Thread by @thesundaytimes

Exclusive: “I don’t want to be Boris Johnson,” says Keir Starmer.

Has the Labour leader got what it takes to be prime minister? He tells @DeccaJourno about his challenging first year and why he’s trailing behind in the polls. thetimes.co.uk/article/965487…

Keir Starmer has had a very peculiar year. Having inherited a party still reeling from its worst defeat since 1935, he was at first widely praised for restoring stability.

His forensic dismantling of Boris Johnson’s bluster at prime minister’s questions also restored an impression of a viable opposition.

But the party’s polling numbers are plummeting. The Tory lead has been consistent since the start of the year and Starmer has endured months of disenchanted muttering within his ranks. As one MP put it: “There’s something missing.”

Critics say he’s too lawyerly, too dry, too cautious, too dull. The day before we talk, Johnson’s personal approval ratings overtook Starmer’s for the first time since May last year.

Do the polls concern him?

“Yeah. I mean, I think there are some explanations. I said to the team in December, we’re going to see a vaccine bounce for the government. But the polls are also a reminder to me that we’ve got a huge amount of work to do.”

“If anything, the criticism of the last few weeks has made me more determined to do what I know is necessary to get us into power,” Starmer adds.

“You’re not changing your communities and your country if you lose elections. I know exactly what we need to do as a party to win, and I’m utterly determined to do it.”

Starmer’s voice hardens. “I’m not like Boris Johnson in any respect,” he says. “There’s almost nothing we have in common.” What matters, he insists, is not flashy charisma but core values. “And I know who I am.”

Read the full interview: thetimes.co.uk/article/965487…