Infighting mars start of Labour conference as Starmer and Rayner clash over voting rules

Critics say the leader has hijacked the gathering by getting bogged down in voting issues and losing sight of a focus on policy

When Angela Rayner, Labour's deputy leader, stood up to huge cheers to address her party's conference on Saturday, the slogan Stronger Future Together" was projected on the big screen behind her and all around the vast hall.

Before what had been billed as Keir Starmer's defining conference, when he would reveal the real Keir to the nation, the party leader had also spoken last week of the need for togetherness in the party in a 35-page pamphlet spelling out his vision for Britain.