In spite of urging his frontbenchers not to participate in picket lines, Sir Keir Starmer declared yesterday that he was a “proud” trade unionist.
Although the Labour leader stressed that it was a “matter of roles,” he claimed to “fully understand” why employees were asking for salary increases.
I want to lead Labour as prime minister.
He said on BBC Radio 5 Live, “I don’t believe the responsibility of the prime minister is [to] conduct a Cabinet meeting and then walk on to a picket line.”
Sir Keir was questioned over Sam Tarry, the party’s transportation spokesman whom he fired for doing interviews on a train union picket line.
Despite urging his frontbenchers not to participate in picket lines, Sir Keir Starmer (seen on August 31) declared yesterday that he was a “proud” trade unionist.
Nobody has been sacked for participating in a picket line, according to the Labour leader. I can get why so many workers believe they need a salary raise when it comes to such disagreements.
I support the right to strike because I absolutely understand what people are going through.
Sir Keir continued by saying that he had experienced not being able to pay bills and had experienced having his phone disconnected for “months” as a youngster.
I truly do know what it is like to sit around the kitchen table not being able to pay your expenses, he said to the BBC when questioned about how his party will assist suffering families in the coming months.
He said that the phone would be dead for “months at a time.”
Although Sir Keir said he was not making a “big poverty” claim, he acknowledged that his family had sometimes run into financial difficulties.
Sir Keir was questioned over Sam Tarry, the party’s transportation spokesman whom he fired for doing interviews on a train union picket line. On July 30, Mr. Tarry may be seen to the left of a picket line.
He said, “Millions of individuals will be having that nervous talk right now.”
He has suggested freezing energy costs for six months at the existing £1,971 price maximum, which would be partially financed by raising the windfall tax on oil and gas revenues.
Some experts and think tanks have cautioned that the scope of the cost-of-living problem would render such a strategy ineffective.
While acknowledging that a new strategy would be required by the middle of next year, Sir Keir claimed yesterday that it will address the “concerns of millions of people.”
The Labour leader criticized his party’s proposal as “kicking the can down the road” and refused to accept it.
In addition to stating that “many people listening and viewing this would be thinking “I can’t afford that,” he said that he knew the scope of the difficulty affecting families.
When questioned about his longer-term goals, he cited his party’s need for a “national mission” on house insulation.
On the subject of what we do in the long run, he emphasized, “I am totally up for the task.” I acknowledge the difficulties of having to complete anything by April.