Starmer addresses the nation as PM says ‘when instances get robust, we pull one another up’
Sir Keir Starmer has addressed the nation as he marked St George’s Day after some MPs had called for the PM to resign following the scandal over Peter Mandelson
Sir Keir Starmer delivers a speech marking St George’s Day (Image: Getty Images)
Sir Keir Starmer has celebrated “service, generosity, and respect” as English values which the nation should celebrate, as he marked St George’s Day amid calls for him to resign.
The Prime Minister is under pressure following revelations following the scandal over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to US.
In his message, Starmer warned against “voices both here and abroad” seeking to divide the country as he welcomed members of the public and celebrities to Downing Street for a reception to mark England’s patron saint.
The Prime Minister continued: “Time and time again, when times get tough, we pull each other together and we pull each other up.
“It’s really important we do that, because there’s no getting round the fact that there are voices both here and abroad, who would seek to divide us, who want to set us apart from each other, who want to pretend that in this country, what we really do is to distinguish between people, to find their points of difference, to have a sort of toxic culture of hatred between different individuals, different groups, different communities.”
He referred to attacks on synagogues and mosques as “acts of violence designed to send a message to the Jewish and Muslim communities of this country that they are not safe”.
The Prime Minister added: “We reject their division completely, and we will fly our flag proudly. It’s our flag. It belongs to us, and we will fly it for the values that we believe in, and they are the values of the people I’ve named in this room tonight.”
Starmer gave three examples of people at the No 10 gathering who embodied the values he thought of as English.
These included Isaac Davidson, a window cleaner who helped to remove racist graffiti from a Chinese restaurant in York last year, and George Sutherland, a volunteer at a food bank in Telford who he previously mentioned during his Labour Party conference speech in 2025.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the work of Ben Huntley, the nurse who looked after his brother Nick Starmer before his death from cancer on Boxing Day 2024.
“Sadly my brother passed on Boxing Day 2024 and it hit me like a bus,” Starmer told the reception, his voice faltering.
The Prime Minister added: “But because of Ben, my brother always felt cared for and respected, because of the way that he was treated by Ben and the whole team, and that was really important to a vulnerable man with stage four cancer going through a really challenging time.
“Ben, I’ll never forget what you did for me and my family.”
Starmer added: “These are three very different stories, all in different parts of England, but they’re bound together by the same values of service, of generosity, and of respect.
“They are examples of people stepping up in their communities, when, frankly, it would be easier in many cases to step back. But they step up.
“They’re exceptional stories, and yet in this country, they feel familiar because you will find them in every community across England.”
The reception, which was held on Monday night, came after Sir Keir spent a bruising several hours answering questions from MPs about the latest revelations surrounding Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
Starmer was introduced at the reception by multi-Olympic medal winning cyclists Dame Laura Kenny and Sir Jason Kenny, who spoke of how they had first met the Prime Minister at the Pride of Britain awards several years ago.
Fresh from his Commons appearance, Starmer joked: “It was great to meet you at the Pride of Britain Awards and to talk about everything but politics. I like those kind of evenings.”
Among the celebrities present at the reception were former England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman; the ex-England footballer, sports journalist and Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney; and actor and comedian Joe Thomas, who rose to fame in sitcom The Inbetweeners.
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