Sir Keir Starmer has made his most aggressive move into Conservative territory yet with a tour of traditional “shire Tory” seats, which he hopes to switch to Labour in Thursday’s general election.
The Leader of the Opposition insisted that “there are no no-go areas” for his party in light of opinion polls that suggest Labour could win in swathes of previously safe Conservative constituencies.
And he sought to project a radically different image with a string of events in rural areas, including at a football club in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the beer garden of a thatched pub in Buckinghamshire, and a barn in north Oxfordshire.
All three of the constituencies he visited on Monday have Tory majorities of 11,000 or more. But seat-by-seat MRP polls suggest that Labour is currently on course to win each of them.
Speaking to activists at the event in Oxfordshire, shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I don’t think many Labour events have taken place in farm barns before!” Her deputy, Darren Jones, said: “Everyone deserves the chance to vote Labour.”
Sir Keir suggested that Labour was becoming increasingly ambitious as a result of polls showing the party on course for a huge Commons majority.
He told reporters in Buckinghamshire: “There are no no-go areas. I want to come to places like this, places that we wouldn’t normally win because, one, I think it’s important we see the task of earning every vote as one that is across the whole of the country.
“I do think in many cases people who have voted Tory for many years have become disillusioned with the Tory Party now, after 14 years of chaos and division. And they are looking elsewhere and do want change.”
Sir Keir added that he did not want “a Labour government that’s based on having won in some places but not other places” and was hoping to represent all parts of the UK.
He insisted he was not concerned about the prospect of coming to power as an unusually unpopular new leader, saying he had overhauled his party and added: “My track record as a leader is clear.
“What we’re asking now is for the opportunity to do the same for our country. And yes, we face the same challenge, which is a version of – look, the country is broken, almost nothing is working better than it was when the Tories started. Is it possible to bring around the change that we offer?”
Campaigners and Labour staffers have expressed surprise at the breadth of areas visited by the leader. One activist in Oxfordshire said: “I never thought we would be in this part of the world.”
The Liberal Democrats have also started targeting more Tory-held seats that they had previously considered out of reach. “There is a genuine sense that we are upping our ambition a little bit,” a senior party source said.
The smaller party’s main obstacle is convincing left-leaning members of the public to vote tactically rather than simply opting for Labour, the source added. “That message that we are the anti-Conservative vote doesn’t always get through, and the Labour vote is running slightly higher than we would like.”
By contrast, Rishi Sunak has been visiting a string of seats with large Tory majorities in a highly defensive strategy apparently aiming at limiting the party’s losses.
Sunak insisted he had “absolutely not” given up hope of winning the general election despite acknowledging voters’ “frustration” with his record in No 10.
He told workers at a healthcare supply facility in Staffordshire: “I know many of you who supported us in the past have some hesitations about doing that again.
“I know you’re frustrated with me, frustrated with our party, it hasn’t been an easy few years for anybody, I get all of that, we haven’t got everything right, we’ve made mistakes. I appreciate and hear your frustration.”
“I’m fighting hard for every vote. I don’t take a single place or person for granted, but I don’t want Britain to sleepwalk into the danger of what an unchecked Labour government with a supermajority would mean.
Election 2024
The general election campaign has finished and polling day has seen the Labour Party romp to an impressive win over Rishi Sunak‘s Tories.
Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders have battled to win votes over six weeks, and i‘s election live blog covered every result as it happened. Tory big beasts from Penny Mordaunt to Grant Shapps saw big losses, while Jeremy Corbyn secured the win in Islington North.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK also outdid expectations with four MPs elected.
But what happens next as Labour win? Follow the i‘s coverage of Starmer’s next moves as the new Prime Minister.
