Sir Keir Starmer will make a further bid to distance himself from Jeremy Corbyn today, as he vows that his premiership would not be ‘vanity dressed up as virtue’.
In an attack on both his predecessor and former Tory prime ministers, the Labour leader will say politics should not be a ‘hobby’ or a ‘sermon from on high’.
Sir Keir will use his speech in the west of England today to once again highlight his experience as director of public prosecutions where he made ‘life-and-death decisions’.
‘There’s pressure that comes with that, but that’s the responsibility of justice and public service,’ Sir Keir will say.
‘And it’s the responsibility of serious government.
Sir Keir Starmer will use a speech in the West of England today to further distance himself from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn (Pictured together in 2019)
‘This isn’t a game. Politics shouldn’t be a hobby – a pastime for people who enjoy the feeling of power, and nor should it be a sermon from on high, a self-regarding lecture, vanity dressed up as virtue. No, it should be a higher calling.’
Sir Keir’s comments will be seen as a thinly veiled criticism of Mr Corbyn (pictured with Sir Keir) and his hard-Left allies who have been accused of ‘gesture politics’.
But they also appear to attack former prime minister Lord Cameron who, when asked why he wanted to be prime minister, once replied: ‘Because I think I’d be rather good at it.’
Sir Keir, who served under Mr Corbyn as shadow Brexit secretary, will insist Labour is a ‘changed’ party that is ‘no longer in thrall to gesture politics, no longer a party of protest, but a party of service’.
It comes as his party weighs up pledging to cut income tax or National Insurance in its general election manifesto to help voters struggling with the cost of living.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to believe that cuts offered by Labour must be ‘bombproof’ and not threaten the party’s fiscal credibility, according to The Times.
The Conservatives are also considering tax cuts in the Spring Budget in March.
Sir Keir’s speech will also attack the Tories and pledge to ‘clean up politics’ if he wins the next general election
Labour is also fearful that its poll lead – which places the party around 18 points ahead of the Tories – could collapse.
In a presentation to the shadow cabinet, the party’s chief campaign strategist, Morgan McSweeney, showed how in other countries the clear favourite lost an election after their poll lead suddenly vanished in the weeks beforehand.
Mr McSweeney warned: ‘Polls do not predict the future’ nobody has voted in the general election.’
Sir Keir will also use his speech to vow to clean up politics if he wins the next general election, saying: ‘I will restore standards in public life.’