Sir Keir Starmer's Labour election manifesto launch was disrupted by a heckler.
The Labour leader was setting out his vision for the country before he was halted by a furious audience member lamenting the party's "Tory policies".
The 61-year-old slapped down the dissenting voice by telling her "we stopped being a party of protest five years ago, we want to be a party of power."
The protester, who held up a banner saying 'Youth Deserve Better', was bundled off the premises by security.
The Labour chief is no stranger to having his speeches halted by protest, as he was covered in glitter in October 2023 at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Starmer jokingly brushed off the incident which was carried out by People Demand Democracy, a group calling for changes to the UK’s voting system.
Keir Starmer said Labour is 'no longer a party of protest', a reference to Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the party
GB NEWS
Starmer used his speech to urge voters to “turn the page decisively” on 14 years of “Conservative chaos”.
He said the UK was “still a great nation”, but it had lacked a “government that can match the ambition working people have”.
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The manifesto was launched at an event in Manchester and sought to reassure voters that Labour can be trusted to grow the economy and “begin the work of national renewal”.
In his foreword to the document, Sir Keir said: “We must turn the page decisively on the Conservative ideas that have caused the chaos.
“The world has become increasingly volatile, with a major war in Europe for the first time in a generation and ever greater threats to the living standards of working people.
“This ‘age of insecurity’ requires the government to step up, not stand aside.”
Sir Keir said Labour’s task “will not be easy”.
“Not only because there is no quick fix to the mess the Conservatives have made. But also, because their failures have sapped our collective confidence that Britain can still achieve great things.”
Sir Keir rejected that defeatism, saying: “We are still a great nation. We can still achieve great things. What we lack as a government that can match the ambition working people have for their family and community, with a credible long-term plan.”
The protester was bundled out by security
PA
In his launch speech, Sir Keir said Labour had produced a “manifesto for wealth creation, a plan to change Britain”, adding: “Today we can lay a new foundation of stability and on that foundation we can start to rebuild Britain.”
The manifesto:
– Spells out Labour’s plans to raise £7 billion in taxes.
– Some £5.2 billion would come from closing loopholes for non-domiciled people and cracking down on tax avoidance schemes.
– £1.5 billion would come from imposing VAT and business rates on private schools, with the rest from closing a carried interest loophole and increasing stamp duty on purchases of residential property by non-UK residents by 1%.
– Confirmed Labour’s pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance.
– Promised legislation to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and confirmed plans to enforce retirement from the upper chamber at 80.