Suspended Labour MP Karl Turner has said the public reception of Keir Starmer is “much worse” than that of Jeremy Corbyn.
The Kingston upon Hull MP, who now sits as an independent after opposing Government policy to ditch jury trials, warned that the strength of feeling could be the end of the Labour Party.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Turner spoke of the sobering reaction from Britons on the doorstep ahead of Labour’s devastating local election defeats.
“If you were knocking on doors with me last week, you'd have thought that the Labour Party had already died.
“People were saying things that I've never heard in the 40 years I've been involved in the Labour movement.
“The tragedy was that it was all about Keir Starmer. It is vitriolic, toxic,” the Kingston upon Hull MP said.
“We had our problems with Jeremy Corbyn, but the vitriol for Keir Starmer on the doorstep was much worse than I'd ever heard about Jeremy Corbyn.”
Mr Turner’s stark comparison was compounded by his recollection that the former Labour leader maintained some public support.
Karl Turner has wanred the public's reception of Keir Starmer is 'much worse' than Jeremy Corbyn's
|GB NEWS
“I was not a fan of Jeremy Corbyn. Far from it. I resigned as his Shadow Attorney General.
“But honestly, there were parts of my constituency who begrudgingly respected Corbyn.
“The constituency now despises Keir Starmer, so we have a massive hill to climb,” he said.
To that end, Mr Turner once again called for a new leader to lead the Labour Party.
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'The tragedy was that it was all about Keir Starmer. It is a vitriolic, toxic,' the suspended Labour MP said
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“What we need to do is get a leader in place who can disassociate from what's gone on in the last two years,” the independent MP explained.
To that end, Mr Turner said that: “The prospect of Keir Starmer staying very long at all in Downing Street is rather remote in my view.”
“The longer we go on with the current Prime Minister, the more unlikely it is for us to mend with the electorate, and that's what we've got to try to do.
“It may not work. I'm not suggesting a new leader is going to waltz in and magically create some popularity for the Labour Party.
“What I'm saying is there's a possibility of moving on from what is clearly a complete and utter chaotic debacle of a scenario, which Keir Starmer promised to put to bed when he became the Prime Minister.
“We can't carry on like this,” the Independent MP said.
Mr Turner advised: “The reality is he (Sir Keir) must set a timetable, because unless we have some semblance of stability, the markets will wobble, and that is a problem that we need to avoid.
“The Parliamentary Labour Party have a choice to make. Do they want West Streeting, do they want Andy Rayner, or do they possibly want Ed Miliband? That's where we are.”