British filmmaker Ken Loach didn’t hold back when he was expelled from the Labour Party in 2021. His comments about Keir Starmer and the direction of the party feel even more relevant today.
Expelled for refusing to back down
In 2021, Loach announced on Twitter that Labour HQ had expelled him for supporting others who had already been removed.
He wrote:
“Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled.
Well, I am proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge.
There is indeed a witch-hunt.
Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people.
We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”
Loach, a vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, made it clear that he believed Starmer was steering Labour away from its working-class roots.
Under attack for speaking out
In 2023, Loach told The Independent that the political climate had shifted dramatically since Corbyn’s rise to leadership.
“When Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party and a lot of people supported him… I was known to support him… but then the attacks came. The right wing attacked him and also attacked people who were associated with him. Some people ran for cover, and others stuck with him.”
Loach also linked his criticism to his pro-Palestinian stance. “Put the two together, and they’re going to attack you.”
Calling out Labour’s complicity
Loach didn’t stay quiet. In November 2024, he publicly criticised Keir Starmer and his Labour government at a pro-Palestine rally in Bath.
He condemned the UK government for enabling apartheid and praised young activists protesting against arms factories supplying weapons to Israel.
“The biggest weapon we have is solidarity.”
Rachel Reeves and the antisemitism claim
In 2023, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was asked if Loach’s views made him antisemitic.
Reeves replied:
“You don’t think Ken Loach is antisemitic? OK. Well, I think we might have to agree to differ.”
Pressed on why she believed Loach was antisemitic, Reeves said:
“Look, I’m not on the bodies that make these decisions, but I think it’s right we have a zero-tolerance approach [to antisemitism].”
When asked if it was fair to accuse someone without evidence, Reeves repeated:
“Well, look, I’m not on the body who makes these decisions.”
Starmer ‘treacherous’ and worse than Blair
In September 2023, Loach didn’t hold back when asked about the current state of Labour:
“The Labour Party now is setting out to be the party of the establishment, like under Blair. Blair did what big business wanted, and Starmer will do the same – only worse.”
Loach accused Starmer of dishonesty, saying he won the leadership by making promises he had no intention of keeping.
“He put his arm around Jeremy Corbyn in 2019, knowing he would stab him in the back. He’s treacherous.”
He added with a laugh:
“God, he’s probably the worst Labour leader there’s ever been. There’s a lot of competition for the worst Labour leader, but he is probably it.”
Why the 2022 video still matters
Loach’s takedown of Starmer in a 2022 Double Down News video hits even harder now. As Labour faces mounting criticism over its welfare cuts and foreign policy, Loach’s warnings about the party’s shift towards big business seem eerily accurate.
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