'The atmosphere is like Dignitas on the Mersey,' said one MP, but the mood was lifted by Starmer's tough words for Reform.
You can learn a lot from standing in the queue for security at this year's Labour party conference. The MP who whispered to a journalist: 'The atmosphere in here is like Dignitas on the Mersey.' Then there was the charity worker who was asked to unroll the corporate banner she was planning to put up at a fringe event. To make sure it didn't say anything offensive or constituted a thought crime. Like support for Andy Burnham.
Others were a little more chipper. Laughing and relaxed. Upbeat even. That could just be because they've already given up caring, another observed. The worst has already happened. Conference aspirations narrowed down to just trying to make the best of the next few days and hang out with old mates. Fair to say that most delegates have come to Liverpool with mixed expectations. To say the least. Survival appears to be uppermost on people's minds. To get through without things getting any worse than they already are.
What a difference a year makes. Labour was riding high at its conference 12 months ago after its landslide election victory. Most of the country was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. That they could turn things round after 14 years of Tory government. That they would be a safe pair of hands. The grownups were back in charge.
Now the national mood is unforgiving. Reform is 10 points ahead in many polls. If there were an election today, Nigel Farage might well be in Downing Street with an overall majority. Keir Starmer's personal ratings are some of the worst ever recorded. Nor is there any comfort for Labour in being ahead of the Tories because they are headed for annihilation. And that's before we add Labour's own goals to the list.
"How much trouble are you in?" began Laura Kuenssberg in her customary first day of conference interview with the Labour leader for her Sunday BBC show. Keir didn't appear to have heard the question. Instead, he rattled on about how well everything was going. Hospital waiting lists going down. More homes being built. Early years education never better. Ships being built.
Kuenssberg tried again. "How much trouble are you in?" This time Starmer mumbled something about understanding that people were frustrated and that everything was pretty much normal. But he was on a mission to fix and change the country. Out came his new buzz words. "Patriotic national renewal". Which, loosely translated, appeared to mean carrying on doing the things he already had been doing but with added moral purpose. Saving the country and saving himself had now become almost synonymous.
But just as it looked as if this interview was about to slide into all the other interviews he has given over the past years - dull, technocratic, out of touch and instantly forgettable - Keir upped a gear. For the first time, we got a flash of what really motivates him. A bit of edge. No more two-dimensional cardboard Keir. No longer hedging his bets with an "Ooh, well you know they've got a point."
Now Starmer was going for the jugular. Making the case for a more diverse and tolerant country. Yes, Reform was a racist party with its plans to deport tens of thousands of immigrants who had been granted indefinite leave to remain. Because we all know what that would look like in practice. Most of the people getting deported would be people with brown skins. Families split up; centuries of British fair play destroyed. This was calling out Nige for what he was. Not allowing him to get away with his snide, racist-adjacent innuendo. It was racist. And it was immoral.
You could almost hear the cheers from Labour supporters and MPs. They have been willing Starmer to say something like this for months. This wasn't about illegal immigration. That was a separate issue. This wasn't about saying Farage's own supporters were racist. Even if some of them are. It was Labour taking the fight back to Nige. Not giving him the freedom to dictate the debate. Make him defend himself. The patriotism of a man who has supported Putin. The patriotism of a man who urged the US to impose sanctions on the UK. For once in his life, make Nige sweat a bit.
It almost felt cathartic. For Keir as much as the party. No longer tied up in his vanilla straitjacket. One unmemorable sentence after another. Trying to be everything to everybody and pleasing no one. For the first time in ages, Starmer had taken a stand and it felt good to him. He was a man released. The swagger that has been missing from him for ages seemed to return. As though a light had been switched on. You could tell he cared. That this stuff mattered to him.
Thoughts of a leadership challenge suddenly felt rather premature. Kuenssberg asked about Burnham. Who? Oh, that Andy. He's doing just great as Manchester mayor. Damning with faint praise. Let Andy come for him if he thought he was hard enough. Keir wasn't going anywhere just yet. "We're in the fight of our lives," he said. The political has rarely felt so personal. The prime minister's survival linked to that of the country.
Over in the main hall, the conference got under way with its traditional lacklustre speeches. The general secretary, Hollie Ridley, asked for a minute's silence to remember "the deep-rooted decency of political donors". Niche to say the least. Steve Reed found himself with the biggest cheer of the day, but only because he mentioned his predecessor as housing secretary, Angela Rayner. Safe to say, she won't be getting a speaking slot this time round.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, or Albo, as Keir called him, was granted the international speaker slot. After pointing out that being in government was a lot harder than being in opposition - I think everyone present had already clocked that - Albo went on to insist that a healthy diversity of opinions was a sign of a healthy conference. Starmer may beg to differ. And someone should also give the security staff the heads up.