Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to hold televised press conferences each month in a bid to counter the new, daily briefings planned for Downing Street, the party has confirmed.
The question and answer sessions with the media could begin as soon as next month, when No 10 is thought to want to begin its own White House-style TV briefings.
A Labour source confirmed to The Independent that the party is looking at regular, live press conferences in a bid to boost the public profile of Sir Keir – who has seen a rise in personal and party poll ratings since he succeeded Jeremy Corbyn earlier this year.
Although the events may only take place once a month, the party hopes they will contrast favourably with an unelected official having to stand in for Boris Johnson.
In July, Downing Street began searching for a spokesperson to hold televised briefings to “communicate with the nation” on behalf of the prime minister.
Under proposals set out earlier this year, the afternoon sessions will be filmed at 9 Downing Street, while the morning briefing for lobby correspondents will continue to be held behind closed doors.
No 10’s director of communications Lee Cain has yet to appoint anyone in the £100,000 role after the vacancy was posted on the Conservatives’ LinkedIn page six weeks ago.
Sir Keir had previously criticised the idea of a televised Downing Street briefing as “a political move”, claiming it risked “unbalancing the political discourse”.
Ahead of prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the opposition leader urged Mr Johnson not to “reopen old wounds” as he criticised the government’s plan to break international law by overriding elements of the EU withdrawal agreement
“What the government is proposing is wrong, I think that’s plain for everybody to see. But we need to step back here and focus on getting a deal,” he said.
