Keir Starmer reveals he ‘loathes’ Boris Johnson, who nicknamed him ‘Capt Crasheroonie Snoozefest’ – and that he has swapped numbers with current PM Rishi Sunak
- Keir Starmer said his frosty relationship with Boris Johnson was ‘obvious’
- The Labour leader said he ‘never spoke behind the scenes’ with the former PM
Labour members like to claim a moral superiority by dismissing the Tories as the ‘nasty party’.
But Sir Keir Starmer is hardly the model of tact himself – as he revealed he ‘really loathes’ Boris Johnson.
The Labour leader, who has faced three different PMs since being elected to his role in 2020, said his frosty relationship with Mr Johnson was ‘obvious’ and they ‘never spoke behind the scenes’.
But he added that he has a ‘much better’ relationship with Rishi Sunak, despite branding him ‘weak’ and ‘one-dimensional’. Sir Keir told The Political Party podcast that he ‘couldn’t give a toss’ about insults thrown at him by the former prime minister, who branded him ‘Captain Crasheroonie Snoozefest’ – but said he had swapped personal mobile numbers with Mr Sunak. He added: ‘Anybody who’s had any relationship with Johnson, in any sense of the word, has landed in the gutter.’
However, Mr Sunak has proven to be a more amenable adversary for Sir Keir, with the two politicians keen to work together on Ukraine and any domestic security incidents.
Keir Starmer (left), who has faced three different PMs since being elected to his role in 2020, said his frosty relationship with Boris Johnson (centre) was ‘obvious’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer revealed he ‘really loathes’ Boris Johnson
‘My personal relationship with him is much better,’ Sir Keir said.
‘He phoned me the day he became Prime Minister and gave me his personal number. It is a different relationship and a different relationship across the despatch box. We’re not texting about the Southampton-Arsenal scores.’
Neither Liz Truss nor Mr Johnson raised the idea of trading phone numbers, he added.
However, the Labour leader, who boasts commanding poll leads over both Mr Sunak and the Tory party, was less diplomatic in his assessment of Mr Sunak’s political ability. Sir Keir said: ‘He is weak. He is very one-dimensional. He hasn’t got a mandate, and therefore he has not got strength.
‘You don’t have Suella Braverman in your Cabinet on merit. Every time there’s been a threatened rebellion, he’s backed down.’
He added: ‘There’s a weakness problem, but there’s also a real out-of-touch problem.’
Sir Keir also took aim at his own predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, who he confirmed last week was not going to stand for the party in the next general election. ‘We’ve changed the Labour Party,’ he said. ‘Too many people in politics think it’s all about them. It’s not about your particular pet issue.
‘It’s whether we’ve got a united Labour Party that can fight an election and win it for the people who desperately need us to win.’
Kier Starmer (left) said he has a ‘much better’ relationship with Rishi Sunak (right) than he had with Boris Johnson (centre)
Mr Johnson has a kinder view of his former opponent, saying he ‘wouldn’t mind’ being stuck in a lift with Sir Keir or outgoing Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. ‘Both individuals are actually far nicer and more amusing than you might otherwise imagine,’ he said. ‘And the kind of hostility that you see between politicians on screen is often not reflected in real life.’
In 2021, Labour’s Angela Rayner described the Tories as ‘homophobic, racist, misogynistic… scum’, prompting Sir Keir to distance himself from her comments. Mr Johnson did not respond to a request for comment last night.
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