THREAD: Questions to Keir Starmer's spokesperson this afternoon 🧵
Does Keir want an elected head of state? "No." Is he a proud patriot? "Yes." His past support for abolishing monarchy? "We all reflect on what we said when we were in our 20s... Keir has been proud of what the monarchy has done to help the country through the pandemic."
On use of Union Jack by Labour: "The union flag represents the country that Labour wants to govern and that Keir wants to be the PM of. It’s a symbol of the country we want to lead. You can call that patriotism, you can call it whatever you want, but that’s what we stand for."
Added: "Keir believes in our union of the United Kingdom… The flag represents that union, but also it’s the wider point of how we are better together."
On leaked Labour strategy document: "It's not right to say it was presented as our strategy. That’s not what it was, and to claim otherwise is wrong. It was an external review shared with the party… but we will write our own strategy."
Reaction to Clive Lewis saying that proposed approach is "moving down the track of the nativist right”: “We don’t agree with that."
Does Keir agree (with voters) that Piers Morgan is effective? “Is he an effective TV host? Yes.”

Does Keir think politicians should dress more smartly? “I’m not going to get into that.”
On Forde Inquiry delays: "It has taken longer than that initial timeline but ultimately it’s for the Forde Inquiry to set out when they’re going to be publishing. Keir’s view on it was set out in April last year when he called for a July deadline."
Wouldn't comment on community organising unit news or get into the detail of which strategy recommendations/findings KS agreed with and didn't agree with.

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More from @siennamarla

11 Jan
Keir Starmer says council tax increase, Universal Credit cut and pay freeze show "the government isn’t just incompetent but also that it has the wrong priorities". This is the Labour leader entering the next step in his plan to approach opposition, building on competence line.
Tighter restrictions? Starmer: "There probably is more that we could do. An example is the question of whether nurseries should be open, there are other examples. We may have to get tougher."
But he adds that "the most important thing… is the message to people to stay at home" because "compliance with that message was stronger last March than it is now".
Read 9 tweets
10 Jan
Keir Starmer says nursery schools "should probably close, yes" – he want to talk to the scientists about it
On why he didn't call for school closures earlier: "I didn't want to close schools, I’m not going to shy away from that." Stresses impact of digital divide.
Asked whether he should apologise to unions on schools, Starmer says "we all owe them an apology" after they worked so hard over Christmas on preparations
Read 12 tweets
3 Jan
Labour's shadow schools minister Wes Streeting on Times Radio. "I don’t think Gavin Williamson’s position is particularly tenable. I doubt me calling for him to resign now will make any difference… Any teacher will tell you he’s the worst education secretary in living memory."
On whether pupils should sit exams later this year: "It’s looking increasingly challenging." (Says "It would have been best for exams to go ahead")
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Read 7 tweets
9 Dec 20
Time for a thread – Labour huddle with Keir Starmer's spokesperson 🧵👇
They made a mistake last weekend: Starmer will actually be out of self-isolation on Tuesday, not Wednesday. Also he has tested negative for Covid-19.
Labour will only reveal how it will vote on a deal once it sees a deal and when the party knows the terms of any vote. But spokesperson says: "No deal would be absolutely catastrophic."
Read 12 tweets
7 Dec 20
Special Labour NEC meeting has finished and action plan agreed. Labour spokesperson: “Labour’s national executive committee has given its approval to the draft action plan it is required to submit to the Equality and Human Rights Commission this week."
"It covers all the EHRC's recommendations and is an important step towards Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner's commitment to rebuilding trust and confidence with our Jewish members and the Jewish community."
Understand the draft action plan was agreed nem con, i.e. unanimously, and everyone who contributed to the NEC discussion talked about the importance of implementing the plan and moving on.
Read 4 tweets
7 Dec 20
Labour to Win has already started organising for Labour's national policy forum elections, with a call for potential candidates to apply for their endorsement ahead of nominations opening in January. They're aiming to put up a total of 55 candidates.
(And you thought the party's internal elections were over for a good while. You even hoped as much, didn't you?)
Good news for those who recognised themselves in the tweet above: it turns out there are no Labour NPF elections in the new year! This has taken quite a few people by surprise...
Read 4 tweets

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