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Sir Keir Starmer sent a blunt message to those who “still hanker” for the “weak and cowardly fantasy of populism”, dismissing criticism as “mere glitter on a shirt cuff” — referencing the time a protester gatecrashed last year’s speech to shower the prime minister with sparkles.During a major speech at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, 24 September, the prime minister declared that “all the shouts and bellows” and “bad faith advice from people who still hanker for the politics of noisy performance” was “water off a duck’s back” to him.It came after opponents attacked Sir Keir and his top team for accepting gifts including clothing from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli. More

Sir Keir Starmer mistakenly called for the “return of the sausages” in a major speech at Labour’s annual party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, 24 September.The prime minister was calling for restraint and de-escalation between Lebanon and Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the return of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 as well as “a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.”However, he accidentally said “sausages” before quickly correcting himself to say “hostages” instead. More

A protester who heckled Rachel Reeves during her Labour Party conference speech was grabbed by the neck and hauled out of the venue on Monday, 23 September.The heckler shouted about the sale of arms to Israel before security removed him from the hall.“I thought we were voting for change Rachel, climate breakdown is on our doorstep,” the protester shouted as delegates drowned out his words.Ms Reeves responded that Labour “represents working people, not a party of protest.” More

Rachel Reeves was confronted with Labour’s past criticism of Boris Johnson receiving gifts during an interview on Monday, 23 September, as the party held its annual conference.As she spoke to Good Morning Britain from Liverpool, the chancellor was shown Angela Rayner’s tweet from 2021 in which the now-deputy prime minister accused the former prime minister of “going round with a begging bowl to Tory donors to pay for your posh new wallpaper and [moaning] that you can’t live off your £150,000 salary.”It came after Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Rayner, and Ms Reeves have said that they will not accept any further donations for clothing after a row over gifts. More

Angela Rayner joked Kemi Badenoch is doing “side deals with the Daleks” as she mocked the Conservative leadership hopeful’s row with Doctor Who star David Tennant.The deputy prime minister said next week’s Conservative Party conference will involve “10-minute auditions for wannabe leaders, beating each other to different shades of blue” following their general election defeat.Ms Rayner said “no-one is watching” the Tories, before questioning whether this was why Ms Badenoch, the shadow housing secretary, used her leadership campaign launch to say she is someone “who’s not afraid of Doctor Who”.Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Sunday 22 September, she added that the Tories “failed Britain and tried to cover it up”. More

Angela Rayner was shown the public reaction to the row over donations accepted by senior Labour figures in an awkward moment on live TV.During an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, the deputy prime minister defended the government, saying that donations were “a feature of our politics”.Ms Rayner admitted that she understands some people are “frustrated” with the situation before she was shown a number of messages from the public.One BBC viewer described accepting gifts as “extraordinary behaviour,” while another suggested it was “morally indefensible”.Another simply said, “Frankly it stinks”. More

Reform UK kicked off its annual conference, set to be the largest the party has ever held, in Birmingham on Friday, 20 September.The party now claims to have more than 70,000 members and has said this year’s ticket sales are more than four times 2023’s figures.Reform UK shot to prominence after securing five MPs at the last general election, including leader Nigel Farage – who announced he is “relinquishing” control of the party and giving up his majority shareholder position just one day ago.Here, The Independent political correspondent Millie Cooke details what to expect from this afternoon’s conference. More

Sir Keir Starmer has defended accepting free tickets to watch Arsenal FC.The prime minister was gifted a private box to watch Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, worth more than £8,000 a match, for him to watch home games. In an interview with Sky News on Thursday evening (19 September), the prime minister said: “Security advice says I can’t go into the stands as it would cost the taxpayers a fortune, so I’ve been offered tickets where it’s more secure and we don’t have to use taxpayers money on additional security.” More