Starmer appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for “restraint and de-escalation” between Israel and Hezbollah at his Labour Party’s annual conference, although his speech was interrupted by a heckler protesting against the UK’s continuing support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
Addressing party delegates on Tuesday, Starmer urged “all parties to step back from the brink” as Israel and Hezbollah traded cross-border attacks for a second day in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions.
Starmer also appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling for the return of Israeli captives held by Hamas “as a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel”.
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The situation in Gaza continues to pose a challenge to the Labour Party, which won a landslide victory in July’s election. As the opposition leader, Starmer only called for a ceasefire in February under intense public pressure after opposing a ceasefire resolution in the UK Parliament.
On Monday, a protester shouting about British arms sales to Israel briefly interrupted a speech given by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. On Tuesday, activists attempted to write “Genocide conference” at the entrance to the convention centre.
Starmer’s own speech was interrupted by a protester shouting about Gaza.
He resumed his speech with a joking response. “This guy’s obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference. We’ve changed the party,” he said.
“While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party, that’s why we’ve got a Labour government.”
Much of Starmer’s speech was devoted to the theme of change, as recent polls suggested his approval ratings have plummeted and public optimism about his party was already running dry.
Starmer won the election in July on a promise to banish years of turmoil and scandal under Conservative Party governments, rebooting Britain’s sluggish economy and restoring frayed public services such as the state-funded National Health Service.
Since then, his government has announced there is a 22 billion-pound ($29bn) “black hole” in public finances left by the previous Conservative government, warning the upcoming October 30 budget will be “painful”.
Taking “tough long-term decisions now” will mean the “light at the end of this tunnel” can be reached “much more quickly”, he said in Tuesday’s speech. The mood at the conference was also dampened by public outcry over Starmer’s acceptance of freebies at a time when millions of people are struggling with the cost of living.
Starmer insists he followed the rules when he took thousands of pounds worth of clothes and designer eyeglasses from Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and Labour donor. After days of bad press, the party says he and other ministers will no longer accept any more free outfits.
“I’m not going to pretend to anyone in this room that I’ve enjoyed some of the headlines and stories over the last week,” Starmer told a meeting at the conference. “But nor am I going to allow them to define the government.”
Starmer’s call for release of Gaza ‘sausages’ goes viral
A video of Keir Starmer calling on Hamas to return “the sausages” as he urged a peaceful solution to the Gaza war with Israel went viral on Tuesday. Starmer’s slip of the tongue came while he was speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, as he meant to say “hostages”.
Having first called for “restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel”, Starmer moved on to the Gaza conflict. “I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages,” he said, before quickly correcting himself with “the hostages” as applause rang out around the conference hall.
“And a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel,” he continued. Almost as soon as the words had left Starmer’s mouth, the video went viral on X and by Tuesday evening it was the second most shared content.
British media were quick to jump on Starmer’s mistake, with the left-wing Guardian calling it a “gaffe” and the right-wing Daily Mail noting a “faux-pas”. Starmer was referring to the nearly year-long war that broke out after the attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7 last year and the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza that followed.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
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