Keir Starmer today tells the Tories to call an election - vowing to beat any candidate chosen and saying to Boris Johnson ’s zombie government: “bring it on”.
Writing exclusively for the Sunday Mirror, the Labour leader accused the Prime Minister of “squatting in Downing Street”, while Tory MPs who “parroted his lies” try to “wash their hands of him.”
Mr Starmer promised a fresh start - while Tory MPs descended into infighting as they jostle for position in the forthcoming leadership election.
One backbencher described the unseemly scramble as a “Nightmare on Downing Street”
Another compared the atmosphere to “the Upside Down” from Netflix horror smash Stranger Things - a hell dimension mirror image of the real world inhabited by hideous beasts.
“Every one of the main candidates to replace him has spent the last year touring the TV studios parroting his lies and propping up his reign,” Mr Starmer said. “They can’t now attempt to wash their hands of him.”
He added: “Only by booting out the lot of them will Britain get the fresh start it needs. That’s why we need a general election now. My message to the Tories is simple: bring it on.”
'We need a general election now. Bring it on'
By KEIR STARMER, Leader of the Labour Party
BRITAIN needs a fresh start.
A fourth new Tory Prime Minister in six years isn’t going to achieve that.
Instead, it’s a recipe for more of the same.
High taxes and low growth.
Broken promises.
Wages that run out earlier each month.
Crime getting worse, long waits to see your doctor, an NHS that is going backwards.
We’ve had 12 years of this and we’re all paying the price.
At this crucial moment we have a zombie government led by a Prime Minister who is squatting in Downing Street.
Every one of the main candidates to replace him has spent the last year touring the TV studios parroting his lies and propping up his reign. They can’t now attempt to wash their hands of him.
That’s why it’s time for proper change.
Not a new captain of the sinking Tory ship, but a Labour government ready to re-energise Britain.
Labour’s mission is to make Britain’s economy stronger and more secure.
First, we’ve got to help the British people through the Tories’ cost of living crisis. Then, we’ve got to ensure our country never goes through something like this again.
We need to deliver growth by changing the economy so it delivers for working people.
Labour’s ambitious, fully-funded and practical plan for Britain does just that.
Take, for example, our plans to insulate homes across the country.
It’ll bring down household bills for millions of people.
It’ll make Britain greener and cleaner.
And it’ll create good jobs all across the country.
That’s a triple whammy of good news that a Labour government would quickly get on with.
Our plan will also improve people’s everyday lives.
Whether it’s the epidemic of crime, the shocking state of our NHS or kids struggling to catch up after the pandemic, everywhere you look things are broken.
Every time a Labour government is formed after booting out the Tories, we have to sort out the mess they’ve made of our public services.
So, just as we always have in the past, our plan for Britain will fix them again.
And we won’t do it the Tory way by cutting corners or putting the cost on working people.
Instead, we’ll pay for it by ensuring everyone is paying their fair share. That means closing tax loopholes exploited by hedge funds and removing private schools’ charity status.
I make no excuse for coming up with practical solutions rather than clever slogans or wild promises.. Britain is crying out for change and improvement, not more of the gimmicks we’ve seen in recent years.
It’s also why I’m absolutely clear there will never be any pacts or negotiations or deals with the SNP under my leadership.
We are going to govern for the whole country, not put its future at risk. While the Tories and the nationalists work in lockstep to sew divisions, Labour is the party of a more United Kingdom.
I know I have to convince you to put your trust in me, and to believe that together we can build a better country. What you can be certain you’ll always get from me is someone who believes honesty and integrity matter.
Changing the person at the top of the Tories isn’t going to clean out the rotten culture from throughout their Party.
Only by booting out the lot of them will Britain get the fresh start it needs. That’s why we need a general election now. My message to the Tories is simple: bring it on.
