Sir Keir Starmer was forced to correct himself this afternoon (September 24) as he delivered his keynote speech to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. 

The prime minister said there will be difficult decisions ahead but he insisted there is light at the end of the tunnel in his speech which was aimed at injecting some hope into his warnings over Labour’s economic inheritance.

It was an attempt by the Prime Minister to balance the messaging of the past few weeks with a note of optimism amid criticism that repeated warnings of tough choices to come in the Budget and a £22 billion “fiscal black hole” have been too gloomy.

However, while speaking to the audience while stood on stage, Sir Keir continued talking as a round of applause occurred, but his slip up didn’t go unnoticed.

Sir Keir Starmer corrects 'sausages' speech blunder

He said he was encouraging an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza” and “the return of the sausages”.

Sky News shared the video clip of the speech to X, formerly Twitter, showing the prime minister’s slip-up and his quick correction, using the word “hostages” instead.

Over the course of a wide-ranging speech, the key moments included Sir Keir insisting that “staying the course” and “keeping a cool head” during challenging times will be better for the country in the long term than “easy answers.”

Recommended reading:

He attempted to lay out why short-term pain is necessary in order to reap long-term benefits and, following concerns over how long Britain will suffer before the picture brightens, said “change has begun” already.

He again signalled further difficult decisions to come in the autumn Budget, insisting people must “face the storm” in order to make a “Britain built to last” – though he repeated his election promise that VAT, national insurance and income tax will not be hiked.

The PM dedicated a significant section of his speech to condemning the rioting over the summer, drawing some of his loudest applause from the conference hall when he said the UK “rejects” those involved in violent thuggery and calling out “vile” racism.