Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has urged his party to “fight like we’re five points behind”, despite their significant lead in the polls. In an interview with Vogue, he emphasised that they are not taking anything for granted.
He told Vogue: “We have to fight like we’re five points behind, I say this to the shadow cabinet every week.”
He also spoke about transforming Labour, adding: “We’ve changed our party from a party of division, a party with the stain of antisemitism running through it, to a party that is in a position to serve the country.”
Addressing concerns about his ability to make tough decisions, Sir Keir pointed to his past as a barrister for death row prisoners in Africa and the Caribbean. He said: “People often say in politics, ‘Are you tough enough to make the tough decisions?’ My answer to that is: ‘Look, if you’ve sat in a cell with someone and had to make the decision about their case which could result in them living or dying, then you’ve had to take some tough decisions.'”
Sir Keir has faced backlash after Labour decided to reduce its election pledge of spending £28billion-a-year on green projects. The new figure announced on Thursday is a significantly lower £23.7billion for the next Parliament if Labour wins the next election.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticised Labour during a visit to the South West, stating: “I think what Labour announced yesterday just demonstrates what we’ve been saying they absolutely don’t have a plan.”
He added, “Their signature economic policy is in tatters, and when you don’t have a plan, you can’t deliver any change for the country.”
