Former Tory minister backs Keir Starmer to be next PM

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in central London - Credit: PA

Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry has backed Keir Starmer to be the next prime minister over Boris Johnson.

Soubry, who quit the party to lead Change UK in 2019, was comparing two tweets between the Labour and Tory leaders over Joe Biden’s win.

While Johnson went for an impersonal approach commenting on the “special relationship” between America and Britain, Starmer praised Biden’s campaign that was based on “the values that we in the United Kingdom share – decency, integrity, compassion and strength”.

Sharing both responses, Soubry said the difference was “extraordinary”.

She wrote: “Compare and contrast Keir Starmer’s statesmanlike tweet sent over an hour ago with Boris Johnson‘s recent effort. I know which one I’d prefer come our general election…”

Her comments were met with agreement from her followers.

Matt Dean wrote: “Former Conservative minister endorses Keir Starmer”.

Phil Mead said: “Johnson’s message to Biden and Harris is totally bereft of sincerity. It reads like a formulaic press release rattled off by a second-rate Tufton Street hack. Starmer’s, speaks of shared values… Hard times lie ahead for them.”

Twitter user @ajsb04 commented: “If you didn’t know that Boris was PM, if think you’d make an easy presumption on who you think is PM.”

A disgruntled Tory campaigner posted: “Soubry literally campaigning for Labour at this point”