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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Lizzy Buchan

Keir Starmer rules out 'any agreement' with Liberal Democrats at next election

Keir Starmer has explicitly ruled out "any" deals between Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the next election.

The Labour leader said he wouldn't form a coalition with "anyone" and also insisted his party would not enter into a looser "confidence and supply" agreement.

Mr Starmer recently rejected the prospect of a pact with the SNP but he was less explicit on Sir Ed Davey's party, which has been making gains in Tory heartlands.

But today he ruled out a coalition with “anyone” including the Liberal Democrats in an interview with Bloomberg.

Pressed on whether he would also rule out a confidence and supply pact, he said: "I’m ruling out any arrangement."

Labour leader Keir Starmer insisted there would not be any deals (PA)

Panicking Tories have tried to claim Labour could form a Government with the SNP or the Liberal Democrats after the next election, in claims that mirror David Cameron's 2015 warning about a "coalition of chaos" between the-then Labour leader Ed Miliband and Nicola Sturgeon.

But Mr Starmer hit back at the assertion, saying: "If people want a definition of chaos in politics, look at the government we’ve got at the moment."

Recent by-election defeats have led to howls of outrage by Conservatives over perceived backroom deals between opposition parties, as they seek to shift blame for their poor performance at the ballot box.

Senior figures in Labour and the Liberal Democrats have always denied making formal deals over recent by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton, Wakefield and North Shropshire.

Instead, each party put their resources into the seats that were more winnable, allowing Labour to secure the Red Wall seat of Wakefield and the Lib Dems to snatch Tiverton in Devon.

The Liberal Democrats went into coalition with the Conservatives in 2010, which meant Lib Dem MPs served in Government jobs.

A confidence and supply agreement is less formal but effectively allows a party to form a minority government, relying on votes from a smaller party.

Theresa May made a confidence and supply deal with the DUP after she lost her Commons majority at the 2017 election.

The next election is due to take place in 2024 but a new Tory leader could press for an earlier vote.

However the remaining five candidates all said they wouldn't go for a snap election during an ITV leadership date on Sunday night.

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