Election 2024: Labour hits back at Tory warnings of ‘permanent Labour government’
Keir Starmer has reacted to the Conservative party’s warnings that Labour would set up a “permanent” government if it wins Thursday’s general election.
In a round of interviews this morning, Home Secretary James Cleverly warned against the “genuine risk” of a Labour government, marking a shift in Tory campaign tactics.
Starmer, who has been on the campaign trail in Hertfordshire this morning, told the BBC in response: “I’m not taking any lectures from him about elections, look at their record: 40 years of chaos and division and failure that they have inflicted on the British public.”
“Don’t forget what they have done to our country,” the Labour leader said.
Cleverly told the BBC earlier this morning: “They are determined to have a permanent Labour government, and they are quite willing to distort the British political system to get that – and that is what is at stake.”
The Home Secretary alleged that Labour “have said they’re going to distort the political system,” claiming that “there is a genuine risk” that the party will “try and lock in their power permanently, because they don’t really feel confident that they’re going to be able to make a credible case to the British people at the next general election.”
Cleverly told LBC: “It would be ridiculous for us not to warn about the implications of a Labour victory.”
The Home Secretary also rebutted claims that Reform could overtake the Conservatives to become the opposition in parliament.
He said: “There is no credible analysis at all that indicates that that is possible. The best case scenario is predicted that Reform might get a small handful of MPs but in doing so, give Labour a huge majority, which they would use to bring in votes at 16, votes for prisoners, votes for foreign nationals.”
Labour has committed in its manifesto to giving the vote to 16 and 17 year-olds, but Starmer today did not clarify his plans for votes for prisoners and foreign nationals. Labour has promised to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected second chamber.
The Home Secretary’s remarks come amid a notable shift in messaging from the Tory campaign. The Conservatives have begun to warn of the risks of a Labour “supermajority” rather than asserting the possibility of a general election win.
Sunak will warn voters against the consequences of a Labour landslide at a rally later today.
According to the Guardian, the prime minister will say: “We have four days to save Britain from a Labour government. Labour would hike taxes by more than £2,000 for every working family, would shunt our politics to the left and change the rules to ensure that they can stay in power for decades.”
Sunak has repeatedly claimed that Labour would hike taxes by £2,000 over the campaign and has been met with frequent rebuttals from the party. Last month, the UK’s statistics watchdog warned the Tories over their use of the figure.
This morning, Labour took aim at voter complacency, handing out pillows to reporters warning them that the public could “wake up to five more years of the Tories”. The BBC’s most recent polling predicts a 20-point majority for Starmer’s party.