Sir Keir Starmer says he 'of course' talk to Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown about moving from opposition to government. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor/Pennsylvania.
Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown could be raised to the peerage to help the Labor Party if it wins the next election, Sir Keir Starmer hinted.
The Labor leader was asked Thursday if he would remove his predecessors from “bench” and whether he will transfer to Parliament as part of the party's attempt to increase the number of Labor colleagues.
Sir Keir said he had not yet discussed his strategy in the House of Lords “with anyone” but would “certainly” like to discuss moving from opposition to number 10 with the two men who spearheaded Labor's victory in the 1997 election.
“What I'm trying to do is bring the Labor Party out of defeat in 2019, when it's been in opposition for 13 or 14 years, into power,” he said.
“So, do it I want to talk to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who were the last leaders to achieve a transition from opposition to Labor Party government? Of course I know.”
Asked about Labor's plans to make up the House of Lords with its peers if it wins the next election, Sir Keir said: “There's an inconsistency here. We have far fewer equals than the government and we need to see things through.”
Appointments of the Lords
Labour has promised to abolish the House of Lords in its first term if it wins the next election, but for now it is not established how it will replace the upper chamber.
With the current composition of the Labor Party, 89 peers would need to be appointed to equal the number of Conservative peers.
But Lordship appointments are usually made by both parties at the same time, and smoothing out the number will take some time. years.
Meanwhile, fellow Conservatives may vote against government legislation.
On Wednesday, Sir Keir's spokesman confirmed that the party intends to become the largest party in the House of Lords, but did not comment on the specific figure.
“We don't have a majority in the House of Lords because of the nature of how the appointment process works, and every government by custom and practice obviously looks to make appointments to the House of Lords,” he said.< /p>
“But this is not something that is done in one fell swoop. It's something that takes time and often takes more than a term in government for it to happen.”
Sir Keir defended Sir Tony's knighthood amid controversy over the former prime minister's award last year, saying ITV: “I think he deserves the honor.”
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