Keir Starmer turned his fire on parts of his own party on Saturday as he sought to keep Labour on the path to No 10.
Addressing the forum that will help set the agenda for his party’s manifesto, the Labour leader warned against giving Conservatives ammunition at the next election.
He held up Friday’s bruising by-election loss in Boris Johnson’s old seat as a cautionary tale, warning the party it had to “face up to” and to “learn the lesson” of the defeat. “We are doing something very wrong” when a Labour party policy was on “each and every Tory leaflet,” he said.
Addressing Labour’s national policy forum in Nottingham, which brings together members and affiliated groups to discuss the next manifesto, Sir Keir said: “We’ve got to ask ourselves seriously – are our priorities the priorities of working people or are they just baggage that shows them we don’t see the country through their eyes?”
Sources said Starmer was cautioning in his speech that the forum should reflect the needs of the public.
The Tories held Uxbridge in west London by focusing on Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s much-disliked plans to charge motorists with more polluting cars. A source close to Sadiq Khan said he was “listening” and “always looking at ways” to address concerns.
But Starmer warned his party that the result shows “policy matters” when it comes to elections.
Later in Bedfordshire, where a by-election is expected soon in Nadine Dorries’s seat, Starmer said the party would not change its controversial plans to keep the two-child benefits cap in place, which last week sparked a mutiny among Labour MPs.
Starmer told broadcasters: “I've been absolutely clear that we won't have any unfunded spending commitments, so we proceed on that basis. And that is why we're not going to change our policy on the two-child benefit cap. But we have to recognise that that is as a result of the damage that the Tories have done to our economy.”
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is facing calls from within his own party not to escalate culture wars that divide the electorate as he eyes policies on small boats and crime in a bid to avoid electoral annihilation.
Government sources made clear the prime minister intended to have ”crunchier” political arguments around areas such as immigration, where the Conservatives believe Labour is weak, in the months ahead.
But they indicated he would shy away from a fight on trans rights, a move which risks disappointing the right of his party.
Senior Tories have warned Sunak he is “doomed to lose power” if he does not change course ahead of the election.
One senior Tory told The Independent that he feared an escalation of “dog whistling” on culture war issues from his own party in the run-up to the election.
Starmer has blamed Khan and his hated expansion of the ultra-low-emission zone (Ulez) for their shock defeat.
Danny Beales, Labour’s defeated candidate in the Uxbridge by-election, launched a vicious attack on the emissions scheme at the forum, saying the policy had “cut us off at the knees” and handed the seat to the Tories.
He also declared: “Ulez is bad policy. It must be rethought.”
Keir Starmer leafleting during a visit to Shefford— (PA)
On Friday Starmer said it was clear Ulez was the reason the Tories won and urged Khan to "reflect" on the expansion. "We know that [was the reason for defeat]. We heard that on the doors. And we've all got to reflect on that, including the mayor," he said. Labour MPs from outer London now plan to send a delegation to Khan to urge him to pause the scheme, according to reports.
Labour MPs have told The Independent that Khan and the party should now ditch the policy.
Siobhan McDonagh, the MP for outer London seat Mitcham and Morden, urged Khan to "suspend" the expansion and find a way to make sure "those with the broadest shoulders" carry the burden for any changes.
"I think Sadiq should suspend the start date and have another look at it," she said, adding that the £12.50 charge set to be imposed on outer London drivers from August was essentially a "regressive tax".
Ms McDonagh said: "It's a laudable aim to improve air quality, but the question is whether this is the right way to do it."
Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan— (PA)
But Sadiq Khan defended his controversial Ulez expansion, sticking to his guns on the rollout planned for August, which aims to cut emissions and improve air pollution, on Friday.
"Of course I am disappointed that this seat, which has never been Labour in my lifetime, didn't go Labour last night," he said.
He added: "The decision to expand the ultra-low emissions zone was a tough one, but it's the right one. We do want to clean up the air in London. I think it's a human right, not a privilege. Nobody puts up with dirty water. Why dirty air? I'm hoping Ulez is expanded by the end of August.”
Despite Labour’s hopes of overturning a 7,000 majority and helping to deliver a humiliating triple by-election defeat for Sunak, the Tories' Uxbridge candidate Steve Tuckwell managed to hold on by 495 votes.
The Labour candidate Beales had expressed his reservations about the Ulez policy midway through the campaign, arguing that August was not the right time to expand the daily charge on cars that do not meet emissions standards.
But Mr Tuckwell, who opposed the policy, effectively thanked Khan for handing him victory. "It was his damaging and costly Ulez policy that lost them this election," he said.
