly of the innocent teenagers gunned down “in cold blood” at a festival of peace, and of the murder of whole families. And he said the “inhuman” attacks “will not stand”, promising his support to Israeli authorities and British citizens caught up in the attacks.

[9 October 2023 22:19 · Joe Middleton]

Sunak grilled by voter in awkward exchange: ' Why should be vote for you?'

[9 October 2023 22:33 · Matt Mathers]

Starmer eyes decade of Labour rule as he vows to ‘heal’ Britain

Despite the huge poll lead enjoyed by his party, Sir Keir is expected to acknowledge that some voters still need to a reason to back his party at the general election expected in 2024.

With critics suggesting Labour has benefited from anger at the Tories rather than a desire to see Sir Keir in No 10, aides said his speech to the conference in Liverpool would answer the question: “Why Labour?”

A Labour government would be “totally focused on the interests of working people”, he will promise that easing the financial burden on hard-pressed families would mean “getting our future back”.

Read the full story here.

[9 October 2023 23:30 · Joe Middleton]

Rishi Sunak admits list of HS2 replacement projects just ‘illustrative’ and not pledges

Rishi Sunak has admitted that some of the promised transport projects he said would get money from cancelling HS2 were only “illustrative” and not meant as pledges.

There has been widespread criticism of the PM’s Network North plan after it emerged that some projects already exist, while others were dropped from an initial government press release.

Since the big move to axe HS2’s northern section, first revealed by The Independent, the prime minister has repeatedly promised that “every penny” of the £36bn removed from HS2 would go to transport alternatives.

[10 October 2023 00:30 · Joe Middleton]

Restoring 0.7% aid target not day-one priority for Labour government, Nandy says

Labour would not immediately restore the 0.7% aid target if it wins the next election, but aim to do so “as soon as the fiscal situation allows”, Lisa Nandy has said.

The shadow international development secretary also suggested reinstating an independent Department for International Development would not be a priority for the party.

Rishi Sunak temporarily slashed the target to spend 0.7% of national income on official development assistance (ODA) to 0.5% from 2021 when he was chancellor, with the lower goal still in place due to ongoing economic pressures.

[10 October 2023 01:30 · Joe Middleton]

David Lammy condemns Hamas’s attack on Israel during Labour conference

[10 October 2023 03:30 · Joe Middleton]

Rwandan asylum system ‘woefully deficient’, Supreme Court told

Rwanda is an “authoritarian, one-party state” with a “woefully deficient” asylum system, lawyers representing migrants facing deportation to the east African nation have told the Supreme Court.

The Home Office is challenging a Court of Appeal ruling from June that the UK’s multimillion-pound deal with Rwanda over the processing of asylum claims was unlawful.

During the first of a three-day hearing over the case, Raza Husain KC, representing a number of asylum seekers, said Rwanda “imprisons, tortures and murders those it considers to be its opponents”, adding that Home Office officials had “repeatedly recorded their concerns about it”.

[10 October 2023 05:30 · Joe Middleton]

Rishi Sunak insists ‘terrorism will not prevail’ as he pledges support to Israel after Gaza attacks

Rishi Sunak has condemned the “horrific violence” unleashed by Hamas on the people of Israel, insisting “terrorism will not prevail”.

The prime minister hailed Britain’s “solidarity” with the people of Israel, days after Hamas gunmen crossed the border in surprise attacks by land, sea and air.

Mr Sunak spoke movingly of the innocent teenagers gunned down “in cold blood” at a festival of peace, and of the murder of whole families. And he said the “inhuman” attacks “will not stand”, promising his support to Israeli authorities and British citizens caught up in the attacks.