Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked for suggesting he won’t work past 6pm on Fridays if he becomes prime minister.
While he admitted there are some exceptions, the Labour leader said he won’t normally “do a work-related thing after six o’clock” on a Friday in order to “carve out” time for his family.
He told Virgin Radio: “We’ve had a strategy in place and we’ll try to keep to it, which is to carve out really protected time for the kids. So on a Friday – I’ve been doing this for years – I will not do a work-related thing after six o’clock, pretty well come what may. There are a few exceptions, but that’s what we do.”
He added: “In politics, some people think if you fill your diary 24/7 and don’t do anything else, that makes you a much better decision-maker. I don’t agree with that. I don’t believe in the theory that you’re a better decision-maker if you don’t allow yourself the space to be a dad and have fun with your kids.”
A spokesman for the Labour leader added: “Obviously he recognises things will be different if he does end up in No 10.”
The Tories have since dubbed Starmer “Sir Sleepy”, claiming he will be a “part time prime minister”.
A Conservative Party attack on social media said: “Keir Starmer has said he’d clock off work at 6pm if he became prime minister. You deserve better than a part-time prime minister. The only way to prevent this is to vote Conservative on Thursday.”
A Tory source told The Sun: “Whether he likes it or not, if he became PM, Sir Sleepy would be required to work after 6pm. If he thinks he can just put his slippers on and make a mug of Horlicks while he tunes into The One Show, then he is in for a shock.”
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Rishi Sunak: I’ll keep campaigning ’till the last moment’
Rishi Sunak said he will keep campaigning “till the last moment”, despite predictions of a Tory defeat
PA
Rishi Sunak said he will keep campaigning “till the last moment”, despite predictions of a Tory defeat.
Asked about pollster Sir John Curtice’s claim that there is more chance of lightning striking twice in the same place than Sunak remaining as prime minister, he responded: “That’s his view. That’s not going to stop me from working as hard as I can over these final few days to talk to as many people as possible about the choice.
“And I was up at 4 this morning talking to workers at a distribution facility. I’m here talking to you. I’ll be out till the last moment of this campaign because I think it’s a really important choice for the country.”
Speaking to the BBC, he added: “I will continue as I’ve said fighting for every vote till the last moment of the campaign.”
Sunak also denied that his switch from talking about his plans to warnings about a Labour landslide was the language of defeat.
“No, I’m very much still talking to people about our plan,” he said.
Claire Coutinho echoes Sunak’s claim that just 130,000 voters could prevent a Labour landslide
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has repeated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s claim that just 130,000 voters could prevent Labour from winning a landslide victory
PA
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has repeated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s claim that just 130,000 voters could prevent Labour from winning a landslide victory.
She told LBC: “It’s never over till it’s over. What I would say is that lots of people, if they look at the press, they might think the election is a foregone conclusion.
“Actually, it’s a relatively small amount of voters across the country – about 130,000 people have been estimated – who can make the difference in this election.”
Asked whether those voters could bring about a Tory victory, she said: “There’s quite a lot of seats that are very, very marginal, Nick. So, actually, just a handful of voters in those seats can change the outcome in those seats.”
Attacks on Starmer are a ‘total disgrace’, says Wes Streeting
The attacks on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after he said he does not usually do anything work-related after 6pm on a Friday are a “total disgrace”, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said
PA
The attacks on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after he said he does not usually do anything work-related after 6pm on a Friday are a “total disgrace”, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said.
Asked he would work beyond 6pm on a Friday, Streeting said: “I’m sure I will be and I’m sure Keir will be doing so too.
“The attacks on him are a total disgrace and it shows how far these people have fallen, how heavily they’re scraping the barrel and why they need to be removed from office on Thursday.”
Speaking to Times Radio, he added: “Let me say something about the Conservative Party. The party that turned Number 10 into a giant lockdown party now wants to lecture others on their work ethic.
“It’s a disgrace and the stench of their lies and hypocrisy is even more overwhelming than the vomit they left for Downing Street cleaners, and like those cleaners we’ll clean up the Tories’ mess too if we’re given the chance on Thursday, and as far as I’m concerned, given their behaviour this morning, that change can’t come soon enough.”
‘Part-time’ Keir Starmer MOCKED for suggesting he won’t work past 6pm on Friday
Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked for suggesting he won’t work past 6pm on Fridays if he becomes prime minister
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked for suggesting he won’t work past 6pm on Fridays if he becomes prime minister.
While he admitted there are some exceptions, the Labour leader said he won’t normally “do a work-related thing after six o’clock” on a Friday in order to “carve out” time for his family.
He added: “In politics, some people think if you fill your diary 24/7 and don’t do anything else, that makes you a much better decision-maker. I don’t agree with that. I don’t believe in the theory that you’re a better decision-maker if you don’t allow yourself the space to be a dad and have fun with your kids.”
A spokesman for the Labour leader said: “Obviously he recognises things will be different if he does end up in No 10.”
The Tories have since dubbed Starmer “Sir Sleepy”, claiming he will be a “part time prime minister”.
