FALL-OUT continues from a Jersey student’s decision to heckle Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour Party conference this week.
Daniel Riley, Reform Youth chair, has told the JEP that he would “100%” interrupt the Prime Minister again and his only regret was that he did not make his statement about the conflict in Gaza sooner into Tuesday’s keynote speech.
Meanwhile, Reform Jersey leader Deputy Sam Mézec – who serves as the government’s Housing Minister – has expressed support for Mr Riley’s outburst in Liverpool.
Social media has also been flooded with polarised opinions on the incident, with some Islanders suggesting he is an “embarrassment” and that the Housing Minister’s endorsement risks jeopardising Jersey’s relationship with the UK.
The Labour conference, which ended on Wednesday after four days of speeches and events, was Sir Keir’s first in power.
It was his “hypocrisy”, Mr Riley told reporters, at sending “British bombs and British bullets that are being used in Gaza and Lebanon” while speaking about a ceasefire that had compelled the young Islander to shout about the “children of Gaza” near the speech’s conclusion – before he was bundled out by security.
The former Victoria College student yesterday spoke to the JEP from Lancaster, where he is about to start an undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering.
He said he was initially a “bit shaken” after the incident but had received messages of support from people inside and outside the conference hall, including from his party’s leader, Deputy Mézec.
“I have had these thoughts for a while, but I never considered actually standing up and interrupting him until he started saying all those empty platitudes,” Mr Riley said, adding: “It really angered me. I would 100% do it again, but the only thing I would do differently is say it sooner. I was annoyed at myself for not saying something earlier in the speech.”
The young Islander has been involved with the Reform Jersey party since around the time of the 2022 election, but said “for as long as [he] can remember” he had been interested in current affairs.
Over the phone, he set out his demands for an “immediate stop to all arms sales and military aid to Israel” as well as wider economic and political sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday told his military to keep fighting with full force in Lebanon, and the war in Palestine continues.
The US, UK and other allies have called for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
On Jersey’s position, Mr Riley said he was “disappointed” in the States Assembly’s decision to remove the mention of “genocide” in a letter sent to Parliament in March.
External Relations Minister Ian Gorst has since said an escalation in UK sanctions toward Israel would “automatically” take effect in Jersey.
Mr Riley said: “I know that Jersey isn’t the loudest voice in international affairs, but we still do have a powerful voice to the UK, and we have the power to say to the world that the UK’s actions do not represent everyone, do not stand for us, which could undermine their position quite significantly.”
He added: “I’m not naive, I know that me standing up in a hall in Liverpool isn’t going to end a conflict thousands of miles away, but I hope there are other people out there like me who feel the same way and have the courage to stand up.
“It will get to a point where these people can’t speak in public without being interrupted, and if we keep bringing this issue to the floor, putting pressure on them, then change could happen.”
Deputy Sam Mézec’s full statement on social media read: “I can’t truly express how proud I am of Daniel. He stood up for peace and justice, spoke truth to power and gave a voice to the voiceless. His [sic] is an inspiration.”
Reform Jersey’s deputy leader, Lyndsay Feltham, who is Social Security Minister, also expressed support, saying: “I think of it as a privilege to be able to hear directly from our Reform Youth members on a regular basis.
“They are not afraid of telling truth to power, and I respect that. Daniel is intelligent, articulate and principled.”
John Young, a former States Member and Environment Minister, witnessed the incident from the other side of the convention centre, unaware that the heckler was a young Islander.
He said he was “surprised and shocked” to find out after picking up some WhatsApp messages.
He said he “sympathised” with Mr Riley’s cause but said: “It is the nature of his intervention that gives me concern. It was inappropriate, very unwise, and not mature politics.
“This conference was a massively important event for Britain to reset the entire direction of the country, and I hope this disruption in front of the world’s media does not affect the Island’s important relationship with the UK.
“I hope that Reform Jersey are not going to make that an example of politics for the future, because that will not be good for Jersey’s democracy.”
