Keir Starmer on LBC: 5 takeaways from the Labour leader's interview

1. UK will not rejoin EU, despite ‘botched’ Brexit deal

Starmer was adamant that, despite his own campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU in 2016, that’s not an option under a Labour government. “I voted remain and campaigned to remain, but we have left the EU and we won't be rejoining,” he said.

“I think the deal we've got is a botched deal. Talk to anyone who works at the border and they'll say we've got all sorts of check and balances which could be improved.”

He added that he hoped to improve relations with the EU in order to make trade, research and development and security better for the UK. He also said this was key to stop the “vile trade” of people being put in small boats to cross the channel.

2. ‘Respect’ is key to ending doctors’ strikes

Speaking to Nick Ferrari, Starmer stated we need to have “better respect for our doctors and everyone in the NHS”. He also said striking doctors would not be offered the 35% pay rise they have been asking for. “We have said we cannot afford that,” he said, but promised that, if Labour take power after 4 July, Wes Streeting (Labour’s potential health secretary) will “pick up the phone and start the discussion.”

A strike is planned to take place shortly before the July General Election, but Starmer also urged doctors to cancel planned action, saying “we are very close to a different approach if we get a Labour government.”

3. No taxes rises - for now

Once again, the Labour leader denied he would raise taxes on “working people” after 4 July, if the party took power. It’s a point his Conservative rivals have continually attacked Labour on, claiming the party would raise tax on people across the UK by around £2,000 per year. “None of our plans require a tax rise, because we're focusing on growth,” he stated.

But what about in the long-term? Five years in power is a long time, and a lot can change. So, when pressed on whether this could change in the future, Starmer refused to rule out tax cuts. “What I'm not going to do, two weeks before an election is write the budget for the next five years,” he said, adding that doing so during a radio interview would be “foolish”.

He then stressed, again, that “none” of the plans in the Labour manifesto require a tax rise.

4. When Keir Starmer campaigned for the 2019 election he didn’t believe Labour would win

Keir Starmer has strongly distanced himself from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and some of the controversies which surrounded the North Islington MP during his time in power. Although Starmer campaigned alongside Corbyn in the 2019 election, he has since refused to be drawn into debates over whether he would have served in Corbyn’s cabinet at the time, if he had won the previous General Election.

When questioned by a caller on whether he would have served in a Corbyn cabinet, Starmer said; “I didn't think we were going to win, I don't think anyone thought we were going to win".

“If we'd got it over the line, there were important things that needed to be done,” Starmer added, but again stressed that he “genuinely did not think that Labour would win that election.”

5. Trans women to be placed in ‘side rooms’ on hospital wards

A caller challenged Starmer on his views on single-sex spaces, protecting women and girls, and making things easier for transgender people to obtain a gender recognition certificate.

Starmer stated he “passionately” believes in protecting single-sex spaces for women and girls, and says this is important to the Labour Party.

When questioned about trans women in hospitals, he claimed it is “important for wards to be single-sex” and said a trans person would not be “accommodated” on a woman’s ward, even with a Gender Recognition Certificate.

They would instead be placed in a “side room”.

He claimed discussion around this issue is because “government have lost control of the hospitals”. Just 0.5% of the UK population identifies as transgender.