Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds has defended Keir Starmer - and claimed he is a “serious leader” ready to tackle the challenges the country is facing.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Thomas-Symonds responded to comments by Lord Kinnock that the Labour leader was failing to cut through with voters - despite a commanding lead in the polls.
He told Isabel Webster and Martin Daubney on GB News: “I think the central message is that we have come a long way but, as the Labour Party, we know we have to go even further to win trust.
“That is an absolutely sound point to make and that is precisely what we will be doing. We take absolutely nothing for granted. And whilst I think most people would say the transformation of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer is a quite remarkable one - we all know that that is not complete. We all know we have to continue trying to gain the trust of more and more people and that is frankly precisely what we will do going forward.
“What I would say though, is that every politician every leader is a product of the time and this is a very different time, from 1997, Because in 1997, compared to now, the economy was in a very different position. Public services were certainly on their knees in 1997, but in 2024, I would argue the challenges are even greater.
“It isn't just about public services once again being in a dire state after a long period of Conservative rule, but also the cost of living crisis at a level that frankly it wasn't at in 1997 What we need in 2024 is not one of our leaders of the past, but we need for 2024 is a different type of leader, a leader like Keir Starmer who understands the scale of the challenge and is a serious figure for serious times and who is willing to put in that hard, difficult work to tackle the profound challenges we face."
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