Sir Keir Starmer: Labour must be '˜vigilant' of Ukip and Tory threat to Northern heartlands

Labour must remain 'vigilant' about the threat posed to its Northern heartlands by both Ukip and the Tories, a senior shadow cabinet member has warned, as he denied that replacing leader Jeremy Corbyn is the solution to the party's woes.
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir StarmerShadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer

Reflecting on Labour’s historic defeat in last week’s Copeland by-election, the Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer admitted the loss was a “very bad result” for the party and cast doubts on the party’s prospects for a victory in 2020.

In a veiled dig at fellow frontbencher Baroness Chakrabarti, the London MP also suggested some of the reasons given by members for the defeat were “not compelling”.

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But he maintained that replacing Mr Corbyn was not the answer, and urged all party members to “reflect honestly” on what they could do to turn the party’s fortunes around.

The comments from the former director of public prosecutions came amid a day of chaos for Ukip, as former leader Nigel Farage and high-profile donor Aaron Banks joined ranks against the party’s sole MP Douglas Carswell.

Speaking at a Brexit event in London, Mr Farage labelled the MP a “Tory party posh boy” who should be expelled, while in a separate interview Mr Banks hinted he could stand against Mr Carswell at the next election.

Sir Keir described Ukip’s defeat in Stoke last Thursday as good news for everyone “involved in progressive politics”, and suggested the party had made things “very difficult” for itself by putting forward its leader as a candidate.

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However, he went on to tell journalists that the party’s “continued threat” must not be downplayed and warned that Labour has “got to be vigilant” of the Ukip influence despite its apparent demise.

The Shadow Secretary of State also responded to reports that the Tories are looking to target up to 30 seats in Labour’s Northern heartlands, warning that this alternative threat must not be “underestimated”.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “We have got to pick ourselves up, we’ve got to be self-confident, and we have got to fight in all of these areas.”

Asked whether he believed Mr Corbyn should step down following the by-election fiasco, he argued that the party’s problems were at a “more fundamental” level than its leadership.

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He also denied any knowledge of a “soft coup” being organised against Mr Corbyn, claiming he does not even know “what a soft coup is”.

However, looking to the future, he issued the stark warning that “if things don’t improve there is no prospect of us winning a general election”.

He said the party must be “clearer” about what it stands for and how it plans to respond to the challenges of the decades ahead if it wants to win again.

Sir Keir went on to direct a veiled criticism at Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti, stating that he “[did not] think some of the reasons put forward” for the loss in Copeland were “compelling”.

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This follows an interview with Baroness Chakrabarti at the weekend, in which she blamed a series of factors for the result, ranging from a hostile media, to bad weather and poor public transport, but dismissed suggestions the leader was to blame.

Sir Keir also lamented the failure to include some of the party’s most “talented” MPs in the shadow cabinet, stating “there is talent there which we ought to make better use of if we possibly can”.