Sir Keir’s speech, in which he dourly warned the public that he won’t offer “easy answers” or “false hope”, was also etched onto the faces of senior Labour figures, a body language expert claims.
Starmer’s performance was reflected in the glum expressions of his Cabinet, Judi James claims. (Image: PA)
Keir Starmer‘s nervous, “snake-like” speech as he addressed the Labour Party Conference was strikingly reflected in the grim expressions of his Cabinet, a body language expert claims.
Speaking exclusively to Paddy Power Games, Judi James said the PM sought to “sound mature, calm and firm” but showed tell-tale signs that the pressure of the moment was affecting him.
“Starmer’s tongue was almost snake-like throughout, licking his lips and poking from the front of his mouth and this behaviour can often suggest inner nervousness or stress during a speech, leading to a dry mouth,” said, while acknowledging that the anxious tells were only discernable from non-verbal “leakage”.
But the tone of Sir Keir‘s speech, in which he dourly warned the public that he won’t offer “easy answers” or “false hope”, was also etched onto the faces of senior Labour figures, James claimed.
“His mood seemed to run through the audience, suggesting it had been broadcast on an internal memo,” she said. “Ed Miliband’s dour, lugubrious expression made him look like an undertaker, Angela Rayner wore a rather sneering lip expression and Yvette Cooper’s mouth was clamped shut and often turned down at the corners.”
Live: Sir Keir Starmer addresses Labour Party Conference
James also said she saw a major “glow-up” in Starmer’s “delivery techniques”, suggestive of work being the scenes to improve his messaging.
“His entire posture had been altered to lose his signature chest splay that will often have his shirt buttons straining,” she told the betting firm.
“His vocal tone was pitched lower (a deeper tone is seen as reflecting authentic power and status) and he had lost his hectoring tonal trait which could often turn into a whine and where his statements suffered from the rising inflection that could often make them sound like questions.“
In Sir Keir‘s address, his first at a Labour conference since winning power, he emphasised that trade-offs would need to be made to move the country forward and that there were “no easy answers” to the problems Britain faces.
“This will be tough in the short-term, but in the long-term, it’s the right thing to do for our country,” he told attendees while insisting there is a “light at the end of the tunnel”.
He also defended the government’s controversial decision to take away winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners, blaming the “black hole in our public finances” left by the previous Tory government, which has meant tough decisions are needed to stabilise the economy.
He was briefly interrupted by a heckler during the speech, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves was yesterday, but laughed off the disruption, saying: ”This guy’s obviously got a pass from the 2019 conference.”
After being dragged out by security the man, identified as 18-year-old Daniel Riley, told reporters: “Every day we’re still sending British bombs and British bullets that are being used in Lebanon and in Gaza right now and the Prime Minister – he could stop that, he could stop that right now but he doesn’t.
“And he says that he wants things to stop but he won’t lift a finger to actually stop it.”
Asked if he had planned to disrupt the leader’s speech, Mr Riley said: “No, I was a delegate, I’m a Labour Party member, I hoped I’d be one for life but I suspect not now.”
