Keir Starmer criticises 'desperate' row over plan to spend Friday evenings with family if he becomes Prime Minister

2 July 2024, 13:47 | Updated: 2 July 2024, 18:57

Starmer said the row is 'ridiculous'
Starmer said the row is 'ridiculous'. Picture: Alamy

By Kit Heren

Keir Starmer has called criticism over plans to spend Friday evenings with his family if he became Prime Minister "desperate".

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Labour leader Sir Keir said that the row over his plans to ring-fence time after 6pm for his wife and children was "hysterical".

He had earlier said that he tries not to "do a work-related thing after 6 o’clock, pretty well come what may", and he would "try to keep to it" if Labour took power after the General Election.

This sparked accusations from the Conservatives that Sir Keir was not taking the office of Prime Minister seriously enough, as well as counter-claims from Labour that Sir Keir would work later on Fridays if necessary.

The Labour leader's supporters also pointed out that his wife is Jewish, and that Friday evenings are important in Judaism as they mark the start of Shabbat.

Read more: General Election LIVE: 'Daft' to attack Starmer's 6pm finishes on Fridays - Streeting

Read more: Sunak’s last-ditch plea to voters: deliver hung parliament to stop Labour ‘supermajority’

Watch Again: Nick Ferrari speaks to Wes Streeting | 02/07

  • Join LBC for Britain Decides our election night coverage, starting Thursday at 10pm. Our flagship program will be led by Andrew Marr and Shelagh Fogarty, with The News Agents' Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall providing expert analysis as results unfold.This comprehensive seven-hour show will be broadcast live on LBC, Global Player, TikTok, and YouTube, with a simulcast on LBC News. Stay tuned for real-time updates and insightful commentary throughout this pivotal night in British politics.

The Conservatives said that it was "unrealistic" for Sir Keir not to expect to work on Friday evenings.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "I also think it's a bit odd because they're also saying they want to make people in the NHS work overtime and at weekends, so I think to do that on one hand, and on the other hand say that you're not going to work past 6pm is a bit tin-eared."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said "there's always work to do" and that "entails sacrifice". But he also told LBC in a phone-in last month that he admired Sir Keir for his work-life balance.

Mr Sunak said on Tuesday: "Everyone is going to approach this job in a different way. In my experience, there is always work to do. There's always decisions that need to be made. And, yeah, that's what the job requires. And that is, what the purpose of this job means. That's what public service is about, and the sacrifice".

Claire Coutinho: 'It's pretty unrealistic for your Prime Minister to not work past 6pm'

He said that "of course family matters", but that the job of Prime Minister was "an enormous privilege and public service, a job of this nature requiring sacrifices and that sacrifice I choose to make."

Jonathan Gullis, who is on the right-wing of the Conservative party, asked what would happen if Russia were to invade at night.

He said: “The leader of the Labour Party, who is literally boasting that he plans to clock off at 6pm on a daily basis today.

"So let’s hope Putin doesn’t choose 6.01pm when he wishes to go any further with his illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.

Sir Keir said of the Conservatives that "they’re just in this negative desperate loop. And it is really desperate."

He added: "My family’s really important to me as they will be to every single person watching this. And I just think it’s increasing desperation, bordering on hysterical now.”

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer on the campaign trail in Nottinghamshire
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer on the campaign trail in Nottinghamshire. Picture: Alamy

Sir Keir has spoken about how it was important for him that his children stay in touch with their Jewish heritage.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who is Jewish himself, said: "Virtually every military intervention we've carried out has happened at night, partly to keep our servicemen & women safe.

"The British people will wonder who would be standing in for Starmer between 6pm & 9am - Angela Rayner, David Lammy, Ed Miliband? Defending Britain's security isn't a daylight hours only job."

Lord Mann, a Labour peer who was appointed as the Prime Minister's antisemitism adviser by Theresa May, said that the criticism was "insidious".

"The attack on Keir Starmer for asserting his right to family time on a Friday night, as he has done for many, many years, is so dangerous," he said.

"So insidious from those aware of why he chooses to be with his family specifically on Friday evenings."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Oxfordshire on Tuesday
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. Picture: Alamy

He told the PA news agency: "It's a very strange thing to attack over. I'm the independent adviser to the Prime Minister and my advice would be this is not an area to stray into."

He pointed out that Friday nights had a wider cultural significance within the Jewish community, likening it to Sundays in Christian communities.

"There's a reason Parliament does not sit on Sundays," he said.

Rishi Sunak warns against 'sleepwalking' to a Labour government

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said criticisms of Sir Keir were "daft".

He told Nick: "Be fair, he's a good dad, he has always tried to preserve Friday nights," but added: "He knows what the demands of the job will be if he's Prime Minister."

Sir Keir made his original comments in a radio interview, saying: "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 6 o’clock, pretty well come what may. There are a few exceptions, but that’s what we do.”

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Danielle McLaughlin's killer Baghat was finally found guilty today

Indian man is found guilty of raping and murdering Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin in a field in Goa

Starmer welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, to Downing Street

Starmer tells Zelenskyy Ukraine remains on 'irreversible path to NATO membership' as leaders share phone call

The young man was swallowed by a whale

Kayaker breaks silence over 'terrifying' moment he was swallowed whole by humpback whale - then spat back out

William and Kate shared the sweet snap for Valentine's Day

Princess Kate and Prince William share sweet snap to mark Valentine's Day

Kanye West, left, and Bianca Censori arrive at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Kanye West and Bianca Censori shut down ‘split’ rumours as they plan Valentine’s Day together

Pope Francis

Pope Francis to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis treatment

One Briton has died in a car crash in New Zealand

One Brit dead and three fighting for lives after car crashes into tourists’ hired bikes in New Zealand

The woman won an immigration appeal after her marriage was ruled to have lasted long enough for her to be allowed to stay

Ghanaian tourist allowed to live in Britain under Brexit marriage rules even though she did not attend her wedding

Exclusive
Britain is planning to give away the Chagos Islands

Chagossians beg to return to their homeland, as LBC visits their lunch club in Crawley

A drone hit the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine

Russian 'high explosive' drone hits Chernobyl causing 'significant damage' to shelter protecting world from radiation

JD Vance has warned the US could take military action against Russia.

US threatens Russia with military action if Ukraine peace talks fail as Putin hits Chernobyl with 'high-explosive warhead'

Ilian Velazquez travelled to the UK to live with her dead partner.

Cuban woman given UK visa to visit boyfriend who had already died

Exclusive
File photo of the signs on the Jobcentre Plus office in Lisson Grove, north west London.

Jobcentre staff 'bitten and attacked with screwdrivers', as 90% of security guards face 'dangerous incidents' at work

Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire after complaining about her "psychotic and possessive" boss.

Soldier, 19, found dead in room begged ‘infatuated’ boss ‘I want to live my life’

The gas would have to be extracted via fracking

Giant gas field discovered under UK that 'could fuel the country for a decade'

Donald Trump has been accused of 'appeasement'

Ukraine’s future at stake as world leaders gather in Munich - with Trump accused of ‘appeasing’ Putin