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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Alasdair Ferguson

Labour-backing journalist makes stunning Keir Starmer admission

A LABOUR-BACKING journalist has made a stunning admission, saying Keir Starmer “essentially said whatever he felt he needed to get elected”.

Veteran political journalist and associate editor at the Daily Mirror, Kevin Maguire, made the remarks while discussing how Labour are preparing for the announcement of the Autumn Budget later this week.

He appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain show, where he said the proof was always going to be “in the eating of the pudding” following the election.

He also discussed how the Prime Minister’s government has already seemingly lost the trust of the UK public after failing to follow through on election campaign promises. 

Maguire’s comments come ahead of Starmer’s speech in the West Midlands on Monday, where he is expected to lay the groundwork for what the public and business can expect from the budget.

The Autumn Budget will be Labour’s first since 2009 which will be announced on Wednesday by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

On the Good Morning Britain show Maguire said: "Keir Starmer’s pledge to restore trust in politics has completely and utterly gone.

“It's just disappeared.”

He continued: “It was always going to be, the proof was always going to be in the eating of the pudding.

“What you do when you are in power.

“Of course, what he did is he essentially said whatever he felt he needed to, to get elected.

“Now that’s not unusual, it’s not unusual.

“Lots of politicians do it, but if you’re going to do that and you’re playing the same tricks as your opponent's then you can’t say you’re going to restore trust.”

Starmer has seen confidence in his government eroded since Labour took power in July.

He has been embroiled in an expense scandal while choosing to keep the Tories' policy of a two-child benefit cap and scrapping the means testing for the Winter Fuel Payment.

A sleuth of spending cuts are expected on Wednesday’s announcement as Labour aims to plug a “£22 billion black hole” in public finances.

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