Fury at ’embarrassing’ Keir Starmer for praising Thatcher to woo Tory voters

Keir Starmer was hit by a livid backlash tonight after he lavished reward on Margaret Thatcher to woo Conservative voters.

In feedback that enraged elements of his celebration, the Labour chief hailed the divisive Tory PM for bringing about “meaningful change” and “setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism”.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he mentioned: “Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them. Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism.”

He additionally pointed to previous Labour PMs Sir Tony Blair and Clement Atlee for understanding that politicians “must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them”.

As Rishi Sunak’s celebration continues to languish within the polls, Mr Starmer appealed to disaffected Conservatives, saying Labour would “extend the hand of friendship to you, no matter where you are or who you have voted for in the past”.

The Labour chief sought to park his tanks on Mr Sunak’s garden by criticising the Conservatives’ dealing with of Brexit and its “betrayal” of its manifesto promise to curb immigration. He later instructed the BBC that he needed to match the “drift” of current years with the “sense of mission” below earlier leaders.

“It doesn’t mean I agree with what she (Thatcher) did, but I don’t think anybody could suggest she didn’t have a driving sense of purpose.”

But his feedback about Mrs Thatcher will spark anger in Mirror heartlands decimated by her insurance policies within the Eighties, the place the influence of these job losses are nonetheless felt as we speak.

Chris Kitchen, General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), instructed the Mirror: “I can understand that some people think Thatcher was great. If I was a multi-millionaire who got rich off her policies maybe I would. I’m a former coal miner living in a mining community. I don’t see anything Thatcher did that helped anyone in my community.”

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Fire Brigades Union General Secretary Matt Wrack mentioned her Government “deliberately inflicted mass unemployment and poverty on communities through a vindictive pit closures programme and the decimation of the manufacturing industry”.

Mr Wrack, whose union is affiliated to the Labour Party, mentioned: “Working people and entire regions of Britain are still living with the dire consequences of Thatcherism to this day. That’s why so many families are struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills this Christmas. Obscene wealth inequality, a surge in food bank use, as well as low-paid and insecure work are the reality of Thatcherism.”

Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary, mentioned the feedback have been “embarrassing” for Mr Starmer as she pointed to the ex-Tory PM’s document of privatisation, commerce union crackdowns and blacklisting staff.

Beth Winter, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, mentioned Mrs Thatcher devastated mining communities and presided over insurance policies that induced “poverty and deprivation not seen since the Dickensian era”.

“Most of those forced to rely on foodbanks today are from communities that have never recovered from the Thatcher government’s assault on working class communities,” she mentioned. “Her government’s attacks on the working class and trade unions is well remembered in my constituency.”

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, a former NUM President and ally of Jeremy Corbyn, took intention on the Labour chief. He mentioned: “I can assure you my constituents do not in any way share this view. Thatcher brutalised the miners and their families.”

Labour MP Ian Byrne tweeted: “Inequality, hunger, destitution & misery. That’s the real legacy left by Thatcher.” And Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, mentioned: “Margaret Thatcher did nothing for working class communities in Liverpool and across the country: destroyed industries, attacked trade unionists, privatised our core industries.”

She mentioned nobody in Labour ought to look as much as Mrs Thatcher, including: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

North of Tyne metro mayor Jamie Driscoll, who give up Labour after being barred from standing for the celebration as North East Mayor, accused Mr Starmer of “abandoning the Red Wall”. He mentioned: “The North East lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs under Margaret Thatcher, my Dad’s job at ICI included. This is adding insult to injury.”

Momentum, the left-wing activist community, mentioned: “Margaret Thatcher laid waste to working-class communities, privatised our public services, and set in train the destruction of the post-war settlement founded by Labour. Starmer’s praise of her isn’t smart politics. It’s a shift to the Right, and a failure of Labour values.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf additionally piled into the row as he battles with a resurgent Scottish Labour celebration. He mentioned: “What Thatcher did to mining and industrial communities was not ‘entrepreneurialism’, it was vandalism. Starmer praising Thatcher is an insult to those communities in Scotland, and across the UK, who still bear the scars of her disastrous policies.”

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds mentioned he was not a fan of Mrs Thatcher however mentioned she had a major influence on the nation.

Asked if he was a fan, Mr Reynolds, who represents Stalybridge and Hyde, a former mining neighborhood in Greater Manchester, mentioned: “No, I’m not, but I can recognise that she was a formidable opponent and if I were to list the significant prime ministers who have really changed the country, many people like Tony Blair.”