‘I’m looking forward to opening the throttle,’ leader tells Labour as he urges party to be ready for 2023 election
Keir Starmer has ordered the Labour party to prepare to fight an early general election in May 2023 as he pledges today to “take off the mask” and show the British people why he should be the next prime minister.
After a year as leader – and with some in the party worried that he has yet to define a clear personal vision around which to rally MPs and activists – Starmer told the Observer he has found it deeply frustrating not being able to meet voters and campaign around the country. “We’ve been rebuilding the Labour party and demonstrating that we are under new leadership,” Starmer said. “But it has been frustrating to spend the first year as leader unable to make a speech to a live audience or shake a single voter’s hand.”
