Keir’s Resignation

I was sad about Keir Starmer’s resignation. The Keir I know is a decent and honourable person who cares very much about this country and the people in it.

In the first four of his six years running the Labour Party, he stabilised and turned around our party, made it fit to govern and won an election. In the last two years he has stabilised and turned around the direction of the country.  

He has a long list of achievements as Prime Minister - from rebuilding the NHS, restoring our international reputation with authority and dignity, trade deals, making progress with immigration and significantly cutting the numbers of hotels and small boats for the first time after years of chaos. Lifting half a million children out of poverty, free childcare, employment and renters’ rights. Nationalising rail and steel. Progress to fix water. 

We passed 50 laws in the first Parliamentary session, and I’m proud of the great majority of them, and the benefits will be seen by ordinary people for years after he has gone. However, obviously that will take time.  I did not want a leadership election. I wanted stability for the country so we could get on to deliver on all the things we promised in the manifesto. We were elected to do a job and improve the country, and we are not even halfway through.

I am glad that Keir is staying in post until a new leader can be chosen to enable as smooth a transition as possible. 

For my part, I will now be making sure that any potential new leader understands what Truro and Falmouth, and Cornwall more widely, need from our Government. The people in this constituency will always be my absolute priority.