Neil Kinnock backs Keir Starmer: Double election loser throws weight behind current Labour leader and says he has the ‘intelligence and maturity’ to make a success of the party
- Neil Kinnock comes out to bat for current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer
- He says Sir Keir Starmer has ‘intelligence, maturity, resilience and courage’
- He warned Sir Keir must do more to ‘restore relevance’ to Labour’s message
Double election loser Neil Kinnock will today come out to bat for Sir Keir Starmer.
Lord Kinnock – who lost to both Margaret Thatcher and John Major – said Sir Keir had the ‘intelligence, maturity, resilience and courage’ to be a success as the party’s leader.
But he warned Sir Keir must do more to ‘restore relevance’ to Labour’s message, which has been battered by Jeremy Corbyn, if he wants to win an election.
Lord Kinnock – who lost to both Margaret Thatcher and John Major – said Sir Keir had the ‘intelligence, maturity, resilience and courage’ to be a success as the party’s leader
The endorsement is likely to be seen as a sign of desperation for Sir Keir, whose party is still trailing the Conservatives in the polls.
Lord Kinnock will urge Labour members to back Sir Keir at an event today following his comments, which appear in a foreword to a report by the Labour in Communications network into how the party needs to modernise to win the next general election.
It calls for engagement with big business, a greater role for mayors such as Andy Burnham and an end to ‘internal issues’.
But Tory MP Richard Holden said: ‘If Sir Keir can only rely on Lord Kinnock for support, then it shows how divided and backward Labour remain.’
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