Sir Keir Starmer said Margaret Thatcher had succeeded in “freeing our national enterprise”. Photo: Marcin Nowak/LNP
Sir Keir Starmer If he became prime minister, he would govern as a “politician of conviction” like Margaret Thatcher, the head of the Labor party's campaign party has said, amid a row over the opposition leader's praise for the former prime minister -Conservative Minister.
Sir Keir is facing criticism from trade unions and his own MPs after he used an article for The Telegraph to praise it for making “significant changes” and “freeing up our national enterprise”.
But Pat McFadden, Labour's national campaign coordinator said party leaders had made similar statements in the past and it would not signal an ideological shift.
In an attempt to win support from centre-right voters, Sir Keir accused the Tories of “betraying” their promises on immigration .
Asked by LBC Radio if he agreed with Sir Keir's remarks, Mr McFadden replied: “This event has such a long history.”
“I I remember Gordon Brown, when he was Prime Minister, inviting Mrs Thatcher to tea at Number 10 and describing her as a committed politician who saw the need for change. And at that time we had the same fuss.
“What Keir did [in the article] made the same point: there are committed politicians who are changing the country. And he wants to be one of those, and not one of those who go with the flow and suffer from events.
“I agree that she was a committed politician, but this is not an endorsement of her policies. And the truth is that Gordon Brown praised her, Tony Blair said she was a “remarkable figure”, now Keir has said it. There is no path to victory that does not involve appealing to the people who have voted Conservative in recent years.”
As part of a further turn to the political centre, Sir Keir will on Monday pledge not to “not do it”. open the spending taps if Labor wins the next election, as he has made it clear he will not reverse the Conservatives' planned spending cuts.
Thatcher remains deeply unpopular with many on the left over her decision to close coal mines in 1980s and push for privatization of key industries.
One Labor MP told The Telegraph on Sunday: “Does he really think Thatcher's followers will be tricked into voting for him? In the meantime, he endangers long-time Labor voters. It is a destructive part of the Mandelsonian fantasy.” Momentum, a left-wing campaign group set up to support Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labor leader, said Sir Keir's remarks “brought shame to our party”. “.
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