Keir Starmer declares he is ‘a socialist who will put nation first’

Keir Starmer declared he is a ‘socialist’ yesterday as he hit back at claims of being ‘Sir Sleepy’ during the election campaign.

The Labour leader said the July 4 vote amounted to a choice about ‘whose side are you on’ as he introduced himself to the nation after four years in opposition.

Vowing to deliver economic stability and protect national security ‘in service of the British people’, he claimed he was ‘progressive’.

This is despite abandoning several Left-wing pledges he ran on when challenging for the party leadership.

Sir Keir, 61, also dismissed accusations from senior Tory sources that he lacked the ‘stamina’ to handle an election by claiming Labour has been in campaign mode since he became leader in 2020.

In a speech which centred on his personal motivation in politics rather than policy, Sir Keir accused ministers of failing to understand the lives of voters outside major cities.

‘Elections are about more than individual changes and policies, but about values, temperament, character and a bigger question: whose side are you on?’ he declared.

‘Everything I have fought for has been shaped by my life, every change I have made to this party has been about a cause, the answer to that question, the only answer: the working people of this country delivering on their aspirations, earning their respect, serving their interests.’

The de facto campaign launch took place in the West Sussex constituency of East Worthing and Shoreham, where Labour will look to hunt down the Tory majority of 7,474.

Separately in an interview with the BBC, when asked if was a socialist, Sir Keir said: ‘Yes, I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive. I’d describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second.’

But last night senior Conservatives accused Sir Keir of failing to offer any substance.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘Not a single plan for the future. Our country needs bold action, not waffle.’

Tory chairman Richard Holden added: ‘Once again Keir Starmer stood up to tell the country absolutely nothing. In this wearisome and rambling speech, there was no policy, no substance and no plan.’

Party figures have been keen to point out that Sir Keir – who is 17 years older than Mr Sunak – may not have what it takes to fight a gruelling six-week campaign.

One official even took a lead from Donald Trump’s jibes at President Joe Biden and labelled him ‘Sir Sleepy’.

But Sir Keir said: ‘I think they’re just so desperate.

‘We’ve had a strategy, we’ve had a plan that we’ve worked on for this election for four-and-a-half years. We’re executing our plan and our strategy.

‘I’ve had a smile on my face since January 1, 2024 because I knew this was going to be an election year.

‘So we’re doing that not only with energy, but with a smile, with positivity across all of our candidates.’

The Prime Minister has distanced himself from such briefings, saying ‘the substance is what matters.’

Sir Keir also doubled down on his vow not to raise VAT or income tax.

He told the BBC: ‘Politics is about service for me, and that’s why I changed the Labour Party in the service of working people.

‘But what I’m doing now is humbly asking voters to trust us to change the country.

‘None of our plans require us to increase taxes. Working people have been overburdened with increased taxes.

‘We have gone through all of our plans, and none of them require us to raise taxes.’

The Labour leader showed rare clarity when asked about previous reports of him backing votes for EU citizens, ruling out the idea completely.

But he left the door open for raising tuition fees in future and said the party will review voter ID laws introduced by Boris Johnson in 2022.