Starmer offers ‘fresh start’ as ‘beergate’ is dismissed
SIR Keir Starmer, boosted after a Durham Police investigation found he did not break Covid regulations during a visit to the city last year, has promised to set out fresh reform plans for the UK.
The Labour leader and his deputy Angela Rayner had pledged to resign if they received fines in relation to the gathering in the offices of a local Labour MP in April last year.
But in a speech in London yesterday, shortly after Durham Police found there was no case to answer, he said he never had any doubt in his own innocence.
He also said that in the days to come, Labour would unveil a programme of reforms to offer the UK a “fresh start”.
It comes after an extraordinary few days in British politics, culminating in Boris Johnson resigning as Conservative Party leader and bringing to an end an unprecedented revolt from within the ranks his own party, sparked by the Chris Pincher controversy.
Sir Keir repeated his threat to table a confidence motion in Mr Johnson if his Tory colleagues fail to replace him with a caretaker Prime Minister, telling reporters that he was confident Labour would win a snap General Election.
“People said to me I was taking a risk by saying I would step down if I was fined. But it was never about that. For me, it was a matter of principle,” he said.
“It shouldn’t be controversial to say that those who make the law can’t break the law. But we have to set the bar far higher than that.”
The Labour leader did not dwell on the result of the Durham Police investigation into a gathering dubbed ‘beergate,’ instead turning his fire on outgoing Boris Johnson and the entire Tory party, saying that the UK was stuck in a “dangerous rut”.
“Everywhere you look things are broken. And nothing gets fixed,” he added.
In a statement yesterday, Durham Police said the restrictions in place at the time on social gatherings had not been violated due to the application of an exception “namely reasonably necessary for work”.
While Sir Keir and Ms Rayner, who was also present, had always maintained their innocence, the finding will have come as a huge relief to Labour.
Sir Keir offered little reaction to the decision by Durham Police at the speech.
The investigation, if it had resulted in fixed penalty notices, would have plunged the party into political turmoil just as Westminster was grappling with the resignation of Boris Johnson.
Instead, Sir Keir attempted to put a wide berth between himself and the accusations levelled at Mr Johnson in recent weeks. He said he promised to resign to remind voters that politics is about integrity.
“Because when politics is done well, when people can have faith that politicians’ words mean something,” he said.
Sir Keir gave little indication of what fresh announcements might be expected in the coming days, but said it would be “no small project” to fix the country.
“In the coming days, I’ll set out more about how a reforming Labour government will achieve just that,” he promised.
“I won’t get everything right. I’m certainly not perfect, and I will make mistakes along the way. But what you will always get from me is someone who believes honesty and integrity matter.”