04 December 2023 , 16:40
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Keir Starmer has defended his bizarre tribute to Margaret Thatcher as he insisted he did not "agree with what she did".
The Labour leader hailed the divisive Tory PM for bringing about "meaningful change" and "setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism" in a newspaper article on Sunday.
He named her alongside ex-Labour PM's Sir Tony Blair and Clement Atlee for acting "in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them". The article was designed to woo Conservative voters but it prompted a fierce backlash from left-wing MPs and unions over the "dire consequences" of Thatcher's "legacy".
Speaking on Monday, Mr Starmer said: "What I was doing at the weekend in the article... was distinguishing between particularly post-war leaders - those leaders, those prime ministers - who had a driving sense of purpose, ambition, a plan to deliver and those that drifted."
On Thatcher, he added: "Now it doesn't mean I agree with what she did but you don't have to agree with someone to recognise they had a mission and a plan. "So I was giving Margaret Thatcher as an example of the sort of leader who had that mission and plan. That's obviously different to saying I agree with everything that she did." "What we've had in the last 13 years is a complete lack of leadership - a real drift".
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Keir Starmer insists he doesn't 'agree with what Margaret Thatcher did' (Getty Images)His comments came as he delivered a major speech on the economy in Westminster and insisted Labour will not"quickly turn on the spending taps" if it wins power. "Inflation, debt, taxes are now huge constraints," he said - but insisted his party will make "different choices".
The Labour leader also hit out at declining living standards, saying: "A political consensus that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will get on, a glue that binds British society together, has become nothing short of a lie - for millions."
Addressing the Resolution Foundation think-tank's conference, Mr Starmer was also asked to reassure people the country isn't facing a "new age of austerity" under Labour. Mr Starmer replied: "If you look at the record of Labour in government. What you see is a record of investing in our public services.
"The austerity is something of this government. We are a party that always invests in public services". He added: "Of course we are going to inherit a very difficult situation. It is obvious the government is doing everything it can to salt the earth to make it even more difficult to make it more difficult from whoever might come after them".