Keir Starmer vows to 'fix broken Britain' as he repeats calls for general election as soon as possible
19 March 2024, 01:26 | Updated: 19 March 2024, 01:35
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to 'fix Britain' as he repeated calls for a general election as soon as possible.
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Sir Keir said the scale of the problems the country faces is "huge" but that Labour is "up for it".
It comes after the Labour leader told LBC he wanted "to usher in a decade of national renewal".
Addressing the upcoming general election, Sir Keir said the Tories had an "unforgivable" record but insisted he would not be complacent and would "fight every inch of the way".
"The economy is broken, the health service is broken, and public services are broken. So there's a lot of mess to fix,” Sir Keir told the Mirror.
"There's no way [the Tories will] go to the country and say ‘look at the brilliant job we're doing, surely you want more of this?’ They've burnt through five leaders so they cannot go to the country on their leadership."
Read more: 'Have the backbone': Keir Starmer challenges 'spineless' Rishi Sunak to call election next week
He went on to say: "I want that reset moment, which I think will be a real sigh of relief for many people across the country, because culture wars and division are exhausting.
"You have constantly got to find a new enemy, most of them imagined and then have a fight with this imaginary enemy, which the sum result is just more toxic division.
"If we get a chance to reset, I think across the country, we will get the opportunity to actually move forward as one country."
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Sir Keir also doubled down on his calls for a general election, having told LBC that "spineless" Rishi Sunak should call one as soon as possible.
He told the paper: "My strong sense of what the country's thinking is that they are fed up with this now and they want to get on with change.
"The Prime Minister dragging it out isn't helping anyone. At the very least, he should set a date now.
"But May 2 would be a better date, the next available please."
It comes after Mr Sunak shut down speculation over a May 2 election, saying: "In several weeks, on May 2, we have elections on local issues, police and crime commissioners, mayors.
"There won't be a general election on that day."
Sir Keir said if people want to root out a "rotten approach to politics" and get rid of the PM, they needed to elect a new government.
"I say to the Prime Minister, call it. Have the backbone to call it. Allow this to go to a general election on May 2, we're ready," he said.
"We’ve got a very positive case to put to the country and the sooner I can make that case the better."
