Keir Starmer in bid to consign Jeremy Corbyn to history books as he led Labour conference in standing ovation for Israel
GLITTER-covered Sir Keir Starmer tried to consign Jeremy Corbyn to the history books — as he led the Labour conference in a standing ovation for stricken Israel yesterday.
The Opposition boss took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves after an Extinction Rebellion activist dumped the sparkles over his head seconds after taking the stage.
In scenes unthinkable just three years ago, Sir Keir hailed Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas terrorists, who Corbyn once called his “friends”.
However, he warned his party faithful of the mammoth task ahead to “rebuild” Britain if they should win the keys to No10.
He evoked former Labour PMs Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair and said next year’s General Election will be tougher than 1945, 1964 and 1997 combined.
Sir Keir boomed: “Our job in 1997 was to rebuild a crumbling public realm. In 1964 it was to modernise an economy left behind by the pace of technology.
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“In 1945 to build a new Britain out of the trauma of collective sacrifice. Then in 2024 it will have to be all three.”
But he set his sights on ten years in office, saying he wanted to lead a “decade of national renewal”.
In a dig at the Corbyn era, he insisted it was time for voters to see “a changed Labour Party, no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protest”.
He added: “Those days are done. We will never go back.”
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But the most striking moments of his 50-minute policy-light, rhetoric-heavy address in Liverpool were his comments on the unfolding horrors in the Middle East.
Sir Keir said: “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.
"These events, the war in Ukraine, they show precisely the test of our era. The world is becoming more volatile.”
He announced only one new policy — building new towns. He said failure to do so would make home ownership a “luxury for the few, not the privilege of the many”.
He said: “What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt. 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.”
Conservative MPs were quick to point out that Sir Keir made only a fleeting mention of immigration and small boat arrivals.
Tory chairman Greg Hands said: “He just offers more of the same short-term political decision-making of the last 30 years that has failed Britain — all glitter, no substance.”
Sir Keir’s glitter-bomber was identified as Yaz Ashmawi, 28 — a member of Extinction Rebellion’s strategy team.
He also belongs to the People Demand Democracy group, which is calling for electoral reform to tackle climate change and the cost of living crisis.
Security tackled him, after which Sir Keir removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and said: “Protest or power, this is why we changed our party. If he thinks that bothers me, he doesn’t know me.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said she was ready to belt the disrupter, like predecessor John Prescott, who thumped an egg-throwing protester in North Wales in 2001.
She told LBC: “I thought I was going to do a full John Prescott at one point. Although Rachel Reeves was nearly beating me to it.
“She’s Leeds. I’ve never seen her be so angry. But Keir handled it really well because, look, the party has changed. We’re not here to protest. We’re here to govern.”
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Police said a 28-year-old man from Surrey was arrested on suspicion of assault, breach of the peace and causing a public nuisance.
Additional reporting: Noah Hoffman and Jack Elsom
SECURITY BLOW
A FORMER cop who masterminded security for the Royal Family said there are “lessons to be learned” after the Labour security scare.
Ex-head of royal protection Dai Davies called for a probe to understand what role police and security teams played before the attack.
Protester Yaz Ashmawi, a member of Extinction Rebellion, stormed the stage and threw glitter over Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer just moments before he was due to deliver his keynote speech.
Mr Davies said: “If it was a terrorist or a nutter with a knife, then it could have been very different.”