Keir Starmer

James O’Brien has accused companies distributing free school meals of ‘profiteering’ after pictures emerged of parents receiving meagre packages surfaced online. Downing Street has pushed for an investigation after parents began sharing pictures online of what they have been given to feed their children for ten days. Children’s Minister Vicky Ford said she would “urgently” look into the matter after one […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will use a speech to lay out how Britain can rise up after the pandemic, using the creation of the NHS after the Second World War as inspiration. He will tell the Britons that they “can build a country worthy of the sacrifices” made during the pandemic in the same […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think there is a case for rejoining the EU, or “major renegotiation” of the trading arrangements set out in Boris Johnson’s trade deal. Sir Keir, who was a prominent voice in the campaign for a second referendum and in his leadership election promised to “defend […]

Labour could dump Sir Keir Starmer in favour of a leader keen to rejoin the EU, a former frontbencher has warned. Former Labour whip Rosie Duffield said a majority of party MPs were “desperate to rejoin the EU at heart”. Speaking on HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast, Duffield – who was forced to resign in May for […]

Politicians are to be recalled to parliament as Boris Johnson plans tougher Covid-19 restrictions for England. The prime minister’s televised address is expected to take place at 8pm on Monday, with reports that Johnson could put every part of the country into Tier 4, with schools moving to online learning. 78% of England’s population is […]

The chair of a pro-EU lobbying group has urged Sir Keir Starmer to lead a cross-party “progressive alliance” to reform UK politics in the wake of Brexit. Stephen Dorrell, the chair of the European Movement – a grass-roots group focused on promoting close ties between the UK and Europe – said the first-past-the-post system of voting allowed “a small clique” […]

A pollster has warned that Keir Starmer’s vote in support of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is likely to make the fight in Scotland even more difficult. Sir John Curtice, a leading pollster and professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said the SNP’s opposition to the Brexit deal could help the SNP win a majority at […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has ruled out fighting the next general election on issues surrounding Europe, claiming he wants to focus on “Bitain in the 2030s” rather than the views of 2016. In an interview with the Guardian, Starmer dismissed talk of campaigning on Europe in 2024 despite the Brexit deal giving a break clause […]

Members of Labour’s frontbench are preparing to rebel and resign over Keir Starmer’s instruction to vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. The Labour leader is facing a revolt after he said on Christmas Eve he will back the agreement even though he has doubts about the deal. His party is maintaining its stance on voting […]

A former leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party has warned Keir Starmer’s party not to put itself “on the wrong side of public opinion” with the vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Richard Corbett, former Labour MEP, has urged his party not to vote in support of the agreement, which would put it on […]

Cracks in the Labour’s position on Brexit have been exacerbated after its leader in Scotland backed calls for an extension. Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said he supported an extension of EU trade talks in light of the Covid-19 crisis, putting his party at odds with UK leader Sir Keir Starmer. Downing Street has until December 31 to […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has rejected supporting calls for a Brexit extension during the coronavirus crisis – saying that he wants Boris Johnson to deliver his deal. Asked if he would support an extension, he said he wants Boris Johnson to prove he can ‘get Brexit done’ with his ‘oven-ready deal’. He explained: “I don’t want an […]

A pro-Brexit trade unionist has said that Labour adapting a rejoin policy “for the foreseeable future” would be a “suicide mission”. Paul Embery. a trade unionist with the FBU and NUJ, claimed that the Labour Party needs to accept that “we’ve got to stay out of the EU” in a warning to Keir Starmer. Speaking […]

Boris Johnson has been warned that failure to secure a deal and give parliament a vote on Brexit is playing into Keir Starmer’s hands. The Labour leader has been at pains to balance his party’s pro-European outlook with accepting the vote of the June 2016 referendum. But with Johnson’s government unable to fully commit to MPs getting […]

Tory MP Michael Fabricant was cut-off by the House of Commons speaker after he branded Labour leader Keir Starmer a “smarmy lawyer”. The Conservative politician for Lichfield used his question at Prime Minister’s Question to claim the Labour leader was looking to change the rules on Christmas. He told MPs: “Look, on the subject of […]

Sir Keir Starmer has chided Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) after he granted Dominic Cummings a £40,000 pay raise while at the same time enforcing a pay freeze on public sector workers.  In his return to the chamber since self-isolating, Sir Keir said: “Another major mistake of the past 12 months is losing public trust. “We all know what […]

Urgent talks are taking place between the leaders of the devolved administrations and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove as calls mount to scrap plans for an easing of Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas. The move comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded an urgent review into the easing of rules after leading medical journals warned […]

A Labour MP has been reprimanded by Sir Keir Starmer after accusations he suggested Boris Johnson was “recreating Nazi Germany”. Junior shadow frontbencher Bill Esterson shared a tweet suggesting the prime minister was steering the country “to a very dangerous place”. Esterton tweeted: “My dad’s family is Jewish. “We have no idea how many of […]

Keir Starmer must not be allowed to ‘fence sit’ on the big issue of the day. The leader of the opposition must stand up not only for the 48% who voted Remain but the overwhelming majority of voters and MPs (including most Labour members and voters) who opposed a no-deal or bad deal, the very […]

Sir Keir Starmer has mocked Boris Johnson’s “Get Brexit Done” slogan while taking a dig at trade talks during this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Sir Keir took the opportunity to question the prime minister on Brexit negotiations via teleconference after having been forced to self-isolate. He said: “12 months ago, he told the British people […]

Sir Keir Starmer will grill Boris Johnson from home as he takes part in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) remotely while isolating after a member of his office staff contracted coronavirus. The Labour leader will appear on screens in the Commons, weeks after the first virtual PMQs took place while Johnson self-isolated. This time, the prime […]

In the 12 months since the 2019 general election, Boris Johnson has seen his party’s poll lead drop from double-digits to level-pegging with Labour. The Tories had opened up a large gap in the polls by the end of 2019, boosted by the personal appeal of Johnson and a successful election campaign message of Get […]

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey has insisted it would be “completely wrong” for Labour not to vote one way or the other, should the UK and EU reach an agreement, given it is the “most important issue of the day”. Shadow ministers appearing on the Sunday round of broadcast interviews repeatedly said they wanted prime […]

Boris Johnson’s majority in “Red Wall” seats could be “wiped-out” at the next general election, new polling has revealed. The Tories could lose as many as 36 out of the 45 “Red Wall” seats it won in last December’s General Election. Voters said mishandlings around the coronavirus and Johnson’s decision to stand by Dominic Cummings following […]

Weak Labour is letting itself be led by the Conservatives on Brexit.  It’s the hope that kills you. Every football fan knows the feeling. But it’s the same in politics too. Despite being kicked out of the party a while back I so hope Labour win the next election. I so hope the venality and incompetence […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson has a habit of “running away” from tough issues after being confronted over Labour’s abstention from a vote on new lockdown measures. In his first session of Prime Minister’s Questions since having to self-isolate, Johnson sought to pin some of the economic turmoil behind the collapse of clothing giant Arcadia onto Labour. Johnson […]

Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 strategy poses a “significant” health risk and is “highly unlikely” to see restrictions eased in parts of the country before Christmas, Labour has claimed. Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of “over-promising and under-delivering” by pursuing an approach of short-term decisions that then “bump into the harsh reality of the virus”. […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the party would be abstaining in Tuesday’s Commons vote on the coronavirus restrictions, prompting accusations from the government the opposition is “playing politics”. Starmer said: “Coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public’s health and that’s why Labour accept the need for continued restrictions. We will always act […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a damning report on anti-Semitism in Labour was “just about as bad as you can get”. The opposition leader said he was “disappointed” when his predecessor claimed the issue had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. Corbyn was suspended from Labour over his response to the […]

Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson’s government of a “clean sweep” of ministerial code breaches, as he urged the prime minister to stop “wasting” taxpayers’ cash. The Labour leader highlighted Johnson’s foreword to the code last year in which he insisted there must be no bullying, no harassment, no leaking, no misuse of taxpayer money and […]

Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has interrupted Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to remind Boris Johnson of his duty to answer queries. Sir Lindsay was forced to abruptly pause PMQs this week after to remind the prime minister that it was his responsibility to answer questions, and not pose them. The rebuke came as Johnson pressed Sir Keir Starmer […]

Labour has elected Margaret Beckett as its next National Executive Committee (NEC) chair amid controversy over how the vote was conducted. Members on the left of Labour’s ruling NEC have staged a walk-out in protest at the election of veteran MP Dame Beckett as chair. The members believe Dame Margaret’s election to the role does not […]