Keir Starmer: ‘I really do hope the next Labour leader is a woman’

Senior political reporter Craig Munro spoke to four top party leaders for Metro’s 60 Seconds interviews ahead of the General Election on July 4.

You can find our interviews with Rishi Sunak of the Conservatives, Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats and Carla Denyer of the Green Party at these links. Nigel Farage of Reform UK declined to take part.

Here is our interview with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Online memes have joked you must have a genie during this election. How much of Labour’s lead in the polls would you say is down to the behaviour of the Conservatives, and how much on the actions of you and the party?

The Tories’ chaos and division has certainly led to some people looking elsewhere, but this has happened in the past. The difference this time is the British people look to us and see a changed Labour Party firmly back in the service of working people. It’s taken me four and a half years to change the party so it puts country first, party second. I’m proud of the decisions I’ve taken and the progress we have secured.   

And now the country is seeing we have a credible, fully costed and fully funded manifesto which will transform our country’s public services, deliver the growth we so desperately need and usher in a decade of national renewal. 

From the minute this election was called, I have travelled up and down the UK to take our offer of change to the British people, and who knows how many miles that is. We don’t stop now. We’ll continue working tirelessly right up until 10pm on Thursday because change will only come if you vote for it. 

Under what circumstances would you be able to lift the two-child benefit cap? What conditions would need to be met?

The Conservatives’ legacy is soaring child poverty and it is heartbreaking. My Labour government will get to work on day one to turn that around. With a cross departmental child poverty strategy, we will address the fundamentals that are holding too many children and their families back; by lowering energy bills, making work pay, banning no fault evictions, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, and stabilising the economy. 

The Conservatives brought in the two-child benefit cap, and it is a policy we have always stood against, but there are good Labour things that I won’t be able to do thanks to the state of the nation’s finances at the end of 14 years of Tory chaos and decline. 

But what I can do is promise never to make the same mistakes they have, in particular Liz Truss’ kamikaze mini-budget which crashed the economy and sent mortgage rates skyward. Everything we do will be about stabilising and growing our economy, creating wealth, and getting more money back into people’s pockets. 

Honesty is important in politics. That’s why I’m telling you now what I can and can’t do this side of the election. People have been let down too many times. But don’t for one second doubt my commitment to reverse the dreadful levels of child poverty the Tories have overseen.

Labour has never had a permanent female leader in its 124-year history. How important is it to you that your successor is a woman?

I really do hope the next Labour leader is a woman. I’m lucky to have many strong, intelligent and powerful women around me in my top team – Angela Rayner my deputy leader, Rachel Reeves, who would be the first female chancellor, Yvette Cooper, Bridget Phillipson. The list goes on…

This week is a chance to end the chaos, turn the page, and have this group of women at the heart of rebuilding our country. 

You describe yourself as a pescatarian – what’s your best fish recipe? 

Tandoori salmon, without doubt. I’ve taken my inspiration from Mr Singh’s in Glasgow and have honed my own recipe. I even cooked it on Sunday Brunch a few weeks back, in what turned out to be one of the last interviews I did before the election was called.

What Conservative laws are you most keen to repeal? 

If we’re privileged enough to serve, I’ll immediately start turning the page on the decline the Conservatives have presided over. I’ll get straight on with our six first steps. From 40,000 more NHS appointments a week, to a new border security command to secure our borders, to recruiting 6,500 more teachers for our state schools, our plans are ready to go. But change only comes if people vote for it on the 4th July. 

What’s the best night out in your Holborn and St Pancras constituency?

A lovely gastro pub has reopened in Kentish Town recently, The Parakeet, which is a great date night spot. For the younger generation, KOKO is always very popular. It’s a privilege to have so many wonderful places right on my doorstep.

Which politician from an opposition party would you most like to join you on that night out, and why?

I’d love to say I’ve got the time for a night out at the moment… 

Many people still bring up that moment on LBC when you appear to say Israel has the right to cut off supplies to Gaza. Would you change anything about that answer now? 

I was dealing with the tail-end of the question before saying Israel has the right to self-defence, and not ‘do they have the right to cut off basic amenities’. I was a human rights lawyer for many years, I would never have made that argument. It’s not what I believe. And I’ve made clear that international law must be respected and upheld including in the judgements of the ICC and ICJ. 

We’ve been absolutely clear – it’s very important that we have a ceasefire in place in Gaza, that we get the hostages out, get much-needed humanitarian aid in but also get a foot in the door for a political resolution of the conflict in the Middle East and do the hard yards to reach a two-state solution through a negotiated, diplomatic agreement.

Palestinian statehood is not in the gift of a neighbour; it is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the clear logic of any call for a two-state solution. Labour will work alongside international partners to recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as part of efforts to contribute to securing a negotiated two state solution.

There will not be a just and lasting peace until the occupation is brought to a permanent end, and both Palestinians and Israelis enjoy security, dignity and human rights. That is what my Labour Party is committed to.

What would you aim to have done in your first month as prime minister?

First and foremost we’re taking nothing for granted. We have to earn every vote. 

But if we’re privileged enough to serve the country, we will get started straight away. That means making the tough political choices – reforming our planning laws to build 1,500,000 new homes, switching on publicly owned energy company, GB energy, for cheaper bills and energy independence, closing the windfall tax on oil and gas giants, cracking down on the non-dom tax loophole to pay for two million more NHS appointments each year and making work pay. 

We are ready to turn the page on 14 years of decline under this government. But that can only happen if Metro readers vote for it on July 4.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.