12 October 2023 , 07:35
746
0
A t-shirt that reads 'Sparkle with Starmer' in red glittering writing has sold out on the Labour Party merch website.
Keir Starmer was left covered in glitter by a heckler who interrupted the start of his speech at the party's conference in Liverpool. A top sold by the party, which is advertised online with the description "Unleash your inner shimmer and shine", is now unavailable after a spike in sales.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jonathan Ashworth said Britain will get its "sparkle" back under a Labour government, making light of the protest in his speech rounding off the conference yesterday.
"Didn't Keir sparkle yesterday? And he's given Labour its sparkle back.," the Labour frontbencher said. "Keir Starmer, our leader, our candidate for Prime Minister: Strong, determined, focused. Taking us from the despair of our worst defeat in history to the hope of a better future. With Keir we'll give Britain not just its sparkle but its future back too."
Keir Starmer was covered in glitter by a heckler who interrupted the start of his speech at the Labour conference (Getty Images)Mr Starmer said he would not let an "idiot" disrupt his efforts to get Labour into power. The Labour leader said he had "ruthlessly" transformed his party in the first phase of the job, then had to "expose the Tories and the SNP as not fit to govern". But he has now set out on the third stage, which is "setting out the positive case" for change after a "decade of decline".
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
He told Times Radio that when he saw the protester mount the Liverpool stage, "my overwhelming feeling was: 'I am not going to let you ruin four years of hard work in this party."' Asked if he feared for his safety, he said: "I just wanted to get on with the speech and that's why I rolled up my sleeves and got on with it. I didn't want that idiot to interrupt that and I don't want that idiot to dominate what I've got to say today."
The protester, identified as Yaz Ashmawi, was wearing a T-shirt linking him to a group called People Demand Democracy shouted that "politics needs an update" and that "true democracy is citizen-led". Mr Starmer, who has put great emphasis on shifting the party since Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, said "protest or power, this is why we changed our party" before getting on with his speech.
Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said she expects "questions are being asked" surrounding security. "We will want to make sure that nothing like that can ever happen again," she told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.
The 28-year-old Mr Ashmawi, from Surrey, was arrested on suspicion of assault, breach of the peace and causing public nuisance. Merseyside Police said he remained in custody on Wednesday morning.