Starmer bills UK election as chance to fight back against rise of populism

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has billed this week’s UK general election as a chance for the centre-left to start a fight back against the rise of populism and nationalism across the world.

Starmer on Monday embarked on a final 72 hours of campaigning in the aftermath of the first round of elections in France, in which far-right and leftwing parties performed strongly.

“We have to show on Thursday in the UK and across Europe and the world that only progressives have the answers to the challenges we face,” Starmer told reporters on a campaign visit in Buckinghamshire.

Polls give Labour a 20-point lead over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, with projections that Starmer could beat the 179-seat House of Commons majority secured by Tony Blair in the 1997 Labour landslide.

Sunak on Monday insisted that if he lost the election he would stay on as MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire for the whole of the next parliament and could stay on as an interim Tory opposition leader.

Asked if he would consider staying on for a few months while the party chose a new leader, Sunak told the BBC: “Look my priority is focused on this election. I love this party dearly, and of course I’ll always put myself at the service of it, and the service of my country.”

Recent elections in France and across the EU have seen a rise in support for the populist right, which would leave Britain as something of an outlier if on July 4 it elects a pro-European, centre-left government.

With US elections in November and the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency, a convincing win for Starmer would be seen as a test case for whether a moderate government can succeed.

Starmer said he had noted “the situation across Europe and across the world” and that progressive politicians had to show they had learned the lessons from the rise of nationalism and populism.

“We need to address the everyday concerns of so many people in this country who feel disaffected by politics,” he said, adding that some voters felt disconnected from politics after 14 years of Conservative “chaos”.

“They feel either that the country is too broken to be mended or they can’t trust politicians,” he said. “We have to take that head on.” Britain’s high debt levels, high tax burden, sluggish growth and fraying public services will be a major challenge for a new government.

Starmer also said he would be prepared to work with Marine Le Pen’s rightwing Rassemblement National, if it formed a government in France. “For me, that’s what serious government is about,” he said. “So yes, we will work with whoever.”

While many populist parties in Europe rail against the EU, Starmer campaigned against Brexit and wants closer ties with Brussels — albeit while insisting the UK will not rejoin the customs union, single market or the bloc itself.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Britain under a Labour government would be a “safe haven” for international investors looking to move out of countries facing more political turbulence.

Meanwhile, Sunak entered the final week of campaigning warning against the risk of Starmer winning a “supermajority” and being handed a blank cheque by voters to raise taxes.

The Conservatives hope that warnings about Starmer securing untrammelled power will persuade some wavering voters to stick with Sunak, rather than switching to Labour or Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.

Sunak has recently stepped up his attacks on Farage, notably over revelations by Channel 4 of Reform activists using racist and homophobic language on the campaign trail.

Sunak said the use of a racial slur against him was “racist and appalling” and condemned Farage for describing the remarks only as “inappropriate”.

Farage told Times Radio on Monday: “Nobody is angrier than I am, particularly as we’re doing so well with Black and ethnic minority voters.” He said there were “some bad apples in a start-up”, adding: “They’re gone.”

A YouGov survey found Reform had 7 per cent of support among ethnic minority Britons, above the Liberal Democrats on 6 per cent, but well below Labour on 53 per cent and the Conservatives on 14 per cent.

Sunak is fighting on three main fronts ahead of July 4 and is losing support to Labour, Reform and the centrist Lib Dems, who hope to make big gains across the Tories’ “blue wall” southern heartlands.

Sir Ed Davey, Lib Dem leader, continued his unorthodox campaign on Monday, hurling himself off a platform attached to an elastic cable.

“Do something you’ve never done before — vote Liberal Democrat!” he yelled, as he embarked on a bungee jump.