Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s top team prevented a shadow minister from criticising Margaret Thatcher, The Independent has reported.
“Mr Tarry had wanted to criticise [Margaret Thatcher’s] 1985 Transport Act, saying it “failed to deliver lower fares and better services across Greater Manchester”. But when the comments were sent to Sir Keir’s office for approval, one of his top aides insisted the reference to Thatcher be taken out!”
Another Labour MP Ian Byrne said Ms Thatcher’s legacy was “inequality, hunger, destitution and misery”. And Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said Thatcher “did nothing for working class communities in Liverpool and across the country”.
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” Ms Johnson warned.
Keir Starmer Margaret Thatcher
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said: “Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them.
“Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism. Tony Blair reimagined a stale, outdated Labour Party into one that could seize the optimism of the late Nineties.”
Sir Keir was following in the footsteps of his predecessor Sir Tony, who also praised the Iron Lady in the run-up to his 1997 general election landslide.
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Related: Tony Blair Mark II? Starmer Praises Thatcher & It’s Gone Down As Well As Expected
