Keir Starmer’s hopes for a Tony-Blair-style decade at Downing Street are ‘hybris of Olympic standard’, say Conservative MPs
- He faced claims that he took victory in the next two elections for granted
- Alexander Stafford said: ‘Sir Keir is guilty of Olympic-standard hubris’
Sir Keith Starmer was charged last night with “Olympic hubris” over his ambitions for a Tony Blair-style decade in power.
The Labor leader faced claims he was taking victory in the next two elections for granted after revealing plans last week for a ‘decade of national renewal’.
Tory MP Alexander Stafford said: ‘Sir Keir is guilty of haughtiness of Olympic standards if he thinks he has not only the next General Election in his pocket, but the one after it. That kind of arrogance and pride always comes before a fall.”
Sir Keir’s allies retaliated last night by insisting Work by no means taken for granted by voters and that the party leader should have set out a long-term vision given the magnitude of the problems facing the Tories. But even many Labor MPs are privately concerned that the succession of huge polls leading on the Tories will result in complacency.
The Labor leader unveiled his ten-year plan to transform the country and end ‘sticking’ politics. He made it clear that his “five missions” were so big that he would need two terms in office to complete them. He said, “I’m not going to shy away from the fact that after the damage done over the past 13 years, it will take time to rebuild the foundations.”
Sir Keir Starmer was charged with ‘Olympic hubris’ last night over his ambitions for a Tony Blair-style decade in power
He also faced questions about how the public could trust him, as he had campaigned to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister and had now reneged on his promises made during the contest to succeed Mr Corbyn.
He insisted he was “quite modest” given Labour’s disastrous performance in the 2019 election.
However, he was mocked for the lack of detail in his plans, which included the UK’s fastest growing G7 country and making Britain’s streets safe. He also faced questions about how the public could trust him, as he had campaigned to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister and had now reneged on his promises made during the contest to succeed Mr Corbyn.
Last week Ben Nunn, Sir Keir’s former head of communications, wrote in the i-newspaper that the leader’s talk of long-term plans “indicates his determination to be more than a one-off prime minister”.
Starmer’s ten-year hopes at No. 10 are Olympic hubris, Tories say
Berger returns to labor
STOP: Luciana Berger
Former MP Luciana Berger has returned to the Labor Party after Sir Keir Starmer apologized for the ‘disgusting’ anti-Semitism and death threats she received during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Ms Berger, who represented Liverpool Wavertree for nine years, left Labor in 2019 saying she was ‘ashamed’ to remain in a party that had become institutionally anti-Semitic under Corbyn. Tom Watson, then deputy leader, called it “the worst day of shame in the party’s history.”
Sir Keir tweeted last night: ‘I am delighted that Luciana has accepted my invitation to rejoin Labour.’
It is clear that she decided to return after Sir Keir excluded Mr Corbyn from running as a Labor candidate in the next election.