Is it Cheerio then, Sir Keir? Awkward breakfast alternative for under-pressure PM
For a Prime Minister clinging on amid a maelstrom of speculation about his political survival, it was perhaps not the wisest choice of breakfast cereal.
But Sir Keir Starmer seemed blissfully unaware of the potential for mockery as he poured a bowl of Cheerios for a child today.
The Prime Minister was visiting St Anne’s Catholic Primary School near Reading to promote the Government’s free breakfast clubs – a world away from fevered Westminster where a rising number of rebel MPs want to see him out of No 10.
And the clamour to say ‘cheerio’ has hardly been diminished by the Labour leader always seeming to be heading off on trips abroad.
That has led to the nickname of ‘Never Here Keir’ and, sure enough, he was at it again yesterday – squeezing in the St Anne’s visit before flying off to South Africa.
Even though Deputy PM David Lammy is said to have warned him about his travels, Sir Keir embarked on an 11,000-mile round trip and is today due to touch down in Johannesburg for a G20 summit.
Sir Keir Starmer seemed blissfully unaware of the potential for mockery as he poured a bowl of Cheerios for a child today
The Prime Minister was visiting St Anne’s Catholic Primary School near Reading to promote the Government’s free breakfast clubs
SIr Keir and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson are pictured as they attend a breakfast club with students
Other world leaders, including Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, are not bothering to attend.
The three-day trip also cuts across preparations for next week’s Budget, widely seen as a make-or-break moment for both Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves. Downing Street last night said it was ‘important the PM engages with international leaders’.
But Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Keir Starmer seems to spend more time stamping his passport than standing up for Britain.’
The overseas trip is the 35th of Sir Keir’s 17-month premiership. It comes days after he dined with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French leader Emmanuel Macron in Berlin.
