Sir Keir Starmer used his first speech as Prime Minister to Labour conference to promise that “every pensioner will be better off” under his government.

He also defended the cut to the winter fuel payment.

The decision to means test the annual payout rather than send it out to all pensioners will see millions missing out.

The measure will save £1.5 billion which the government says is necessary to tackle a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

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The Prime Minister told delegates gathered in Liverpool there would be more “tough” decisions to come.

The speech was interrupted towards the end when a protester shouted about the “children of Gaza” before being escorted from the venue.

Responding, Sir Keir told the packed hall: “This guy has a pass for the 2019 conference.”

He added: “While he has been protesting we have been changing the party.

Afterwards, the heckler, 18-year-old Labour party member 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.”

During the speech, Sir Keir did call for parties in the Middle East to “pull back from the brink.”

“So I call again for restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel,” he added.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of… the hostages, and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.”

There were a handful of policy announcements in the hour long speech.

Sir Keir unveiled plans for veterans, young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse to be given a “guaranteed roof over their head.”

There was also a promise of legislation to tackle benefit fraud and a new Hillsborough law requiring a duty of candour on public officials.

The Prime Minister said there was a “light at the end of the tunnel” but that there would still be tough times ahead.

“So I know, after everything you have been through, how hard it is to hear a politician ask for more. But deep down, I think you also know that our country does need a long-term plan and that we can’t turn back,” he said.

Sir Keir continued: “I understand many of the decisions we must take will be unpopular. If they were popular, they’d be easy. But the cost of filling that black hole in our finances, that will be shared equally.”

He added: “I will not do it with easy answers, I will not do it with false hope. Not now, not ever.”

The government's decision to means test the winter fuel payment so that only the poorest pensions receive the annual payout has proved hugely unpopular.

He addressed the criticism directly.

“We will rebuild our public services, protect working people, and do this in a Labour way.

And that is a promise.

“And if you can’t take that on faith, perhaps because you’re concerned about the winter fuel allowance, then I get that. As I say, if this path were popular or easy we would have walked it already.

“But the risk of showing to the world - as the Tories did - that this country does not fund its policies properly, that is a risk we can never take again.

“Stabilising our economy is the first step of this long-term plan. The only way we keep prices low, cut NHS waiting lists, and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country - every pensioner - will be better off with Labour.”