Sir Keir Starmer has batted away hecklers as he used his personal experiences to show off his human side in his Labour Party conference speech.
Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, introduced Sir Keir by thanking the Labour leader for helping prosecute his murderers when he was a barrister.
After hitting out at the government for the current fuel crisis, Sir Keir outlined why he went into politics in 2015: "family and work".
He spoke of not being from a privileged background, of his father being a tool maker in a factory and his mum being a nurse in the NHS and her getting a rare arthritic disease for which he could "hardly convey to you the emotion of seeing your mum in that condition".
For a leader who has often been accused of failing to show off his personality and any emotion, it appeared important for him to connect on an emotional level with Labour members, who listened intently.
He also spoke of being a lawyer and chief prosecutor and how that has helped his approach to politics.
After being heckled, the Labour leader appeared confident as he said to cheers from the audience: "Shouting slogans or changing lives, conference."
John and Penny Clough, the parents of murdered nurse Jane Clough, were in the front row of the audience and Sir Keir told of them coming to him to get justice for her and how they changed the law - and how crime "will always be a Labour issue".
Sir Keir said Labour would fast-track rape and serious sexual assault cases and toughen sentences for rapists, stalkers and domestic abusers.
Recognising he came into politics "late in life", the Labour leader said he was not a career politician and said he was nothing like Boris Johnson, who he said was waging war on traffic cones while he was prosecuting Stephen Lawrence's murderers.
He also said in 2010 he was helping put terrorists behind bars while Mr Johnson was defending the right not to wear a cycle helmet.
"It's easy to comfort yourself that your opponents are bad people, but I don't think Boris Johnson is a bad man, I think he is a trivial man," he said.
"I think he's a showman with nothing left to show, I think he's a trickster who has performed his one trick."
He promised Labour will "always fund the NHS properly" and would shift the priority of the NHS away from emergency care to prevention, including funding mental health as much as physical health.
"Labour will guarantee that support will be available in less than a month," he said.
That would include recruiting 8,500 more mental health professionals and ensuring every school has specialist support and communities have mental health hubs.
Another of the Labour leaders key promises is on education and Sir Keir used a famous Tony Blair slogan ("education, education, education") as he said: "Education is so important I am tempted to say it three times."
He said Labour will launch the most ambitious school improvement plan, including ensuring children leave school with good qualifications and who are ready to work.
Theatre, drama and music will not be allowed to collapse, he said as he mentioned he had music lessons with Fat Boy Slim at school.
On the economy, Sir Keir said Labour would support small businesses and invest a minimum of 3% of GDP in science and research and development.
He said the finances inherited from the Conservatives "will need serious repair work" but the approach to taxation will be governed by taxpayers getting the best value for money.
Climate change - which got a big clap - would be tackled by retrofitting homes for insulation and the introduction of a Clean Air Act.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has said 19 million homes would require retrofitting by 2050 to help tackle climate change, with the residential sector pumping out 19% of emissions in 2019.
One of the biggest sections of applause came as he said Labour's previous record showed up the Tories.
And he hit out at Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, saying the SNP and the Tories "exploit the constitutional divide" so he was worried about the future of Wales within the Union.
Sir Keir used his wide-ranging speech to hit out at racism, voice his support for the military and "rebuild our alliances" with other countries.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2xhYm91ci1jb25mZXJlbmNlLWtlaXItc3Rhcm1lci1iYXRzLWF3YXktaGVja2xlcnMtYXMtaGUtZ2V0cy1wZXJzb25hbC1kdXJpbmctc3BlZWNoLTEyNDIxMjA00gF7aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2xhYm91ci1jb25mZXJlbmNlLWtlaXItc3Rhcm1lci1iYXRzLWF3YXktaGVja2xlcnMtYXMtaGUtZ2V0cy1wZXJzb25hbC1kdXJpbmctc3BlZWNoLTEyNDIxMjA0?oc=5
2021-09-29 12:22:30Z
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