Labour will cut taxes for ‘working people’, vows Sir Keir Starmer

Labour will cut taxes for "working people" when the economy stabilises, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged - as he said Labour will fight the next general election on economic competence.

The Labour leader also pledged not to try to seek a Swiss-style post-Brexit trading agreement with the European Union, as well as insisting now is not the time for a referendum on Scottish independence.

Sir Keir also said he did not want to see Labour MPs joining pickets to support public sector workers' strikes this winter, and urged his colleagues not to charge the costs of Christmas parties to their parliamentary expenses.

Sir Keir was answering questions from A-level politics students from St George's School, a comprehensive in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, for a special edition of Chopper's Politics podcast.

Sir Keir made clear that he wanted to cut taxes once the economy has been stabilised if Labour is to win the next election, expected in 2024.

He said: "It's very important that we don't make promises we can't keep. We want to fight the election on the economy. We've got to grow our economy because that's the only way that we can actually make the progress that we need to make.

"On taxes, the highest tax since the Second World War - this really is anti-Conservative stuff.

"I want taxes to come down for working people. They've been really clobbered time and time again, whether that's on income tax, whether it's National Insurance or council tax."

Sir Keir added: "We're in a sort of defensive crouch the whole time, almost lacking the confidence to go forward. We've got to break through that. But we have to persuade people to vote Labour again."

Sir Keir said he had good friends who are Conservatives. "Sometimes politics can get far too tribal where we're not prepared to form friendships, exchange views with people of other parties,” he said.

"That's completely mad and wrong. I've got really good friends who are Tories and that is a very good thing and it doesn't present me with any issues at all."

His biggest challenge is stopping "complacency" among members of his shadow cabinet, given the party's consistently large lead in the polls.

He said: "Every single vote has to be earned and we have to fight as if we're five points behind in the polls all of the time. So absolutely no complacency."

Sir Keir also set his face against any closer alignment with the European Union, saying he is against something similar to the trading bloc's arrangement with Switzerland - where it has to accept large numbers of immigrants.

He said: "I went to Switzerland and studied that model and I wouldn't do a Swiss model. There's no going back, but the deal we've got isn't good enough. We've got to improve on that."

On Scottish independence, Sir Keir said: "This is no time for a referendum. There is so much that we need to do that is of a much higher priority than the constitutional argument."

Sir Keir also reiterated that Labour would not rely on the support of SNP MPs to form a government if there is a hung Parliament after the next election.

He said: "No deal at all with the SNP. I couldn't be clearer about that. We want a Labour majority government."

Elsewhere, Sir Keir defended nominating Tom Watson, the former Labour cabinet minister, for a peerage.

"Until we change the House of Lords, we need good people in that they've got a really important role in scrutinising legislation," he said.

Sir Keir said a Labour government would not seek further to "nationalise gas and electricity" companies, although he said the party was "pragmatic" about "the case for public ownership".

Asked by one student to "what constitutes being a woman to you", Sir Keir said: "For 99.9 per cent of women, it's all biological and it's very straightforward and the Labour Party has fought for women's rights for a very long time.

"But as you will all know, there are a small number of people who do not identify with the gender that they were born into. And it can be incredibly stressful.

"And there are young people who are going through real anguish in relation to this, and I'm not going to join those that just want to add to the abuse of that small group of people."

Turning to Jeremy Corbyn, his predecessor as leader who is currently sitting as an independent MP, Sir Keir said: "I don't see the circumstance in which Jeremy Corbyn stands as a Labour MP at the next election."

Sir Keir also said he did not want his MPs charging Christmas parties to parliamentary expenses. "I sincerely hope that no MP does that.

"The fact that you can do it doesn't mean that you must do it. I think it's really hard to look the public in the eye and justify that I certainly won't be doing it.”

Pressed by one student if he had ever taken drugs, the Labour leader replied: "I had a good time when I was younger."

Sir Keir cited wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill as his favourite Conservative politician. 

Listen to the full interview with Sir Keir Starmer on Chopper's Politics, The Telegraph's weekly political podcast, using the audio player at the top of this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.