Starmer focus on cost of living crisis
SIR KEIR Starmer would not be drawn on providing further details in relation to allegations he broke lockdown rules while out campaigning on the last day before the elections.
The Labour leader has come under pressure since footage emerged of him drinking a beer with colleagues in April 2021 in Durham during campaigning for the Hartlepool by-election.
Sir Keir said he wanted to focus on the cost-of-living crisis and not Conservative “mudslinging”.
At the time of the gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open but social distancing rules, which included a ban on indoor mixing between households, remained in place.
Following renewed focus on the issue in recent days, Sir Keir confirmed police have not been in touch with him in relation to the allegations. But he did not provide additional details, including how many people were present in Durham, when speaking to reporters while in Yorkshire for the last day of campaigning ahead of the local elections.
Asked if Durham Police have contacted him in recent days, Sir Keir said: “I have not had contact from Durham Police and I think people are just about fed up with the mudslinging that’s going on.
“We know there’s elections coming, we know what the Conservatives are up to. What we need to do, I think, is focus on the issue in hand, which is the cost of living.”
Asked what he was doing at 11pm in Durham on the night in question, and if he went back to work having eaten, he said: “We were working, we stopped, we ate. No breach of the rules. No party. And I think that’s enough for the mudslinging from the Tories on this.”
He added: “What this mudslinging tells me is that the Conservatives have no answer to the central issue, which is the cost-of-living crisis. If they had an answer to that question, they would give it.”
When asked how many people were with him on the night, and if it was as many as 30, he said: “I had a team with me. We were working in the office. No breach of the rules, no party.
“This relentless focus on mudslinging instead of the issue in hand by the Conservatives means that they’ve got no answer to the real question that so many people want answered, which is: ‘what are you going to do to help me with my bills?”’
He added: “We’ve got a clear answer to that, which is a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, and use that to help people pay their bills, up to £600 off their bills.”
In the light of the partygate scandal, Durham police have been asked by Conservative MP Richard Holden (North West Durham) to reconsider their assessment that no offence was committed during the meeting.
Speaking to ITV’S Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, and asked if he had been questioned by officers since an initial probe after photos showed him having a beer and a takeaway with others last year, Sir Keir said of the police: “I think they put out a statement last week saying they’re not reinvestigating and they haven’t spoken to me.”