Sir Keir Starmer has been warned he only has “months” to show he can stop Labour’s collapse. Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock issued the stark warning that the Prime Minister needs to “act quickly”.
It comes as Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted just 15 months after their landslide election win amid the rise of Reform UK, while there have been open questions over Sir Keir’s future. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour last night, Lord Kinnock said of Sir Keir: “The reality is that he has got to act quickly in order to clearly establish a direction and purpose.
“Now, I know he’s got it. He’s a man of high intelligence and deeply rooted principles. There’s no doubt at all about that.
“But, what he’s got to do is, if you like, demonstrate that he is authentically very Labour with a set of principles that are practical in their application, under determination to put them into full effect.”
Lord Kinnock said that the Government had been making “progressive” moves but added that they were “unheard because they’ve been obscured by basic errors” like the deeply unpopular winter fuel payments cuts.
He went on: “Now that has got to be attended to by effective management by the Prime Minister.
“There’s nobody else to do it. What he’s got to do in the coming months – and I mean months, not over years, is demonstrate that very clearly.”
Lord Kinnock also criticised the Prime Minister’s Downing Street operation.
He said: “I don’t know where the focus is of the people who work in No10, and I think that they’ve got to demonstrate sensitivity to the realities of politics.
“I’ve got reservations about the capability of some of the people who appear to be there.
“I know some of them to be extremely able and effective, and they’ve demonstrated that historically but something is not connecting effectively with the Labour Party or with basic political skills and I hope it will very rapidly.”
A Labour leadership contest would be triggered if 20% of the party’s MPs nominate a willing candidate to stand against the leader.
