Radio News Hub has spoken with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir tells us he’s feeling more energised than ever

Speaking to Radio News Hub during a campaign visit to a pub garden in Bollington, Cheshire, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer said that he had a spring in step for the last week of the campaign.

“If you want change, you have to vote for it.”

With a week to before the country goes the polls, Mr Starmer was in Bollington, visiting supports and local candidates at The Vale Inn on Adlington Road. 

“I’ve worked for four and half years to get the message across. The conservative campaign is getting increasingly desperate; ours is getting more and more positive.”

Asked how the country will look five years from now under a labour government he said, “The country will be better, positive, as though we’re heading in the right direction, and people will be better off. I’m not pretending that on day one, we can fix every problem, but we can make a start straight away.” 

Challenged on the growth agenda and what might happen if faced with unknown problems, he said, “It’s strange for a Labour party leader to see his agenda is focussed on a growth agenda and wealth creation… we’ll take the tough decisions on infrastructure, planning, skills, industrial strategy, making sure we have the right qualifications coming out of schools, and I am confident we can deliver with that plan.”

Sir Keir talked about trust in politicians and the lack of campaign banners around the area, “I’m not surprised by that… there are two things that are important: resorting politics to service, we will be a government of service to our country, and secondly trust will take time.”

However, the Labour Leader doesn’t accept that scandals are inevitable, emphasising that culture change is important and that his candidates know that he expects higher standards.

Sir Keri Starmer doesn’t have trouble getting to sleep at night but hasn’t allowed himself to think about waking up in Downing Street: “As Vic, my wife says, we take each day as it comes. The polls don’t predict the future, and there are many close fights across the country. We need to carry on with focus and discipline.”

If, as the polls predict, he is the victor next week, it’s the effect it will have on his family that worries him the most.

“I worry very little about an incoming Labour government or daunted by the decisions we have to make, but I am worried about the impact on my family; I want to fiercely protect that as we go through the next week and whatever happens thereafter. I want their lives to be determined by them and not what I’ve decided to do with my life.”

With the sun shining through trees and the sound of cricket in the background, was this his last chance to enjoy a pint in a pub garden, and will he still play Sunday league football?

“I plan to do both, play football first, then go to the pub garden,” he said.

Published: 28/06/2024 by Radio NewsHub