Labour Conference Branded ‘Chaotic' As Corbynistas Heckle Keir Starmer's Speech

Sir Keir Starmer faced jeers and heckles from Labour activists yesterday as he sought to steer his party back to the election-winning ways of Tony Blair.

- Macer Hall

In his first conference speech in person, which was frequently interrupted by protesters, the party leader promised to replace hard-Left policies rejected by millions of voters with “a sensible plan for Government”.

He vowed to be tough on crime, to prioritise education and to back enterprise.

And, distancing himself from the extremism of his double election losing predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, he insisted: “We are the patriots.”

His 90-minute address to the annual conference in Brighton infuriated the Left-wing supporters of Mr Corbyn and his allies.

In what appeared to be a co-ordinated attempt to disrupt the speech, several delegates repeatedly heckled the Labour leader and shook red sheets of paper at him.

Diehard

Sir Keir faced down the protests, saying the party needed to “get our own house in order” and insisting that the heckling “doesn’t bother me”.

He claimed the protesters were “shouting slogans rather than changing lives”.

The Tories branded the conference “chaotic” following clashes between the leadership and Left-wing grassroots throughout the week.

Party officials blamed a “small number” of diehard opponents of the leadership for the disruption and insisted the protests had not been a distraction from the message.