Starmer refuses to rule out Lib Dem coalition
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to rule out a coalition with the Liberal Democrats if he does not secure a majority at the next general election.
The Labour leader on Tuesday refused to rule out a pact with Sir Ed Davey’s party despite emphatically saying he would not team up with the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Sir Keir has said he believes he is on course to win outright after gaining hundreds of councillors and control of 22 local authorities at last week’s elections.
But the Lib Dems were also resurgent and recent projections have put Labour as not yet being in the position to form a majority government without progress among voters.
During broadcast interviews with Sky and the BBC, Sir Keir did not directly answer questions on a coalition or informal agreement – which saw former leader Ed Miliband lose out to David Cameron after the Conservatives campaigned on the attack line ‘coalition of chaos’.
‘Hypothetical’
He told Sky’s Beth Rigby: “I’m clear I’m pressing on, I want a Labour majority government.”
And to the BBC’s Chris Mason, Starmer said: “These are hypotheticals for the future. I want to be clear that based on those results we’re on course for a Labour majority.
“That’s what has been my ambition for the country ever since I took over as leader, that continues to be my ambition.”
Sir Keir insisted the reason he would only be definite about the Scottish nationalists was because there is a “fundamental difference” between his party and the SNP.
“I do not believe in the break-up and separation of the UK, I do not believe that our future will be better if we put a border between Scotland and England, so there’s no basis for an agreement,” he told Sky.
‘No complacency’
Speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston, the Labour leader insisted: “We’re winning in places and we’re winning because people could see that the Labour Party has changed.
“The party is laser-focused on what matters to voters, which is the cost of living crisis.”
He also rejected suggestion that he “personally isn’t popular enough”, saying: “those challenges come from time to time, but every time they come I shrug them off.”
Meanwhile, former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair warned there can be no complacency over the party’s position despite the successes.
He told Bloomberg TV Sir Keir had “done a pretty good job pulling the Labour party back from where it was”.
‘Coalition of chaos’
“But of course you can’t be complacent about these things at all,” he added.
The Lib Dems did not rule out the possibility of a deal or coalition with Labour.
A spokesman told the PA news agency: “We are totally focused on the issues that really matter to people – the cost of living crisis, the failure of this government to manage our NHS and the filthy sewage water companies are being allowed to pump into our rivers.”
It comes after the Tories lost more than 950 councillors and 48 local authorities last week, with Labour gaining 643 seats, the Lib Dems 415 and the Greens 200.