Gordon Brown has endorsed Keir Starmer’s bid for the Labour leadership, declaring he is the candidate with the “necessary qualifications” for a future prime minister.
In a major boost for the shadow Brexit secretary, the former prime minister, in office between 2007 and 2010, said Sir Keir had the values that are necessary to lead the party back to power at the next general election in 2024.
Sir Keir – one of three candidates vying to succeed Jeremy Corbyn next month – has a commanding lead over his rivals Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey, according to the most recent members’ poll.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Brown, the most recent Labour leader in No 10, also said that “never before” had the party’s challenges been so great in the wake of one of its worst electoral defeats of the postwar era.
“We have three worthy candidates in the election for Labour leader,” he added. “Rebecca Long-Bailey has emphasised the importance of a green new deal. Lisa Nandy has talked rightly about the importance of empowering our communities.”
But, he added: “There is one candidate with the expertise, with the eloquence, with the dedication, with the commitment and indeed with the values that are necessary for Labour to return to power.
“Keir Starmer has all the qualifications that are necessary for a prime minister of the future. A vote for Keir Starmer is a vote for hope. It’s a vote for the future. It’s a vote for the values that all of us believe in deeply. Join Keir Starmer and let’s elect a Labour government.”
In his intervention, Mr Brown also said the Conservatives had succeeded in “demolishing much of the social fabric and the postwar social contract” that Labour had created in power. “Millions of workers are on low pay and millions of children as a result are in poverty,” he said.
“Young people are denied opportunities in education, employment and housing. The postwar welfare-state safety net is now being replaced by food banks. Our public services are deteriorating and the National Health Service is struggling from crisis to crisis. Britain deserves better than this and it needs a Labour Party with a vision of what can be achieved in the new world of the 2020s.”
Unlike Mr Brown, Tony Blair has declined to offer his official support to any of the three candidates in the contest, saying last month his endorsement would only hinder their chances.
Asked which of the three leadership candidates he would back, Mr Blair replied at a recent event: “I don’t want to damage anyone by supporting them, so I have made up my mind not to give an opinion on which candidate.
“Whatever happens is going to be a significant improvement – if we had got rid of Jeremy Corbyn and put in someone more moderate, I think we would have done a lot better at this last election.”
