Labour candidate derides ‘unpopular’ Keir Starmer as he pledges to break with manifesto

A Labour candidate has been blasted by their Tory opponent after he criticised Sir Keir Starmer and tore apart his party’s manifesto policies during a husting this week.

Simon Opher, who is standing as the Labour candidate in the key marginal of Stroud, told voters earlier this week that Keir Starmer is ‘unpopular’ and dull.

Alongside the verbal assault on his party leader, Mr Opher also laid waste to his party’s policy offering, confessing he would use his time in Parliament should he be elected to force radical changes to environmental policies and the voting system.

Speaking from a pub in Stroud, Mr Opher confessed: “I know Keir isn’t that popular in Stroud, alright.

“What I would say about him is he has changed the Labour Party into a position where we are likely to win a large majority.

“Now I know you don’t like him, but I would say he is competent and slightly on the dull spectrum.”

Turning to other policies debated during the local husting, Labour’s candidate derided the party’s offering on the environment, telling voters that he is “unfortunate” Labour isn’t committed to bringing in a “right to roam” across the countryside.

On this point, he even said “there are some parts of the Green manifesto I do agree with”.

He also spelt out his desire to force people to go on holiday via trains and public transport instead of flying.

Mr Opher told locals: “Last year my holiday was to Greece overland, one of the best things I’ve ever done.

“The trains are fantastic, I really recommend that we stop flying and start using local transport.”

He also turned his ire towards drivers, despite voters’ concerns about Labour’s war on motorists and the threat of 20mph zones.

Mr Opher said Britain should have bike-priority roads where cars are not given priority.

He proffered: “I had an idea during Covid, when I used to cycle into work and the roads were empty - it was lovely”.

“I suddenly thought, ‘why don’t we change it so it’s like cycle roads that cars are allowed to use rather than the other way around’.”

The lefty Labour candidate also blasted his party’s failure to offer a change to the voting system, which he bemoaned as being unfair on the Greens and other smaller parties.

He promised to fight from within a Labour Government to force a change to proportional representation, saying: “It’s not in our manifesto but I am a very strong supporter of a change to PR”.

“It hasn’t been taken up yet [by Labour] but we will fight for it. Any topic that gets support from Andy Burnham and John McDonnell has to be a winner in my case.

“I am a very strong supporter and I will fight for this in parliament because actually it’s unfair on the greens and all the other parties.”

Mr Opher’s Tory opponent, incumbent MP Siobhan Bailie told the Express: “I did raise an eyebrow when I heard what Simon said, as while most voters feel the same, it’s bad coming from somebody actively trying to make the guy the Prime minister of this great country!"

"However, as well the admission that people don’t like the Labour leader much and he is indeed boring, I would add even more concerning obvious points: that he cannot be trusted to lead this country or make his mind up, that he is a socialist who will crush aspiration and he is someone who wants to tax us all heavily to pay for his pet projects and his politics of envy.”

Responding to comment, Mr Opher told the Express: "I am incredibly proud to be standing as a candidate for Keir Starmer’s changed Labour Party in this general election".

“Labour’s manifesto is a fully costed and fully funded plan that I back completely, with vital measures to tackle the climate and nature crisis such as making Britain a clean energy superpower through setting up Great British Energy, forcing water companies to clean up our rivers, and creating nine new National River Walks and three new National Forests.

“Change with a Labour government is only possible if people vote for it.”