The Labour leader, taking to the stage in Liverpool for what could be his party\u2019s last conference before an election that could come as early as May, was showered with glitter by a fringe protester demanding a greater role for civilians in politics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer is showered in glitter at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>PA<\/cite><\/p>\n Before he even opened his address to conference, a man \u2013 later identified by the Press Association as Yaz Ashmawi \u2013 ran on stage and dunked glitter over Starmer\u2019s head.<\/p>\n \u201cWe demand a people\u2019s house, we are in crisis \u2013 politics needs an update. We are in crisis,\u201d the protester yelled as he held Starmer\u2019s hand, wrapping his other arm around the Labour leader\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n He was hauled off-stage by three officers, taken to a police station for questioning and arrested on suspicion of assault, breach of the peace and causing public nuisance.<\/p>\n A new organisation called People Demand Democracy said Ashmawi was one of their members. It is the third time a leader\u2019s party conference speech has been disrupted by protesters in recent years.<\/p>\n In 2017, then-prime minister Theresa May was interrupted by a comedian who handed her a mock notice terminating her employment. Last year, Greenpeace heckled Liz Truss during her speech in Birmingham while she was prime minister.<\/p>\n Starmer shrugged off the incident on Tuesday, removed his jacket and delivered the rest of his speech wearing a shirt and tie. He said the episode showed how Labour had changed as a party since he took over from Jeremy Corbyn, a hard-left leader who energised his activist base but turned off the voting public.<\/p>\n \u201cProtest or power \u2013 that\u2019s why we\u2019ve changed,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n Labour has outpolled the Conservatives and if the public surveys prove correct, the opposition could be on track to overturn the landslide Boris Johnson won over Corbyn.<\/p>\n Corbyn once shared a stage with Hamas\u2019 leadership and was repeatedly rocked by anti-semitism scandals. Corbyn, who was later kicked out of the parliamentary party, was in Liverpool but was not accredited to attend official events.<\/p>\n Starmer said he would always put the country first and the party second.<\/p>\n \u201cConference, I am shocked and appalled by events in Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI utterly condemn the senseless murder of men, women and children \u2013 including British citizens \u2013 in cold blood by the terrorists of Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cThis party believes in the two-state solution \u2013 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n