Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the public to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, saying it is your "patriotic duty".
Celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee will being tomorrow for the Queen's Birthday Parade with the Trooping of the Colour.
And Sir Keir appears to be taking a patriotic stance to the event, a departure from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn who was accused of having a lukewarm support for the royal family.
Sir Keir labelled Elizabeth II as a "truly extraordinary" Queen and the jubilee as a chance to celebrate the difference she has made.
He wrote in the Telegraph: "The Jubilee weekend isn’t just an opportunity for us to reflect on the 70 years since Her Majesty’s accession to the throne – although it will, of course, be that.
Queen Ellizabeth II surrounded by her family as they watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Golden Jubilee celebrations in central London
Matthew Fearn
“And it isn’t simply a chance for a country wearied by the extraordinary circumstances of the last few years to let its hair down – although it is, of course, your patriotic duty to do just that.
“No, the first Platinum Jubilee in our nation’s history is a chance to celebrate a truly extraordinary Queen, to reflect on the difference she has made to her country and to consider what our Elizabethan age has meant – and what it will mean for our future.”
Sir Keir and Angela Rayner have received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary as the force investigates a gathering held in party offices during lockdown.
Sir Keir Starmer
Dominic Lipinski
Both the Labour leader and his deputy have said they will stand down if fined by police.
Sir Keir was caught on camera drinking a beer in an MP’s office after a day of campaigning for the local elections in Durham in April 2021.
Ms Rayner was also at the event, dubbed by some as “beergate” in the wake of the Downing Street “partygate” investigation into lockdown breaches.
At the time of the Durham gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open, but social distancing rules – which included a ban on indoor mixing between households – remained in place.
But Labour has argued that food was consumed between work events, meaning it was within the rules.
Earlier this month, Durham Constabulary announced they had reversed an earlier decision that no offence had been committed, after receiving “significant new information”.
Sir Keir has previously said he “put everything on the line” by promising to step down if he receives a fixed penalty notice, and that resigning would be “the right thing to do”.
