Starmer reveals ‘worry’ for family if he enters No 10 as Sunak faces tough questions on ‘broken promises’
Sir Keir Starmer has revealed the thing he fears the most about becoming prime minister is the impact it will have on his children.
Speaking to Beth Rigby during Sky News’ Battle For Number 10, the Labour leader said it was “not the big decisions” he feared the most but the effect his job will have on his teenage children.
He said his children – a boy aged nearly 16 and a girl aged 13 – were at “difficult ages” and it would have been easier if they were younger or older.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak – who also underwent questioning by Rigby – defended his record in Number 10 after he was questioned about “broken promises” he made in January 2023 when he became prime minister.
The prime minister was specifically asked about the tax burden, NHS waiting lists and immigration – which he admitted was “too high”.
“Your problem is broken promises, and it’s deeper than the last couple of years – it’s Brexit too, it’s migration, the NHS was meant to get better, it’s levelling up,” Rigby asks,
The prime minister said he can understand people’s frustrations but insists the country has “been through two once-in-a-century shocks” – the first the COVID pandemic and the second Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I appreciate people want to see positive change, but you don’t get any change unless you’ve got a plan and you’re prepared to do bold things,” he argued.
And on migration, he is challenged on how he thinks Brexit voters – including 70% of people in Grimsby – feel when they see figures that reveal that the total net migration figure for the last three years was 1.9 million people.
He admitted the numbers were “too high” but insisted he has started to bring them down since becoming prime minister.
Asked why anyone should believe what he says given that David Cameron and Theresa May both promised to cut the number, he said: “I completely understand people’s cynicism about this,” before adding that numbers were now down 10% and the number of visas issued this year was also down by a quarter.
‘The thing that keeps me up at night is my children’
Sir Keir told the audience in Grimsby: “These are really difficult ages. My only fear really is the impact it’s going to have on them.”
Sir Keir, who the polls predict will be the country’s next prime minister on 4 July, said the reason they had not appeared publicly or in a photo shoot with him was to protect them and to ensure they have their “own lives”.
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“I don’t fear the big decisions, in fact, I relish the chance to change our country,” he told Rigby.
“My only fear… the only thing that keeps me up at night is worrying about my children.”
The Labour leader also revealed that his wife, Victoria, would have preferred it if he stayed working as a lawyer rather than work in politics.
“She thought she would be better to continue being a lawyer on a reasonable salary and not have all of the challenges that you get as a politician,” he explained.
“But I was clear my mind – I wanted to come into politics because I wanted to serve my country.”
‘I want to do things differently’
Sir Keir, who was speaking before Mr Sunak takes to the stage, also sought to distinguish himself from previous Labour leaders by saying he did not want to reach for the “tax lever” to sort out the country’s finances.
He said his “central mission was to grow the economy” and that he wanted to “do things differently”.
Despite persistent questioning over his tax plans, Sir Keir said there would be “no need” to raise taxes on working people in the party’s manifesto that will be published on Thursday.
However, the Labour leader did leave the door open to increases in other forms of tax, including capital gains tax – the levy that is paid when selling a valuable asset including shares or a second home.
Sir Keir was also pressed on whether he would implement a wealth tax of the country’s top earners – something he promised when he stood to be Labour leader.
He said: “I want to do things differently. I want to grow our economy.
“I accept that previous Labour leaders have sort of pulled the tax lever every single time and driven up spending. I want to grow our economy.”
He added: “The manifesto tomorrow will be a manifesto, a plan for wealth creation.
“Now, you might not hear a Labour leader say that very often, but for me, that is the most important thing.”
Leaders face the audience
After taking questions from Rigby, Sir Keir faced the audience in Grimsby who asked him about his plans to tackle child poverty, housing and the NHS.
He is also asked by one audience member whether he had changed since leading the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to resemble a “political robot”.
After an awkward pause, Sir Keir replied: “I’ve had this constant theme in my life of trying to serve the public. That’s why I worked in Northern Ireland. That’s why I worked in the Crown Prosecution Service. That’s why I took the decision to go into politics.”