Sir Keir Starmer tells Express readers how he will use 'iron grip' to stop radical Left
The Labour leader says he has an "iron grip" on his party and Brexit is safe
Sir Keir Starmer vowed to lead a Labour government with an “iron grip” and to keep the radical Left at bay.
He promised he will put the “country first” if he triumphs in next month’s election and will not be a puppet of the Left.
The Labour leader also pledged to lead a “common-sense government” and insisted his changed party will not descend into the chaos and conflict that has dogged the Tories.
Sir Keir declared Brexit is here to stay and he will stand up to radicals and EU Rejoiners. And he said he would veto policies which are not focused on improving lives.
Committing to govern from the centre ground, he said: “I think most people don’t want the extreme Right. They don’t want the extreme Left.
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“They want to know they’ve got a common-sense government that knows what is necessary to take the country forward, to take their community forward, to help their family get on in life.”
In a clear echo of Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide promise that a party that “ran for office as New Labour” would “govern as New Labour”, Sir Keir stamped on suggestions that Left-wing radicals could take control.
He said: “I think you’ve seen just how steely I’ve been in changing this Labour Party.
“I have an iron grip on my party, I’ve changed my party.”
Sir Keir said the way he leads the party will be “the way we govern if we are given a mandate”.
He added: “This is a different Labour Party. That is why it will always be country first, party second.
“If anybody brings me a proposal that isn’t country first, the answer is going to be ‘No’ straight away.” He is under fire for refusing to nail down the specifics of his tax plans.
But he said: “We need to ensure everybody reading the Sunday Express knows in cast-iron terms, we will not be increasing tax on working people. We will not be increasing income tax.
“We will not be increasing national insurance. We will not be increasing VAT because we think people have paid too much tax.”
He attacked speculation that people could have to pay capital gains tax on family homes, insisting this was “never a policy”.
His focus on “wealth creation”, he says, is evidence of his success at transforming Labour.
“You may not expect a Labour leader to say my number one priority is wealth creation,” he said. “But that shows you how far this party has changed.”
Speaking to the Sunday Express in a hospital in the former Labour stronghold of Bassetlaw – which turned blue in 2019 – Sir Keir described his ambitions to bring prosperity in areas which have been left behind.
“We’re going to absolutely turbocharge our economy and make sure it works and living standards are improving,” he said.
And he is quick to assure voters who backed Brexit that while he wants to negotiate a better deal for businesses this is not a plot to put Britain back in the orbit of Brussels.
“We took a decision to leave the EU, we’ve left the EU and we’re not rejoining,” he said. “That means we’re not rejoining the EU or the single market or the customs union, and we won’t be having freedom of movement, because that was what we had a referendum on and that issue is determined.”
And while he has pledged to scrap Rishi Sunak’s plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda, he is adamant the small boats must be stopped.
“Nobody but nobody should be making that journey,” he said.
Describing how he would draw on his experience as Director of Public Prosecutions to go after the organised crime gangs behind the people smuggling, he said: “The key to stopping the boats is smashing the gangs that are running it.
“Those gangs should be taken down. And having worked with others to take down terrorists gangs, I will not accept and I do not accept the only gang this government seems to pretend you can’t take down are the smuggling gangs.”
Labour faces competition from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK but Sir Keir is not impressed by Mr Farage’s claim he now leads the true opposition. He said: “I don’t think it’s for Nigel Farage to declare himself Leader of the Opposition. I’m actually the Leader of the Opposition at the moment. I hope to change that.”
