Keir Starmer was branded “Sir Shifty” as senior Tories warned voters: “You cannot trust this man.”

In a blistering attack, they portrayed the Labour leader as a serial flip-flopper who hates Brexit and is a danger to Britain.

And they painted a nightmare vision of a Starmer-led country with open-door migration, more 20mph traffic zones and militant unions calling the shots.

Tory chairman Greg Hands tore into Sir Keir on the eve of what may be the party’s last conference before the general election.

And he declared: “Sir Keir fundamentally cannot be trusted.

“People distrust him because of his flip-flops on nearly every issue.

“In the last eight years, virtually everything Keir Starmer has ever stood for is the opposite of what he has stood for previously.

“He was the leading exponent of a second Brexit referendum – and now he’s talking about wanting to see the benefits of Brexit.

“He was against tuition fees – now he’s back in favour of tuition fees.

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“Only four years ago he wanted to see Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister – now he doesn’t even want to see him as an MP.”

“He’s aged 60 and he’s had multiple positions just in his 50s.

“This is not somebody who people can trust.”

The gloves came off in what is the start of what could be a 12-month phony election war before Britain goes to the polls.

Mr Hands – who is at the heart of preparations for the election expected in the next year – describes Rishi Sunak as a man who “won’t mess you around”.

And he says the PM is fighting hard to defeat the people smugglers who send migrants on the treacherous journey in small boats across the Channel.

The Tories’ chances of staying in power are likely to hinge on whether voters decide Mr Sunak and not Sir Keir can best deliver the stability and growth the country needs.

The Conservatives’ reputation for stable government was dealt a blow with the sudden collapse of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s administrations and the economic turmoil that followed.

But the party is planning to tell voters that if they keep Mr Sunak in No10 he will be there for the whole parliamentary term.

Mr Hands said: “We will go into the next election looking for a full-term for Rishi as Prime Minister. That, I think, is going to be an essential part of the offer.”

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A key challenge is convincing the nation the Tories are not clapped out and that it is not time for a change.

The party chairman warned Opposition parties could inflict long-term damage on the UK if they take power,.

And he also raised the spectre of a Labour-Liberal Democrat-SNP “woke coalition”.

He fears if Sir Keir teamed up with the Lib Dems’ Sir Ed Davey these “two knights” would lower the voting age, replace the electoral system and “change Britain permanently for the worse”.

Mr Hands claimed there is “real concern” a Labour government would turbo-charge woke policies and argues the party’s “heart is basically not in the right place to start with”.

He said the party would “undoubtedly” kill the Government’s flagship scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing.

Sir Keir, he said, may support Arsenal, a team whose kit features a slogan encouraging people to “Visit Rwanda” but “I don’t think he wants anybody to go there”.

People smugglers, he argued, are in no doubt about who represents the biggest threat to their illegal enterprise.

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“I think the criminal smugglers will be thinking that their biggest enemies at the moment are Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman and the Conservative Government,” Mr Hands said. “Those are the only people actually trying to stop them.”

He claimed people “strongly have the feeling Keir Starmer doesn’t even want to try”.

And the personal attacks are likely to intensify as the election races closer.

Mr Hands said the party conference, which begins in Manchester today, could be the last before the election.

Labour has sought to portray Sir Keir as a responsible former Director of Public Prosecutions whose humble upbringing has given him a clear understanding of the concerns of ordinary people. Mr Hands and his colleagues want to brand him as “just a Camden Lefty” who lacks conviction.

And Conservatives are in a battle to stop former Labour voters who backed Mr Johnson in 2019 drifting back to Sir Keir’s party.

Lambasting his record on Britain’s decision to leave the EU as “very, very shifty”, Mr Hands said: “He’s clearly somebody who hates Brexit. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he tries to take Britain into some sort of customs arrangement with the European Union.”

He has a clear message for Tories who are tempted to vote for Reform UK, the rebranded Brexit Party.

“The person most cheering on anybody considering voting Reform is Sir Keir Starmer,” Mr Hands said.

“That is the person who most wants people to vote Reform because he knows it will make it more likely he can get into Downing Street by stealth.”

Before then there is the challenge of winning by-elections in the constituencies formerly held by Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher.

And he cannot afford to neglect his own seat of Chelsea and Fulham, which is considered a target seat for Labour .

“I don’t take anything for granted,” Mr Hands said.

Despite Labour routinely enjoying a poll lead of around 20 points, he insists he believes another Conservative majority government remains possible.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Absolutely. Absolutely.”

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