Keir Starmer says Sunak’s claim UK has ‘turned the corner’ is ‘form of disrespect’ – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer says Sunak’s claim UK has ‘turned the corner’ is ‘form of disrespect’ because that’s not what people feel
Starmer says he is fed up with hearing Rishi Sunak says the UK has “turned the corner”.
That is “a form of disrespect in itself”, he says.
Taxes are higher than at any time since the war, he says. And he claims Sunak’s commitment to abolishing national insurance means he is prepared to repeat the mistakes of Liz Truss all over again.
Key events
Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Theresa May says she accepts some responsibility for Windrush scandal
Rowena Mason
Theresa May has told a new documentary that she takes responsibility for the Windrush scandal as home secretary at the time the problem was identified.
The former prime minister also said she “recognises” that she should have met Grenfell victims immediately after the devastating fire.
She made the comments in a new programme, Theresa May: The Accidental Prime Minister for ITV saying of the 2017 tower disaster that cost 72 lives: “I should have gone and met victims. I recognise that.”
Her chief of staff Gavin Barwell said:
We got that call badly wrong. We served her very badly because it played on the perceptions that people already have from the election campaign, that she wasn’t comfortable with that kind of face to face contact.
May did go and meet victims the next day in a nearby church but was criticised at the time for not going sooner.
On the Windrush scandal, which followed May’s “hostile environment”policy when she was in the Home Office, May said:
Should we in the Home Office have had a greater sense of trying to identify whether there were other people, people who were going to get caught up in this way? I don’t believe that question was ever asked. And that’s what lay behind the problems.
Asked if she was home secretary when this was the case, she says: “I was. And as home secretary, you take responsibility.”
Q: Are you ready to face policy challenges from Labour mayors like Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan? And would you be willing to say no to them if necessary?
Yes, and yes, Starmer says.
He says he expects mayors to push central government, and to push for what is best for their areas.
He says he wants mayors and central government to work together.
But on some occasions he will have to say no, he says.
And that’s the end of the Q&A.
I will post a summary and analysis shortly.
Starmer refuses to commit to getting rid of photo ID voting rules
Q: Will you get rid of the vote ID rules introduced by the government?
Starmer says there are no “great plans” in that areas. He says he thinks the policy is being reviewed. But his priorities are the economy and the NHS, he says.
Q: Do you understand the concerns of people who send their children to private schools about your plans to put VAT on school fees?
Starmer says he understands why people send their children to private schools, and respects their decision. But he says he needs to prioritise. He says he wants to put 6,500 more teachers in state schools. The VAT money will fund that, he says. He says he wants to make schools better for all pupils.
Q: Are the 15 EU countries who are considering some Rwanda-type scheme wrong?
Starmer says they are not proposing the Rwanda scheme (which just involves deporting people coming to the UK to apply for asylum).
He says they are considering offshoring asylum applications (sending applications to a third country while their applications are considered). That is different, he says. He says he is not against that in principle.
Starmer rules out giving vote to EU citizens in general elections
Q: [From the Sun] What do you say to people who claim giving the vote to 16 and 17-year-old is just the thin end of the wedge? Can you rule out giving the vote to EU citizens?
Yes, says Starmer.
But he says he has long believed that, if people can work and pay taxes at 16, they should be allowed to vote then.
In 2020 Starmer did propose giving EU nationals the right to vote in general elections.
Q: Can you win East Worthing and Shoreham for the first time since 1997?
Yes, says Starmer.
That prompts a large round of applause from Labour activists in the audience.
He says he is determined to make progress in the south east of London. He knows from his background what people in Sussex want, he says.
‘Stop’ – Starmer says that would be his message to Israel PM about Rafah offensive after bombing of refugee camp
Q: If you were PM, what would you be saying to Benjamin Netanyhu in the light of the attack on the refugee camp in Gaza?
Starmer replies: “Stop.”
He goes on:
Those reports are horrifying. And what makes it worse is that this was a safe space with women or children in it and families that already fled a number of times. It is horrifying to see that.
I’ve been saying for some time that the Rafah offensive should not take place and what you saw there was the consequences, the inevitable consequences, of that offensive.
Q: Some form of national service is quite popular with voters. And, as the father of a teenage son, how do you think he and his friends would feel about this?
Starmer says the UK needs strong defences. But this policy is desperate, he says. And it has not been thought through.
He says his priority would be levelling up and the NHS.
‘Just so desperate’ – Starmer dismisses Tory claims he is finding campaign tiring
Stamer is now taking questions.
Q: [From Anushka Asthana] The Tories says you are getting tired. What do you think they are getting at, and how would you respond?
Starmer says the Tories are “just so desperate”.
He says he has a plan he is sticking to. Maybe the Tories don’t appreciate that, because they don’t stick to their plans, he suggests.
The question referred to briefing from CCHQ over the weekend. Stefan Boscia has a good summary in his London Playbook briefing. He says:
Snoozin’ Starmer: The Tories are clearly trying to make Starmer’s age a thing early in the campaign (he’s 61), with aides repeatedly calling him “weary” on Sunday afternoon. CCHQ is doubling down on this message today, with a statement from Tory Party Chair Richard Holden saying it was “bizarre that Sir Keir Starmer … spent the day at home resting ahead of a speech which doesn’t say anything.” One Conservative aide went further by telling the Sun’s Harry Cole that Starmer should be known as “Sir Sleepy,” while another calls him “Sleepy Keir” in a story by the FT’s George Parker.
Trump playbook: The new nicknames are (obvs) inspired by Donald Trump’s childish nickname for Joe Biden, “Sleepy Joe,” and an attempt to contrast Starmer’s steady managerialism with the 44-year-old Sunak’s famously high-energy approach. In reality the Labour leader is a full 20 years younger than President Biden, and it is obviously a bit of a stretch to pretend he’s an old man pining for slippers and an open fire over the campaign trail, but hey — this is modern politics. Labour are rubbishing the claims as an example of “desperation” and point out Starmer was out campaigning the very day the election was called.
Starmer says he has been criticised for changes he has made. (He is referring in particular to his decision to drop some of the leftwing policies he championed when he was standing for Labour leader.)
He says, in taking these decisions, he always put the country first.
And he contrasts this with Rishi Sunak’s approach. Sunak always gives in when confronted with factions of his party.
Starmer ends by saying, just as he changed the Labour party, he can change the country.
Starmer says Tory plan for ‘teenage Dad’s Army’ is sign of desperation
Starmer is now mocking Sunak over his approach to the election.
He says there has been a new plan every week, a new strategy every month, a new election campaign every day.
And he describes the national sevice plan, for a “teenage Dad’s Army”, as a sign of desparation.
And he is particularly crititical about the proposal to fund it “by cancelling levelling up and with money from tax avoidance that we would use to invest in our NHS”.
