PM’s speech interrupted by Gaza protester, promoting leader to respond that party has changed since 2019 conference.

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for “restraint and de-escalation” between Israel and Hezbollah at his Labour Party’s annual conference, although his speech was interrupted by a heckler protesting against the UK’s continuing support for Israel in its war on Gaza.

Addressing party delegates on Tuesday, Starmer urged “all parties to step back from the brink” as Israel and Hezbollah traded cross-border attacks for a second day in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions.

Starmer also appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling for the return of Israeli captives held by Hamas “as a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel”.

The UK media picked up on an apparent stumble, which saw Starmer calling for a return of the “sausages” instead of the “hostages”, immediately correcting himself.

About 100 Israeli captives are still believed to be in Gaza.

The situation in Gaza continues to pose a challenge to the Labour Party, which won a landslide victory in July’s election. As the opposition leader, Starmer only called for a ceasefire in February under intense public pressure after opposing a ceasefire resolution in the UK Parliament.

On Monday, a protester shouting about British arms sales to Israel briefly interrupted a speech given by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. On Tuesday, activists attempted to write “Genocide conference” at the entrance to the convention centre.

Starmer’s own speech was interrupted by a protester shouting about Gaza.

He resumed his speech with a joking response. “This guy’s obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference. We’ve changed the party,” he said.

“While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party, that’s why we’ve got a Labour government.”

Much of Starmer’s speech was devoted to the theme of change, as recent polls suggested his approval ratings have plummeted and public optimism about his party was already running dry.

Starmer won the election in July on a promise to banish years of turmoil and scandal under Conservative Party governments, rebooting Britain’s sluggish economy and restoring frayed public services such as the state-funded National Health Service.

Since then, his government has announced there is a 22 billion-pound ($29bn) “black hole” in public finances left by the previous Conservative government, warning the upcoming October 30 budget will be “painful”.

Taking “tough long-term decisions now” will mean the “light at the end of this tunnel” can be reached “much more quickly”, he said in Tuesday’s speech.

The mood at the conference was also dampened by public outcry over Starmer’s acceptance of freebies at a time when millions of people are struggling with the cost of living.

Starmer insists he followed the rules when he took thousands of pounds worth of clothes and designer eyeglasses from Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and Labour donor.

After days of bad press, the party says he and other ministers will no longer accept any more free outfits.

“I’m not going to pretend to anyone in this room that I’ve enjoyed some of the headlines and stories over the last week,” Starmer told a meeting at the conference. “But nor am I going to allow them to define the government.”

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Al Jazeera and news agencies