Chaos erupted at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Monday when anti-Israel protesters disrupted a speech by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, sparking anger over plans to cut winter fuel subsidies for pensioners.
The fledgling left-wing government tried to present a united front at the Labour Party conference, but the deep divisions that remain within the party were on full display on Monday.
During a speech by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, a protester was taken away after he shouted at her about Britain continuing to supply weapons to Israel during its conflict with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
A man can be heard shouting, “We're still selling weapons to Israel! We voted for change, Rachel!” As protesters were taken away, chants of “Free Palestine” and “Stop the oil” could be heard from the crowd.
The protest was organised by a left-wing Climate Resistance group, which accused Labour of “repeat-ing the same old thing”.
“The same pandering to the fossil fuel industry, the same arms licences that fuel genocide in Gaza and the same austerity measures that hit the poorest hardest,” spokesman Sam Simons said. said “It's time for the Labour Party to put people's needs before profits,” he said, according to GB News.
“That means immediately suspending arms export licences to Israel, blocking new oil and gas supplies, and standing up for communities already being devastated by the climate crisis.”
In response to the heckling, Mr Reeves said: “This is a different Labour Party. This is not a party of protest, this is a Labour Party that represents working people.”
But despite soaring energy prices, a debate on the government's plans to cut winter fuel subsidies was postponed until Wednesday, drawing criticism from trade unions and activists and eliciting audible jeers from the Liverpool crowd.
Lynn Morris, Chair of the Conference Preparation Committee (CAC), Announced Delay: “This is a very busy meeting and we are trying to accommodate as best we can. We will take this directly back to the CAC and respond as soon as possible.”
Regardless of the debate timeline, the government has made it clear that it will not listen to objections from party members on the issue, with Chancellor Reeves pointing out that any vote in Liverpool would be non-binding and the government would therefore go ahead with its controversial plans to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners.
The conference comes amid an emerging scandal in the New Labour government, with senior officials including Chancellor Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Reeves being accused of accepting lavish gifts, including clothes and concert tickets, from Labour donors.
The scandal has coincided with a sharp decline in the new government's approval ratings, with Starmer's approval rating falling by 45 percentage points since July's general election. According to According to Opinium, the chancellor's approval rating is minus 26, one point lower than that of his predecessor Rishi Sunak before his defeat by Labour.
