Tory leadership hopeful Dame Priti Patel today slammed Sir Keir Starmer as ‘feeble’ and ‘dishonest’ following his doom-laden Downing Street speech this week.
Speaking at her campaign launch in central London, the former home secretary blasted the Labour leader’s ‘pitiful’ first major address as Prime Minister.
Sir Keir used a speech in the No10 rose garden on Tuesday to warn of a ‘painful’ Budget to come on 30 October as Labour lines up tax rises.
He urged Britons to ‘accept short-term pain for long-term good’ after Chancellor Rachel Reeves previously set out a £22billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances.
Ms Reeves last month announced she is stripping millions of pensioners of their winter fuel payments and has laid the blame on Labour’s ‘dire’ economic inheritance.
But Dame Priti accused Sir Keir of being ‘completely dishonest’ about Britain’s finances since Labour took over from the previous Conservative government.
She also used her campaign event to promise she would lead the Tories back to power if she replaces Rishi Sunak.
And the ex-Cabinet minister vowed to give back ‘control’ to Conservative members with a series of party reforms.
Dame Priti Patel today mocked Sir Keir Starmer over the removal of a portrait of Margaret Thatcher in No10.
In a move branded ‘petty’, the Prime Minister had the £100,000 painting taken down from the Thatcher Room in Downing Street after reportedly finding it ‘unsettling’.
Dame Priti said: ‘On Keir Starmer, where shall we start?
’56 days in office and he seems to be spending more time removing portraits of great, strong, Conservative female leaders rather than getting on and doing the strong job of governance.
As she gestured towards a banner featuring a photograph of herself superimposed on a Union Flag, the Tory leadership candidate added: ‘If he wants a picture to replace Margaret Thatcher he can always have this one.’
Dame Priti said: ‘Earlier this week, we had the spectacle of a Labour PM standing in the rose garden of Downing Street, delivering one of the most feeble, pitiful and dishonest speeches you will ever hear.
‘He was feeble in his claim to say that he was tough with the trade unions in pay negotiations.
‘That was after he immediately rolled over to appease his paymasters at the expense of the British taxpayer.
‘He was pitiful to claim that he is locking up criminals after spending years in Parliament voting against tougher prison sentences for violent criminals and sex offenders, and campaigning to block the deportation of dangerous foreign national offenders.
‘He was completely dishonest with his complaints and his claims about the British economy that he has inherited, which were clearly made to justify his nasty financial assault on the very people who deserve dignity in their retirement.’
She added: ‘All we have seen over the last 56 days is a Labour Government of self-service, politics without principle.’
Dame Priti promised, if she is elected as leader, to get the Tories ‘back to winning ways’ after the party suffered its worst-ever general election defeat on 4 July.
She said: ‘We are a patriotic party, a national party who believes in the union and the matters which concern hard-working people every single day.
‘And I will lead us from opposition to government, so that we can serve the British people again and give them back the freedoms and the dignity that Labour will take away from them.
‘And to do that, we will work with one team, with one voice, and with a meritocratic team built on our collective skills and experience.’
Dame Priti also said she would introduce an elected party chair as part of giving back ‘control’ to members, as well as stop Conservative Party HQ ‘imposing’ candidates on local associations.
She told the Tories’ grassroots: ‘Under my leadership you will no longer be taken for granted. I will give you back control of your party.
‘I will empower you with more say over the policies we develop, drawing upon your experience and the ideas that you have.
‘I will put in place a process for an elected chair of the party, and I’m going to reform the controversial and unacceptable parliamentary candidate selection process that we saw candidates imposed upon local associations, parachuted down because they were the chosen favourite.’
Dame Priti is competing against Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride to become the next Tory leader.
The winning candidate will be announced at the start of November, after Ms Reeve’s first Budget in late October.
2 September – MPs return to Westminster following Parliament’s summer recess
4 September – a ballot of Conservative MPs will slim the field of leadership contenders from six to four
29 September to 2 October – the four rivals will attempt to woo party members at the Conservative conference in Birmingham
9 and 10 October – further ballots among Tory MPs will reduce the four remaining contenders to a final pairing
31 October – an online ballot of Conservative Party members will conclude
2 November – the winning candidate from the members’ ballot will be announced and they will be declared the next Tory leader