Sir Keir Starmer says Yorkshire heroes show 'Britain isn't broken'
Sir Keir Starmer hailed everyday Yorkshire heroes in his Labour Party Conference speech, saying they show that “Britain isn’t broken”.
The Prime Minister set out his stall to take on Reform UK, by controlling immigration, growing the economy and restoring pride in place.
He hit out at “snake oil merchants”, and said: “When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future?
“He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does.”
Sir Keir cited three Yorkshire volunteers in his speech in Liverpool, repeating: “Is that broken Britain?”
The Prime Minister mentioned Melanie Rumble, who runs an organisation called Our Place in Calderdale.
“It’s for carers and people cared for, or just people who are lonely, organising a couple of meet ups a week,” the Prime Minister told thousands of people in the conference hall.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but to those people it’s everything - is that broken Britain?”
Sir Keir continued: “Debbie who recycles school uniforms for hard-up parents in Halifax, Isaac who scrubbed off that racist graffiti in York.”
The Prime Minister had previously mentioned the incident where people had daubed the words “go home” next to the England flag on the Dragon House in Foxwood Lane, York.
He said “this party is proud of our flags”, but “if they are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism”.
Window cleaner Isaac Davidson, who was mentioned by Sir Keir, came back after work and scrubbed off the paint.
He said: “I saw the owner and she was absolutely in bits. It was awful to see, it was heartbreaking.
“I said to her, I'll come back after my shift and I'll get rid of it for you. I went to work and I came back and that was that.”
Following Sir Keir’s speech, Mr Farage reacted angrily accusing the Prime Minister of incitement.
He claimed: “This language will incite and encourage the radical left.
“I’m thinking of Antifa and other organisations like that. It directly threatens the safety of our elected officials and our campaigners, and, frankly, in the wake of the Charlie Kirk murder, I think this is an absolute disgrace.”
Ahead of Sir Keir’s speech, Margaret Aspinall, who lost her 18-year-old son James in the Hillsborough tragedy, introduced the Prime Minister.
Some 97 Liverpool fans died at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground in a crush in 1989, and police incompetence was repeatedly covered up.
The Government recently announced its intention to bring in a Hillsborough Law, which would make it a crime for public officials to lie in investigations.
“I want a Hillsborough Law in all its entirety, that is so important.
“The Prime Minister didn’t have an easy time to get it, we’ve still got work to do and we’ve got good people behind this who will be watching and making sure that we get it in its entirety.
“What we’ve got so far, I’m very, very grateful and I thank the Prime Minister for listening and for keeping his word.”