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And this is what the Conservative party said in its response to the comments from Sir Keir Starmer released ahead of the Labour campaign launch. (See 9.16am and 9.43am.) Amanda Milling, the Conservative co-chairman, said:
Up and down the country Labour are failing to deliver locally.
Labour politicians are distracted from delivering on your priorities and more interested in playing political games than delivering good services.
In his speech at the Labour campaign launch Sir Keir Starmer will also stress that Labour has changed under his leadership. According to the extracts released overnight, he will say:
Since Angela [Rayner, the deputy leader] and I were elected eleven months ago, Labour’s changed. We’re reconnecting with the British people – in every region and nation of the United Kingdom and we’re working hard to rebuild trust.
There’s a long way to go but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved. Whether that’s rooting out the antisemitism that had poisoned this party or rebuilding our relationship with British business.