Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer
The majority of the public back the introduction of a circuit-breaker lockdown over the October half-term, as proposed by Labour’s Keir Starmer, according to a new poll. YouGov asked more than 3,390 adults in Great Britain whether they would support or oppose two weeks of tough restrictions later this month. Some 68% of respondents said […]
Keir Starmer
Boris Johnson told to ‘keep up’ after appearing to lose track of coronavirus restrictions
Boris Johnson has been told to “keep up” with the latest lockdown announcements after he appeared to lose track during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Defending his three-tiered lockdown approach, the prime minister said: “The disease is appearing much more strongly in parts of the country than in others. “In Liverpool, for instance, alas, the figures are […]
Keir Starmer
PMQs: Keir Starmer labels Boris Johnson an ‘opportunist’ after attacking Labour for ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown calls
Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Boris Johnson an “opportunist” after he tried to attack Labour for not supporting the government’s latest Covid-19 strategy during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Sir Keir accused Johnson of ignoring Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advice on introducing a nationwide two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown put forward on September 21. The […]
Keir Starmer
Poll: Do you agree with having a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown?
Boris Johnson is under pressure to implement a “circuit-breaker” lockdown, which scientists calculate could save thousands of lives by the end of the year. Downing Street is understood to be keeping the idea on the table, after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said a two to three-week national lockdown over the October half term was needed to […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer calls for a quick ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown to slow spread of coronavirus
Sir Keir Starmer has called on the prime minister to impose a national “circuit-breaker” lockdown following reports the government ignored advice to implement one back in September. The Labour leader has broken ranks to criticise the government over its latest lockdown measures. Speaking at a press conference, Starmer said: “There’s no longer time to give […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer to hold first televised press conference as Labour leader
Labour leader Keir Starmer is to hold his first televised press conference in response to Monday’s Downing Street press briefing. Whilst Johnson fronted this week’s event alongside chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chancellor Rishi Sunak, he is not expected to front the new ‘White House’ style press briefings starting soon. Johnson has hired former journalist […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer says it’s wrong for MPs to be given pay rise
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has criticised proposals for MPs to receive an inflation-busting pay rise next April. The independent body which sets MPs’ salaries has proposed continuing to link their pay packets to wage growth in the public sector. That could result in a pay rise of more than £3,300, taking their salaries to […]
Keir Starmer
Former Tory chancellor says Keir Starmer is ‘immediately’ ready for No 10 in warning to former colleagues
A former Tory chancellor has said Sir Keir Starmer is more than ready to become prime minister as he issued a stark warning to former colleagues on the threat Labour’s new leader posed. George Osborne said Boris Johnson and the Tory ministers faced a “plausible opponent” in Sir Keir. Speaking with Fraser Nelson for piece in the […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer is repeating the same mistakes as Jeremy Corbyn
Readers have their say on Keir Starmer’s performance on Brexit and Europe. A lot of us are trying to get our heads round Keir Starmer’s “the debate between Leave and Remain is over” (it certainly isn’t) and “we are not going to be a party that keeps banging on about Brexit” (yes we are). We’re […]
Keir Starmer
Don’t expect a Lib-Lab pact at the next election
How did it come to this? We are a moderate nation; most of us stand somewhere around the centre politically. Get on with your life without too much interference from the state, work hard, pay your taxes, be tolerant, do what you can to help those worse off than yourself, create safety nets for the […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer calls on Tories to guarantee high food and farming standards after Brexit
Labour’s Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to guarantee high food and farming standards after Brexit by putting protections into law through the government’s agriculture bill. Ahead of a visit to National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters’ farm in Wiltshire, Starmer warned that without action to protect standards there was a “real risk” of […]
Keir Starmer
PMQs: Keir Starmer claims Boris Johnson is ‘governing in hindsight’ by ‘ignoring the warning signs’
Boris Johnson has been accused of “hurtling towards a crash crash” after “ignoring the warning signs”, follow scrutiny of his new coronavirus measures during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Taking to the despatch box, the prime minister argued that the 16,000 positive coronavirus cases that went unreported due to a “technical glitch” did change the “basic distribution” […]
Keir Starmer
Len McCluskey issues warning to Keir Starmer as Unite reduces affiliation
Unite the Union, Labour’s biggest financial donor, is reducing affiliation with the party by about 10% after a vote of its executive. The union’s boss Len McCluskey, an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, has warned Sir Keir Starmer not to move Labour too far from the left, warning of further cuts to the multi-million pound funding if […]
Keir Starmer
It’s now becoming clearer what ‘Starmerism’ is all about
The Labour leader’s first conference speech was light on detail, but in an earlier presentation clear contours of his vision could be made out, says FLORENCE SUTCLIFFE-BRAITHWAITE. Earlier this month, Keir Starmer addressed the Trades Union Congress annual conference for the first time as Labour Party leader. Just over a year earlier, as shadow Brexit […]
Keir Starmer
Is patriotism the missing ingredient to return Labour to power?
Labour activist MARTYN SLOMAN on Keir Starmer’s first party conference speech as leader. As a seasoned and highly professional politician, Keir Starmer will have recognised that not being able to hold the traditional Labour Party Conference had many advantages. True, it denied him the images of cheering supporters transmitted as the first item on the evening […]
Keir Starmer
PMQs: Boris Johnson urges Keir Starmer to give him more support over coronavirus
Sir Keir Starmer has slammed Boris Johnson for not understanding his own coronavirus restrictions during this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), as the prime minister called for more support from the Labour leader. On Tuesday, the prime minister contradicted government advice and told people in the North East they could continue to socialise in groups of six […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer’s polling figures highest for Labour leader since 2007
A new poll from YouGov has seen Keir Starmer’s perception with the public rise again with 37% now believing he would make the best prime minister. It is an increase of two points compared to a week ago, whilst Boris Johnson has failed to change opinion this week, remaining static on just 30% of support. The […]
Keir Starmer
Claudia Webbe suspended from Labour after harassment charge
Labour MP Claudia Webbe has been suspended by Keir Starmer after being charged with harassment. Reports suggest that the Labour leader made the decision after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced the charge against the 55-year-old, who represents Leicester East, after being passed a file of evidence by the Metropolitan Police. Webbe is due to appear […]
Keir Starmer
Opposition leaders need to be honest about Brexit reality
There was a lot to applaud in Keir Starmer’s virtual conference speech and I understand why he says Labour will no longer “bang on about Europe”. Yet on Brexit, as with other aspects of policy, the party must do far more than keep schtum and hope that the Tories continue to make unforced errors all […]
Keir Starmer
Student support for Labour is growing under Keir Starmer, new poll finds
Research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has found student support for Labour has risen during Keir Starmer’s leadership. The new YouthSight data on voting intentions found that Labour was the most popular party among students, with 62% saying they would vote for the party. Labour’s student backers have risen considerably under Starmer, after […]
Keir Starmer
Government criticises BBC for giving Keir Starmer ‘right of reply’ broadcast
The government has criticised the BBC for allowing Keir Starmer a “right of reply” broadcast on prime time television. The leader of the opposition was allowed to speak to the nation a day after Boris Johnson’s address was broadcast on all of the major television channels. Under BBC guidelines it is standard for the Labour […]
Keir Starmer
Carwyn Jones on how Wales stopped following England’s lead
Few political autobiographies contain actual revelations. The occasional tit-bit, perhaps, a humorous aside from a foreign dignitary. Which is why the one which comes in the memoirs of Carwyn Jones comes as almost a lightning bolt: that, throughout his final year in office, the former Labour first minister of Wales was battling severe clinical depression. […]
Keir Starmer
Three Labour MPs lose junior roles after backing Corbyn position on controversial bill
Three Labour MPs have lost their junior roles after defying the party whip to oppose a controversial bill, backing Jeremy Corbyn rather than Keir Starmer. The MPs went against instructions to abstain on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which Tory ministers insist is aimed at protecting armed forces personnel from “vexatious prosecutions”, […]
Keir Starmer
Coronavirus restrictions are a ‘failure of government’, says Keir Starmer
Coronavirus restrictions are a “failure of government”, Labour’s Keir Starmer has claimed as he called for a ‘Plan B’ for the economic response. The Labour leader used a televised address to the nation on Wednesday to stress he supports new restrictions being brought in by the government, but that help aimed at keeping people in […]
Keir Starmer
Richard Leonard – Scotland’s invisible man
Richard Leonard was elected as Labour’s leader in Scotland in November 2017 with a brief to re-establish his party as a force in Scottish politics. However, he has been unable to do so. Just as before, Scottish Labour have not threatened the SNP’s monopoly on power. Instead, it competes, a diminished force, with the Scottish […]
Keir Starmer
Time for Keir Starmer to go on the offensive
In July 1995, Tony Blair flew halfway around the world in his attempts to detoxify the brand of the organisation he had just taken over. The Labour leader decided that he needed to do whatever it took, wherever it took, to convince those with power and influence that his party had shed the extremism of […]
Keir Starmer
PMQs: Boris Johnson accused of being ‘out of touch’ on issue of Covid testing in schools
Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of being “out of touch” on the issue of coronavirus testing in schools during the latest round of Prime Minister’s Questions. Sir Keir pressed the prime minister to explain why more school children were not being tested for Covid-19. Taking to the despatch box, he said: “Many cannot get tests […]
Keir Starmer
Polling shows Keir Starmer outperforming Boris Johnson on leadership
Fresh polling has show Sir Keir Starmer outperforming Boris Johnson on a number of leadership qualities. The latest Ipsos MORI Political Monitor survey found 50% of respondents viewed Sir Keir as ‘more understanding’ of the problems facing Britain than Johnson, who only received 43%. Sir Keir also trumped Johnson on the scale of who was the more […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer to address the nation following Boris Johnson’s announcement
Sir Keir Starmer will make a televised address to the nation following Boris Johnson’s coronavirus announcement. The Labour leader will get a “right of reply” on Wednesday evening to the prime minister’s address in which he warned tougher restrictions could be imposed if the rate does not fall. Starmer is expected to appear on the […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer attacks Boris Johnson over history of lies to show why he’s a better candidate for PM
Keir Starmer has attacked Boris Johnson’s track-record of ‘incompetence’ and ‘bendy banana’ myth-making during his first party conference speech as Labour leader. Keir Starmer attacks Boris Johnson over history of lies to s Starmer gave a scathing assessment of the prime minister’s handling of the pandemic and of his Brexit “bluster” as he attempted to […]
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer emphasises Labour’s ‘new leadership’ in party conference speech
Sir Keir Starmer has used his “virtual” party conference speech to declare that Labour is “under new leadership” as he pleads with voters who switched allegiances under Jeremy Corbyn to return to the party. Starmer: Second national lockdown would be sign of governmen In his first set-piece speech since taking the helm, Sir Keir said […]
Keir Starmer
PMQs Review: The one with a message from a man called Keir
With Keir Starmer self-isolating, it was the turn of Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner to face Boris Johnson at the despatch box. It could all have been so different. Had the Labour deputy leadership election gone the Corbynistas’ way, it would have been Richard Burgon facing Boris Johnson at prime minister’s questions today. Richard Burgon, […]