Keir Starmer appeared on the Andrew Marr Show in Brighton this morning to kick off Labour party conference. Faced with a revolt on the left of his party over his proposed rule changes and an overnight row over his deputy Angela Rayner’s latest Tory scum comments, the Labour leader tried to turn the focus back to his pitch to voters. Only things didn’t go quite to plan.
Following a dip in the polls over the past year, Starmer attempted to brush off criticism that he has failed to make his mark in the role. He took issue with Marr’s suggestion that many people believe he is too dull to succeed as Labour leader – that a ‘showman’ is required – suggesting that the Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford showed it is possible to succeed with a more low key style.
If Starmer wanted Rayner to apologise, would he be able to get her to?
Starmer also insisted that Labour is making progress under him – even if that’s not reflected in the polls.
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