Party sets sights on majority but fails to rule out Lib Dem deal
SIR KEIR STARMER declined to rule out an electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats yesterday.
The Labour leader had used his conference speech in Liverpool to explicitly say there would be “no deal under any circumstances” with the Scottish Nationalist Party.
But there was no mention of any ban on deals with Sir Ed Davey’s Lib Dems.
Asked to rule out a deal with the Lib Dems, Sir Keir told GB News: “We’re going for a Labour majority, I’ve been very clear about that.
“And I was very clear we wouldn’t do a deal with the SNP. If you look at the challenges we face as a country then I do not believe putting a border between England and Scotland is going to help us address those central challenges.”
Some in the Labour party have urged Sir Keir to sign a formal non-aggression pact with the Lib Dems, with candidates standing aside to allow the party best placed to beat the Conservatives in individual seats to do so.
The Labour leader is unlikely to go so far, but observers believe there could be unofficial arrangements made in key constituencies.
In June, there were suspicions the parties worked together to secure a gain in Wakefield for Labour and one for the Lib Dems in Tiverton.
Sir Keir is much keener to rule out any pact with the SNP, as this could be used by the Tories as in past elections to warn of a “coalition of chaos” which could put the Union at risk. If Labour did have to be propped up by the SNP, the price would probably be another independence referendum.
That is why the Labour leader used his conference speech on Tuesday to rule such a pact out– denying the Tories a possible attack line at the election.
He said: “Scotland needs a Labour Government that can deliver change. But it also needs the power and resources to shape its own future, whoever’s in power in Westminster. And the SNP are not interested in this. We can’t work with them. We won’t work with them.”
A spokesman for the Labour leader said on Tuesday he had only mentioned the SNP in his speech – and not the Lib Dems – because it was a section about Scottish politics. He added that Labour was going for a majority at the next election, without help from any party.
‘We’re going for a Labour majority, I have been very clear about that ... and that we won’t work with SNP’