Rachel Reeves speech interrupted by hecklers – cease ‘promoting arms to Israel’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves major speech to the Labour party conference has been interrupted by hecklers shouting stop “selling arms to Israel“.

Just minutes into her keynote address, protestors could be heard shouting over her speech – before being hauled out of the conference arena by security guards.

Keeping her composure, Ms Reeves replied that the Labour Party is “not a party of protest”. She added: “This is a changed Labour Party, a Labour Party that represents working people, not a party of protest”.

Ms Reeves also won a massive as she became the first Labour Chancellor to address the party’s annual conference being held in Liverpool. As the first woman to hold the role in over 800 years, she promised to “write the work of all women back into our economic story”.

She added: “800 years the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer has existed, every one a man. On the 5th of July, we made history. Every woman watching this will know, no matter how high you climb, how hard you work, how qualified you are, there will always be moments where you are reminded some people don’t believe that a woman can get the job done. Millions of women in our party, in our trade unions, and in every walk of life beat back those doubts.”

Ms Reeves promised there would be “no return to austerity” and also sought to strike a more hopeful note ahead of next month’s Budget after the new government braced the public for “painful” choices.

Addressing the party faithful, Ms Reeves promised to “rebuild Britain” with “no return to austerity”, echoing a pledge made by Keir Starmer to Mirror readers. But she made it clear that tough choices are looming. Ministers are locked in battles with the Treasury over cash for their departments that could define the next Parliament.

Ms Reeves said: “Conservative austerity was a destructive choice for our public services – and for investment and growth too. We must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions. But we won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain.”

The Chancellor also used her keynote speech to go after tax dodgers in an attempt to claw back billions of pounds for cash-strapped public services.

Ms Reeves said: “At a time of hard choices, I will not tolerate the minority who continue to avoid paying what they owe. If you make your home and do your business in Britain, then you should pay your taxes here too. Those are my values. They are the Labour Party’s values. And they are the British people’s values.”