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GEAR, STARMER?
Squirming Keir Starmer refuses SEVEN times to deny taking drugs as he’s grilled on The Sun’s brilliant new show
Watch our new show as Sir Keir Starmer repeats SAME line about his time studying to be a lawyer in Leeds
SQUIRMING Sir Keir Starmer refused to deny taking drugs SEVEN times in a grilling by The Sun's Harry Cole.
On the premier episode of the new Sun Politics show Never Mind The Ballots, the Labour chief was asked if he's taken illegal substances while a jobbing lawyer.
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Sir Keir responded: "I had a good time when I was a student."
Pressed on what exactly that means, the opposition leader replied: "It means I had a good time when I was a student."
In a wide-ranging interview, Keir also:
- Vowed to protect Britain's hardest workers from tax rises
- Refused to commit to the triple pensions lock for five years
- Insisted we 'can't go back' on Brexit but wants a 'better deal'
- Revealed he was paid to defend terrorists including Hizb ut-Tahrir
- Squirmed as he answered Sun readers' quickfire questions
- Blasted Boris Johnson for 'smearing' him over Jimmy Savile case
- Condemned Tories' Rwanda plan as an 'expensive gimmick'
Harry gave the man who could be Britain's next PM another crack at the whip.
But Sir Keir simply added: "I had a good time when a student and whichever way you put this Harry.... I am not going down that route."
The opposition chief studied law at Leeds, where he also became a member of the university's Labour Club.
Sir Keir graduated with first class honours and continued on to do a post-grad at Oxford.
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In the no holds barred interview Sir Keir took a pounding from Sun readers.
The wannabe PM refused to commit to protecting the triple lock for 12 million pensioners - warning there were tough decisions ahead.
And he warned taxes would go up under Labour - but vowed to protect Britain's hardest workers who are already "overburdened".
He also admitted he never believed Jeremy Corbyn would win when he told the public to vote for him - attempting to bat away accusations of dishonesty.
Taking drugs, Brexit, Savile smears - Keir Starmer is grilled on our explosive new politics show
The Labour boss also confessed that he was paid to defend terrorist group Hiz-but-tahrir, but said he had no regrets representing “wrong ‘uns” as a lawyer.
He defended a slew of policy u-turns since becoming Labour leader on The Sun’s new political show NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS – while he dodged questions on trans, taking drugs and his sex life.
Quizzed why he had torn up so many of his promises in the past, Sir Keir insisted he is being honest with voters now.
But he warned: “I've got a choice to make with the electorate, which is do I be up front before the election about what we actually can afford and what we can't or do I pretend we can deliver something which I know we actually can't."
KEIR TACKLES YOUR QUESTIONS
The Sun's Harry Cole grills Keir Starmer with your quickfire questions:
Harry: "What is your favourite crisp flavour?
Sir Keir: "Salt and vinegar."
Harry: "Curry order?"
Sir Keir: "Well I'm vegetarian, so chana masala, vegetable curries... something like that."
Harry: "What is the worst date you ever went on?
Sir Keir: "I am not going to reveal that on your programme."
Harry: "How much is a pint of milk?"
Sir Keir: "A pint of milk is about £1.10."
Harry: "Do you have any tattoos?"
Sir Keir: "No, I don't."
Harry: "What is your weirdest habit?"
Sir Keir: "I don't know what my weirdest habit is..."
Harry: "What was the last book you read?"
Sir Keir: "I am reading ... there is book by Melissa Bailey at the moment that I'm reading, Beyond the Sea, which is an intriguing book so I'm in the middle of that. I haven't finished it yet but I'm halfway through."
Harry: "Your tipple after a hard day in the office?"
Sir Keir: "Pale Ale"
Harry: "How many people have you slept with?"
Sir Keir: "I'm not going to answer that one."
Confronted with polling data that showed many Brits saw him as untrustworthy, Sir Keir insisted: "I'm in the camp of saying look, what I don't want to have is a situation where, after the election, we are breaking our promises."
In news that will rile pensioners, the Labour chief repeatedly refused to commit to protecting the triple lock, that sees pensions rise by inflation or wage rate every year.
He warned: "Obviously, we'll have to see what the state of the economy is as we go into the election, we will publish all of our plans as we go in and answer that question, but I believe in the triple lock."
Starmer also appeared to u-turn again on his views on gender and was once again unable to define what a woman is as he insisted the whole issue has to be "treated with respect".
Keir Starmer’s biggest U-turns
MAN OF MANY FACES
Sir Keir Starmer has become known as a major flip-flopper since he became leader of the Labour Party.
Here The Sun takes a look at some of his most blatant U-turns.
BREXIT
Sir Keir spent the entire 2017 parliament trying to reverse Brexit.
When he ran as Labour leader in 2020, Sir Keir did not repeat his call for a second referendum on Brexit, but he did endorse freedom of movement. After becoming leader, he said he would not cross the red line of accepting freedom of movement for EU citizens under any future negotiation of post-Brexit trading arrangements with Brussels. He has however pledged a closer trading relationship with Brussels.
NATIONALISATION
When he ran for the Labour leadership, Sir Keir vowed to bring public services, including rail, mail, energy and water, into “common ownership".
But the pledge didn't last long. As early as September 2021, he ruled out nationalising the six big energy companies and in July 2022, shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves ditched the commitment to nationalise more public services in one fell swoop.
The party still intends to bring train operators into public ownership but only when current franchises expire.
OUTSOURCING
One of Sir Keir's other leadership pledges included putting an end the involvement of the private sector in the NHS. Again, it didn't last long as it was dropped in the summer of 2022, with Sir Keir saying the party would have to continue with some level or private provision in the health service.
TUITION FEES
Sir Keir promised he would end the "national scandal" of student debt by abolishing tuition fees in 2020.
Changing his stance, he said the country found itself in a “different financial situation”.
GREEN PROSPERITY PLAN
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to invest £28 billion a year on green projects when she addressed the first in-person conference under Sir Keir back in 2021.
But in one of the most screeching U-turns, Labour announced in February it would spend just over £4.7bn a year.
The Labour boss has been trying to clarify his views on gender since 2021 when he struggled to say whether or not a woman could have a penis.
This year, he said that 99.9 per cent of women "haven't got a penis" and also rowed back on plans to introduce a self-ID system for transgender people.
But asked if he still believes “women can have testicles”, he said only a very small number were affected.
He also refused to answer how many women he's slept with.
He said: "The whole issue here has to be treated with respect, respect and dignity. And the Labour Party has fought for women's rights all its life and will continue to do so."
Pressed on his U-turn on gender reform, the Labour leader pointed to what happened in Scotland, before adding: "In the real world outside of politics when circumstances change, people adapt their position."
Asked again about his position on trans women and whether they can be defined as women, Sir Keir said: "Everybody knows there is a difference between sex and gender. I absolutely understand that and respect that. We will not be going down the road of self identification."
And he wouldn't reveal the worst date he's ever been on.
But the vegetarian Labour leader did reveal his go-to curry order... a chana masala.
KEIR STARMER’S RISE
Sir Keir Starmer almost quit after the crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election in 2021, according to a new biography of the Labour leader.
Three years later, the former director of public prosecutions looks likely to be the next prime minister.
Obviously, the job is not in the bag until all the votes are declared but the odds are undeniably in his favour after a series of by-election triumphs and a sustained and significant lead over the Tories in the polls.
But how did the London-born lawyer manage to get there? Apart from the obvious luck of finding himself as Opposition chief at a time when the Tories are doing themselves no favours.
Many, Sir Keir included, would be quick to point to the change he brought about, including a shift from the left to the right.
Despite serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet for several years, the Labour Party of 2024 looks very different to the one that suffered its worst defeat in 84 years back in 2019.
Sir Keir was ruthless in distancing the party from his predecessor - and even swiftly suspended Mr Corbyn after he claimed that antisemitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” in response to a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
He also made major constitutional changes to the Labour Party rulebook - which infuriated the left.
And despite leaving him open to accusations of being a major flip-flopper, he dropped several policy pledges made during his leadership campaign, including ending outsourcing in the NHS.
The team of people around him also looks unrecognisable from just a few years back.
In the last reshuffle, Sir Keir promoted a handful of Blairites to the shadow cabinet and his squad of advisers now includes the likes of former civil servant and Partygate interrogator Sue Gray.
While so far the Labour leader has been unwilling to set out any clear policies, it is evident the party is no longer scared to take on issues that were once traditionally seen as weak points for the party. Some of these include the economy and illegal migration. Many would also say his leadership has been instrumental in fostering a sense of unity within party - but perhaps when things go well, it is not that difficult to get along.
The Sun is launching a weekly politics show, Never Mind the Ballots, fronted by Political Editor, Harry Cole.
You can watch the first show on machibet777.site and on Thursday from 8pm.
And you can help set the agenda - by submitting your questions via email at [email protected]
In a massive year for the country, Never Mind the Ballots will feature the biggest political interviews.
Not only will it feature questions from Sun readers but the opinions and insight of the Sun's very own Cabinet.
Our panel of voters with real-life experience of working in law and order, defence, schools, the NHS and running their own businesses, from a plumbing firm to driving a black cab.
The show will look at what readers really want from the next Government and who, if anyone, can win their vote.
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The programme will also feature The Sun’s award-winning Lobby team for their analysis and insight.
- Watch The Sun's brilliant new politics show Never Mind the Ballots on and
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