Social media has been flooded with memes mocking Keir Starmer after he called for the ‘return of the sausages’ in his Labour conference speech.
The Prime Minister was addressing the crisis in the Middle East and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas at a packed out conference venue in Liverpool yesterday when he made the awkward mishap.
Sir Keir urged for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza and went on call for a ‘return of the sausages’, seemingly fumbling his words before correcting himself.
He said: ‘I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza , the return of the sausages… the hostages, and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestine and a safe and secure Israel.’
Following the unfortunate fumble, many people took to social media to poke fun at the PM with a wave viral memes.
One X user posted an image of the poster for the film Sausage Party which includes the tag line: ‘One hero will rise’, to which the person replied: ‘Who knew it would be Starmer?’
Another posted an image of their pet pooch staring longingly into the TV screen, with the words: ‘Thanks Keir. He’s been sitting in front of the tele for 2 hours now waiting for the sausages to be released.’
Other pet lovers also weighed in on the situation, with one person posting a picture of a snarling dog, with the caption ‘”Return the sausages” – Keir Starmer’.
The gaffe also presented an opportunity for some people to further ridicule the PM over the freebies scandal.
One wrote: ‘Anyone think @KeirStarmer might get free sausages next?’
King Charles also became a subject of a number of memes, once again highlighting the size of his fingers, while another person reposted an image of former PM Rishi Sunak with the caption: ‘Anyone for sausages?’
Unfortunately for Starmer, his slip of the tongue was not the only incident to derail his Labour conference speech.
His keynote address was coming to a close when a Labour Party member, revealed as 18-year-old Daniel Riley, started shouting and wagging his finger about the war in Gaza.
Sir Keir, who also had glitter thrown over him at Labour’s conference last year, tried to brush the protest off by quipping to the crowd: ‘This guy has obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.’
The crowd applauded and cheered as Mr Riley, who was wearing a red polo shirt and a lanyard with a Palestine flag on it, was escorted out by security.
Sir Keir smiled and added: ‘While he’s been protesting, we’ve been changing the party. That’s why we’ve got a Labour government.’
Despite both incidents, the PM was keen signal a reboot to his fledgling premiership as he begged Brits to be ‘patient’ and stick with his ‘painful choices’ rather than go down the ‘road to nowhere’.
The PM struck a more positive tone in his first address to activists since taking power, as he tries to move on from damaging rows over winter fuel allowance, tax hikes and freebies.
Watched by wife Victoria, Sir Keir told the gathering in Liverpool the country can find the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ if the right course is set now.
But he warned there were no ‘easy answers’ and the task would be ‘hard’ – pointing the finger at the Tories for ‘serving themselves’ and pleading with restive Labour supporters to take ‘pride’ in what they were achieving.
Acknowledging that he will not ‘get everything right’, Sir Keir said ‘populist’ criticism of his performance so far was ‘water off a duck’s back’.
‘This is a long-term project, I’ve never pretended otherwise. But conference make no mistake, the work of change has begun,’ he said. ‘We’re only just getting started.’
In a nod to voters’ priorities, Sir Keir will also highlight his commitments to tackling high immigration and crack down on benefits fraud.
The speech follows a torrid spell for Labour that saw any feelgood factor from the July election landslide abruptly disappear.
The party has spent weeks fielding difficult questions about the thousands of pounds of gifts received by Sir Keir and senior figures such as Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner.