Last year, when Keir Starmer was vying to become leader of the Labour Party, he criticised parts of the media for the way his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn was treated.
Talking to a hustings in Liverpool in January 2020, the then Labour leader hopeful singled out The Sun and insisted that he would not be interviewed by the tabloid during the leadership campaign.
“I certainly won’t be giving any interviews to The Sun during the course of this campaign,” he said, to rapturous applause.
Here’s Keir Starmer saying he wouldn’t speak to the Sun while seeking the Labour leadership. Now he is writing Op-eds for them.
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) October 2, 2021
Where a politician writes for is ultimately their call, but this illustrates a major point: Starmer is as dishonest as Johnson pic.twitter.com/cDVP56BPof
But Starmer has now come in for criticism, including from members of his own party, after writing an op-ed for the paper.
Starmer used his piece to criticise Boris Johnson for his “incompetence” over the fuel crisis and the shortage of HGV drivers in Britain. He also accused the Prime Minister of ignoring repeated warnings from the industry over supply issues.
“Britain deserves better than this incompetence and total lack of leadership,” he said.
The chaos millions are currently facing hasn’t come about by chance.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 3, 2021
It is a crisis made in Downing Street.
Boris Johnson is letting Britain down and working people are paying the price. https://t.co/q26zPoA05F
However, it wasn’t Starmer’s words that got people talking – more the fact that he had decided to write for the very same paper that he so publicly criticised last year.
It’s worth nothing that Starmer didn’t say during the 2020 event that he would never speak to the Sun – at the time, he clearly only specified “during the course of this campaign”.
However, people still felt the move was “dishonest” and didn’t shy away from saying so.
Critics felt particularly aggrieved by the fact Starmer had made the original comments while in Liverpool, where the newspaper has been boycotted by many residents for its coverage of the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Three of his own party were among those who criticised the decision, with Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson saying Starmer had “betrayed” Merseyside:
My statement today, responding to Keir Starmer writing for The S*n. My solidarity especially with the families of the 97 and the survivors of that tragic day. #JFT97 #YNWA pic.twitter.com/BFC0aNhpvn
— Kim Johnson MP (@KimJohnsonMP) October 3, 2021
Today the families & survivors of Hillsborough, the people of my city, supporters of our great club & the millions of others smeared by the rag will feel profoundly betrayed by the leader of the party I was elected to represent.
— lan Byrne MP (@IanByrneMP) October 3, 2021
My full statement below.#JFT97 pic.twitter.com/vASeZmhyAI
Writing for The S*n is deeply insulting to the people of Liverpool — one of Labour’s strongest bases of support — & the football community as a whole.
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 2, 2021
Trying to win back voters lost to the Tories by alienating a group of core working-class supporters is a recipe for disaster.
And here’s what others had to say:
In Liverpool we strive for social justice and equality. These values are the product of our experiences and are deeply in contrast to the right wing lies of the S*n. @UKLabour should never work with this paper.
— Joanne Anderson (@MayorLpool) October 3, 2021
We are deeply offended. #DontBuyTheSun pic.twitter.com/bJCT5I2GyI
‘I certainly won’t be giving any interviews to The Sun during the course of THIS campaign!’ is definitely the funniest dishonest thing Starmer has said - you have to admire the brazenness. ‘Oh you thought I meant generally? No, literally this campaign.’
— Jon Stone (@joncstone) October 2, 2021
pic.twitter.com/DKTDgBz7ZB
Bring this guy back! pic.twitter.com/NHAKUj15d6
— Damo 🌹 (@Damien_Hayes9) October 3, 2021
People are arguing that Starmer didn't say he'd avoid the Sun forever, just during his leadership campaign - which, honestly, is the equivalent of crossing your fingers behind your back.#StarmerOut
— Raphael Dogg (@raphaeldogg) October 3, 2021
Starmer's caveat suggests he never intended to stick to a Sun boycott.
— Steve Howell (@FromSteveHowell) October 3, 2021
Listen to the clip, he said he won't be giving interviews to the paper "during the course of this campaign".
Why the get-out if he didn't know then that it was a statement made cynically just to win votes. https://t.co/MAIsbtGr8L
Meanwhile, the Spirit of Shankly Supporters’ Union said is was “a kick in the teeth for the collective struggle against this publication with its disregard towards families and survivors of Hillsborough, football fans and the City of Liverpool.”
Others, however, said they understood why Starmer had written the op-ed:
Keir Starmer has to appeal to the country. If that’s talking to The Sun, so be it. #GTTO
— MimiJ (@MimiJ9) October 3, 2021
The Sun has millions of readers - paper and online - who are mostly working class people. I understand why The Sun is hated, but if we want the Tories out, Labour have to communicate with working class people via all mediums available, even if they’re not ones we approve of.
— Damon (@damocrat) October 3, 2021
I totally understand, and even as a Keir fan, it's not something I easily support
— Olly 🐝 (@OllyVanGaal) October 3, 2021
But Tony Benn said "you're getting through to a working-class audience that's potentially Thatcherite but should be socialist"
But ostracising media segments is disillusioning if Labour want power
indy100 has contacted the Labour Party for comment.
