, 22 April 2020 Having become the Leader of the Opposition amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, Starmer said he would refrain from "scoring party political points" and would work with
Boris Johnson's government "in the national interest". He later became more critical of
the government's response to the pandemic following the
Partygate scandal. Starmer also criticised Johnson's government, as well as the governments of his successors
Liz Truss and
Rishi Sunak, for issues such as the
Chris Pincher scandal and
subsequent government crisis, the economic crisis resulting from the
2022 mini-budget and
subsequent government crisis, the
cost of living crisis and the
National Health Service strikes and other
industrial disputes and strikes. Amid the historic number of ministers resigning from Johnson's government in July 2022, Starmer proposed a
vote of no confidence in Johnson's government, stating that Johnson could not be allowed to remain in office given the large-scale revolt by his own ministers. Starmer's questioning strategy against Johnson, Truss and Sunak was similar to that of a prosecutor.
Policies Starmer's tenure saw the party move closer towards the
political centre. Speaking at the party's annual conference in 2021, the first time Starmer addressed the annual conference in person since becoming the leader, he presented his focus on stronger economy and tougher stances on crime, repositioning the party away from the previous leadership. By 2022, Starmer had dropped most of the socialist policies he advocated during his leadership run, including pledges made to nationalise water and energy, scrap tuition fees, and defend free movement within the EU. Starmer responded to criticism in 2023 by stating that they remained "important statements of value and principle", but cited the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic crisis resulting from the 2022 mini-budget as having meant that these pledges have had to be adapted. Under Starmer's tenure, the party still supports the
renationalisation of Britain's railways, and has pledged to create a publicly owned energy company,
Great British Energy, to "compete with private industry and promote clean energy", differentiated from full nationalisation of the energy industry as previously pledged. In February 2023, Starmer set out five "national missions" as the basis for Labour's manifesto for the 2024 general election: achieving the highest sustained growth in the
G7 by the end of his first term, establishing the UK as a "clean energy superpower" with zero-carbon electricity by 2030; enacting health and care reform, improving the justice system, and dismantling the barriers to opportunity" with education and childcare reforms. The report was published in 2022 and was endorsed and promoted by Starmer, and recommended the abolition of the House of Lords, extending greater powers to local councils and mayors, and deeper devolution to the
countries of the United Kingdom. In November 2022, Starmer said that he would strip politicians of the power to appoint people to the House of Lords in the first term of a Labour government, adding that the public's trust in the political system had been undermined by successive Conservative leaders granting peerages to "lackeys and donors". Labour's 2024 election manifesto
Change, however, did not recommend abolition to the House of Lords, instead committing only to removal of the
remaining hereditary peers from the chamber, setting a
mandatory retirement age of 80, and beginning a consultation on replacing the Lords with a "more representative" body.
Antisemitism reforms Following past accusations of
new antisemitism in the party during Corbyn's tenure, Starmer pledged to end antisemitism in the party during his acceptance speech, saying "Anti-semitism has been a stain on our party. I have seen the grief that it's brought to so many Jewish communities. On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry. And I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us." In April 2020, an internal party report on antisemitism (''The Work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in Relation to Anti-semitism, 2014–2019'') was leaked. It was made during the end of Corbyn's leadership, intended for submission to the EHRC, and dated March 2020. It detailed that there was a tangible issue with antisemitism in the party, but factional hostility to Corbyn hampered efforts to tackle it. In January 2023, it was reported that the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) were not going to take action against the Corbyn-supporting authors of the report, which leaked with unredacted confidential information, and that the Labour Party would pursue a civil case against them. This internal report led to the Forde Report. The report said that there was "a culture within the party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it". The report also found that the party had broken equality laws due to the handling of antisemitism complaints. He was later suspended over his response to the report. On 14 November 2022, it was reported that the leadership of the Labour Party would not restore the whip to Corbyn, preventing him from standing for election on behalf of the Labour Party. This led to speculation Corbyn could stand for election as the
Mayor of London or in his current parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate, in opposition to Labour. In March 2023, Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) voted 22 to 12 on a motion from Starmer to prevent the Labour Party from endorsing Corbyn as a candidate for the party at the next general election. On 17 July 2022, the
Forde Report was published, having been commissioned by Starmer at the beginning of his leadership. It described how groups within Labour had sought to hinder Corbyn while leader of the Labour Party and said that during his leadership it broke into factions which supported or opposed him, though this factionalism had decreased since Starmer took leadership. The report said that groups within the party who were in support and opposition to Corbyn both sought to use allegations of antisemitism in the party during his leadership to further their political interests. The report detailed bullying, racism, and sexism within the party. The report also said many of those within the party from whom it gathered evidence were concerned the party operated a "hierarchy of racism or of discrimination", with more resources being allocated to investigate claims of antisemitism, amid their surge and political importance, compared to other forms of discrimination. Starmer was criticised for his lack of response to the report and the problems within the party that it highlighted, in particular
anti-black racism. In February 2023, Starmer's antisemitism reforms resulted in the party no longer being monitored by the EHRC.
May 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the
2021 local elections, Starmer carried out a
May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle. Starmer dismissed Angela Rayner as
Chair of the Labour Party and National Campaign Coordinator following the elections. The move was criticised by
John McDonnell, former
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
Andy Burnham,
Mayor of Greater Manchester. The major outcome of the reshuffle was the demotion of the Shadow Chancellor,
Anneliese Dodds.
Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new Shadow Chancellor and
Angela Rayner succeeded Reeves as
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Nick Brown was dismissed as
Chief Whip and replaced by his deputy,
Alan Campbell.
Valerie Vaz departed as
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and was replaced by
Thangam Debbonaire, who in turn was succeeded as
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing by
Lucy Powell. On 11 May 2021, Starmer's
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS)
Carolyn Harris resigned, which
The Times reported was after allegedly spreading false rumours about the private life of
Angela Rayner prior to her dismissal.
Sharon Hodgson was appointed as Starmer's new PPS.
November 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle The
November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, which was considered a surprise, included the promotion of
Yvette Cooper and
David Lammy to
Shadow Home Secretary and
Shadow Foreign Secretary, respectively, while Miliband was moved from
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy to
Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right. The BBC's
Laura Kuenssberg and
Robert Peston of
ITV News said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability". In the
New Statesman, journalist
Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."
2023 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle In September 2023, Starmer
reshuffled his shadow cabinet for the third time since taking over as leader. Starmer's deputy
Angela Rayner received the shadow levelling up post, replacing Lisa Nandy who was demoted to the shadow minister for international development. The most senior members of the shadow cabinet remained in their positions. She also said that Starmer did "not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet". The reshuffle coincided with the start of the tenure of
Sue Gray as Starmer's new chief of staff. Writers from
The Guardian and
Politico said that the
Blairite wing of the party had prospered in the reshuffle to the detriment of the soft left of the party. One shadow minister, said of the reshuffle, "It's all the Blairites" and called it "an entirely factional takeover". Starmer said that he was putting his "strongest possible players on the pitch" ahead of the upcoming general election.
Other events Beergate The Beergate political controversy involved an event in
Durham on 30 April 2021, attended by Starmer and Rayner, could have been in breach of
COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Starmer said that the event complied with the
rules for work gatherings, with a pause for food. The police, after investigating, cleared the Labour attendees, including Starmer and Rayner of any wrongdoing.
Breach of code of conduct In August 2022,
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards,
Kathryn Stone, found that Starmer had breached the MPs' code of conduct eight times by failing to register interests on eight occasions. Stone had launched the investigation in June after complaints that Starmer had been late to register income and hospitality, and said that the breaches were "minor and/or inadvertent." A Labour spokesperson subsequently stated that Starmer had apologised, with Starmer having previously stated he was "absolutely confident" that there was "no problem."
Slur by Boris Johnson While speaking in the House of Commons on 31 January 2022, Johnson falsely blamed Starmer for the non-prosecution of
Jimmy Savile, a DJ and television personality at the BBC
who was a serial child sex offender, when Starmer was
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Starmer was DPP in the years immediately prior to Savile's death but there is no evidence he was involved in the decision to not have him prosecuted. Johnson was heavily criticised for the comment and his policy adviser
Munira Mirza resigned three days later, saying in her resignation letter that Johnson had made "a scurrilous accusation" against Starmer. Also on 3 February, during an interview with
Sky News, Johnson would not apologise for his comment and tried to defend it by stating that, in 2013, Starmer apologised because the CPS had not investigated Savile; however, Johnson then said: "I totally understand that he [Starmer] had nothing to do personally with those decisions". On 7 February, while Starmer and his colleague David Lammy were leaving Parliament, they were ambushed by a group of people who shouted abuse at Starmer including the words "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile". Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested after a
traffic cone was thrown at police officers. Johnson tweeted that it was "absolutely disgraceful" and thanked the police for acting swiftly. Shayan Sardarizadeh for
BBC Monitoring said that the protest was an attempt to recreate the
Ottawa "freedom convoy" protests in the UK, and noted that the activists' references to
Magna Carta indicated that the protesters were members of the
sovereign citizen movement. The following day, a Downing Street source said that Johnson still would not apologise for the slur against Starmer. Following the incident when activists forced police to protect Starmer and Lammy extremists issued multiple death threats against Starmer and other Labour MPs. The
Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) sent material to the
Metropolitan Police. Imran Ahmed of the CCDH stated, "Every time a violent extremist makes a threat of violence and gets away with it, the norms of those groups worsen, and others are driven to newer depths of behaviour."
2022 NATO and Ukraine policy dispute Shortly before the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, 11 Labour backbench MPs signed a letter by the
Stop the War Coalition that accused the UK government of "sabre-rattling" and said that
NATO "should call a halt to its eastward expansion and commit to a new security deal for Europe which meets the needs of all states and peoples", whilst also arguing that NATO was an aggressive organisation due to military actions taken by its members outside its borders in the past. The MPs were asked by the party whips, representatives of the leadership tasked with maintaining discipline among Labour MPs, to remove their names from the statement under threat of being expelled from the party and all quickly agreed to do so. A spokesperson for the Labour Party said that this action ensured that every Labour MP understood that their party was on the side of "Britain, Nato, freedom and democracy". At around this time,
Young Labour's Twitter account was suspended after it criticised the leadership policy towards NATO. In an interview with the BBC in March 2022, Starmer was asked whether he would be hoping that MPs who backed Stop the War "won't be standing at the next election or if they do whether [he would] be fully supporting them to do so". After repeatedly being accused of not answering the question, Starmer gave the answer of "well, they are Labour MPs and of course I support them, but all of our MPs will go through a process for selection into the next election".
Industrial action policy disputes The summer of 2022 saw significant amounts of industrial unrest. Starmer instructed members of his shadow cabinet to refrain from joining
picket lines; some Labour MPs appeared on picket-lines including frontbenchers
Kate Osborne,
Paula Barker,
Peter Kyle, and
Navendu Mishra. The Labour Party's contingents in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments also took a different approach.
Sam Tarry,
Shadow Minister for Buses and Local Transport, was dismissed on 27 July after appearing on a rail strike picket. He said in a TV interview that workers should receive a pay rise in line with inflation though Labour policy was that pay increases should be based on negotiation. A spokesperson for the party said that "Sam Tarry was sacked because he booked himself onto media programmes without permission and then made up policy on the hoof." His dismissal was criticised by trade union leaders and Tarry wrote in an opinion piece for the
i that "failing to join the striking rail workers on a picket line would have been an abject dereliction of duty for me as a Labour MP."
Rishi Sunak attack ads A month before the
2023 local elections in April 2023, several attack ads were produced by Labour targeting
Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party's record in government as a whole, focusing on issues such as crime, the economy, and health and social care. One of these ads featured the controversial claim that Sunak did not want child sex abusers to be jailed, which referred to the Conservatives' record on prosecuting child sex abusers. The figures covered the period starting in 2010 - five years before Sunak became an MP and 11 years before he became prime minister - and ending in 2022. Other attack ads accused Sunak of being soft on gun crime and suggesting thieves should not be punished, and another referred to Sunak's wife
Akshata Murty and her previously held non-dom tax status. Labour's decision to target Sunak personally caused upset amongst current and former MPs from a wide range of parties, with Liberal Democrat leader
Ed Davey saying that parties "should not have personal attacks on other politicians". Senior Conservative MP
Tobias Ellwood called the attack "appalling" and said politicians "should be better than this", while former Labour Home Secretary
David Blunkett said it was "deeply offensive". Journalist
Andrew Marr called the attack ads "disgraceful", saying "Attack ads are fundamental to politics. But the smear campaign against Rishi Sunak is a strategic and moral error." When asked about the controversial claim, Sunak said politicians should offer "less talk, more action". Starmer responded by backing the message "no matter how squeamish it might make some feel" by saying: "I make no apologies for highlighting the failures of this government. This argument that because they've changed the prime minister five times that somehow the PM doesn't bear responsibility for 13 years of grief for many people I just don't think stacks up."
Wes Streeting said it was "perfectly reasonable to challenge a Conservative prime minister on the abysmal failure of 13 years of Conservative government". In September 2023, another attack ad targeting Sunak was released, this time accusing him of not believing schools should be safe. The ad was released amid the government's investigation of the extent of problems with crumbling concrete, which effected dozens of schools.
Diane Abbott's suspension and whip restoration In April 2023, after writing an article in
The Observer, former
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott was suspended as a Labour MP pending an investigation. Starmer said that she was suspended due to anti-Semitism.
Neal Lawson's possible expulsion In June 2023,
Neal Lawson, the chair of the
centre-left think tank,
Compass, faced possible expulsion from the Labour Party after 44 years of membership due to tweeting in 2021 in favour of other political parties working together with Labour against the Conservatives. In response to being notified of his possible expulsion, Lawson said that the party had become obsessed with "petty tyranny" and under the leadership of Keir Starmer the party had been captured by a clique who are "behaving like playground bullies".
Gaza war of Palestinians during the
Gaza war In October 2023, Hamas
launched a surprise attack on Israel that
devolved into a war and a growing
humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and a strong case of
ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people at the hands of Israeli forces. Starmer expressed support for
Israel, condemned "terrorists of
Hamas", and said, "This action by Hamas does nothing for Palestinians. And Israel must always have the
right to defend her people." In an interview with
LBC on 11 October 2023, Starmer was asked whether it would be appropriate for Israel to totally cut off power and water supplies to the Gaza Strip, with Starmer replying that "I think that Israel does have that right" and that "obviously everything should be done within international law". On 20 October, after criticism and resignations of Labour councillors, Starmer said that he only meant that Israel had the right to defend itself. Starmer had said that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas for future attacks, instead calling for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach Gaza. As of 6 November 2023, 50 of Labour's councillors had resigned over the issue. On 16 November 2023, Starmer suffered a major rebellion when 56 of his MPs (including ten frontbenchers) defied a three-line whip in voting for a
Scottish National Party (SNP) motion proposed by
Stephen Flynn to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Prior to the vote, Starmer stated that Labour MPs with positions in his Shadow Cabinet would be sacked if they voted in favour of the ceasefire vote. The Labour Party under Starmer suspended several parliamentary candidates and MPs, including
Graham Jones,
Andy McDonald, Azhar Ali and
Kate Osamor, for allegedly making anti-Semitic comments about Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, or for describing its conduct as
genocide. Jones said Britons who go to Israel to fight for the
Israel Defense Forces "should be locked up". Osamor wrote that there was an "international duty" to remember the victims of the
Holocaust and that "more recent genocides in
Cambodia,
Rwanda,
Bosnia and now
Gaza" should also be remembered. On 18 February 2024, Starmer called for a "ceasefire that lasts" and said it must "happen now", having previously declined to call for one.
Starmer and Sunak's PMQ exchange about transgender rights In February 2024, in response to Starmer's alleged backtracking on "
defining a woman" at
Prime Minister's Questions, Sunak said that "in fairness, that was only 99% of a U-turn", referring to previous comments made by Starmer that "99.9% of women" do not have a penis. This was said on the same day that the mother of
murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was present at the Commons, and was harshly criticised by Starmer, LGBT groups (including
Stonewall) and relatives of Ghey. Starmer reacted by deriding Sunak for including that in his answer while Ghey's mother was "in this chamber". In response to Ghey's father's request for an apology, Sunak said it was Starmer's linking the comments to the murder that was "the worst of politics". Esther Ghey, who was not in the public gallery to hear Sunak's remark, later declined requests for comment adding that she was concentrating on "creating a lasting legacy" for her daughter. Both Sunak and Starmer were criticised. Sunak's response was called a joke by some media outlets, and was criticised by some opposition MPs and Conservatives. Starmer's response was criticised by minister for women and equalities,
Kemi Badenoch, who said it showed Labour were "happy to weaponise" Ghey's murder.
General election betting scandal During the
2024 general election campaign, allegations were made that illicit bets were placed by political party members and police officers, some of whom may have had insider knowledge of the date of the general election before
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister at the time, publicly announced when it would be held. The allegations started with a report in
The Guardian saying that Conservative candidate and
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,
Craig Williams, had placed a £100 bet on 19 May 2024 that the election would be in July, three days before Sunak announced the general election to the public. In response, the
Gambling Commission opened an inquiry into alleged
betting offences relating to the day of the election. Later, further allegations, or admissions of political betting, were made involving police officers, Conservative members, a Labour member, and a
Liberal Democrat member.
Free gifts and hospitality controversy pictured in 2010 It was reported in September 2024 that Starmer, during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition, had accepted over £107,145 worth of gifts, benefits, and hospitality since the
2019 general election, including tickets to
Arsenal F.C. matches and
Taylor Swift concerts, two-and-a-half times more than any other MP. Starmer announced he would no longer accept clothes from donors. Starmer later admitted to accepting accommodation worth £20,000 from Labour donor
Waheed Alli, Baron Alli between May and July 2024, stating that the offer was for somewhere his son could study peacefully for his
GCSEs. The exams that year finished in mid-June. Starmer's use of accommodation provided by Alli sparked further controversy when it was reported that a video calling for Brits to stay at home that Starmer had filmed in December 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, had been filmed in a flat belonging to Alli. On 27 September
The Guardian reported that Starmer had received an additional £16,000 worth of clothes as a gift from Alli in late 2023 and early 2024. Although those gifts had been declared in time, they had been declared as money "for the private office" of Starmer, and not as clothing. Starmer stated that there was a "massive difference between declarations and corruption," saying that "all MPs get gifts". == Party management ==