'Every vote has to be earned' says Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ahead of local elections in Sunderland

Labour is “on your side” party leader Sir Keir Starmer promises Sunderland – but opposition groups sense weakness following latest trip to Wearside.
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Just last week, the Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, Jonathan Ashworth, was also in the city, with speculation rising over a further reduction in Labour Councillors and even the possibility of a hung council chamber.

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The city has long been a Labour stronghold, but this has been eroded in recent years, whittling the party’s overall majority down to just six.

But the former prosecutor used his latest visit to Wearside to insist there would be no complacency as the campaign prepares to enter its final stages.

Sir Keir said: “I know we’ve got to earn every vote and we can’t take the votes of Sunderland residents for granted, which is why I’m here in the city.

"The Labour Party is very much on your side, with a very good set of candidates. We’ve changed the Labour Party hugely in the last two years.”

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Opposition groups in the city sense weakness behind the once solid red wall, however, with Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Edgeworth branding the Labour leader’s recent visits an indication of “how far the Labour Party’s reputation has fallen in the city” and a sign of “how desperate they are to cling to power”.

Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer chatting to youngsters in Southwick about measures they would like to see in place to reduce crime.Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer chatting to youngsters in Southwick about measures they would like to see in place to reduce crime.
Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer chatting to youngsters in Southwick about measures they would like to see in place to reduce crime.

A string of poor electoral results has prompted speculation other parties, including the Conservatives, could join forces to end almost half a century of Labour domination.

Speaking to the Financial Times last month, leader of the Sunderland Conservatives and current councillor for Barnes, Antony Mullen, said he was “convinced” Labour’s majority control of the council could be ended if opposition parties “strategically" focused attention on the most vulnerable wards.

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"But there is a meeting of minds, and consensus view that the city needs change and we all want to deliver that change.

Sir Keir Starmer takes a walk through Southwick ahead of the upcoming local elections on May 5.Sir Keir Starmer takes a walk through Southwick ahead of the upcoming local elections on May 5.
Sir Keir Starmer takes a walk through Southwick ahead of the upcoming local elections on May 5.

“The way to do that is not to stand in the way of other people who want to do that.”

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However, Sir Keir was adamant that Labour remained the party of the working people of Wearside.

He said: “My message to voters is very clear and it is the Labour Party shares the priorities of the people in Sunderland, focusing on things like anti-social behaviour and the cost of living crisis.

Sir Keir Starmer talking to the press ahead of the upcoming local elections in Sunderland.Sir Keir Starmer talking to the press ahead of the upcoming local elections in Sunderland.
Sir Keir Starmer talking to the press ahead of the upcoming local elections in Sunderland.
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"Everyone knows that bills are through the roof and wages are through the floor. I think at this moment it’s pretty obvious that there’s a huge divide between the political parties.

"The Conservative Party is once again in chaos over tax schemes when they should be focused in the cost of living for so many people here in Sunderland.

“The Labour Party has answers. An oil and gas tax on those companies in the North Sea could be used to reduce energy bills by up to as much as £600.

"We also wouldn’t have gone ahead with the recent rise in National Insurance. These are all practical responses to the problems that are so acute for people at the moment.”

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The Labour leader was also keen to highlight to voters the “hypocrisy” regarding Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s confirmation of his wife, Akshata Murty’s, non-domicile status, which enables her to continue earning money from her £700m shares in Indian IT giant Infosys, without having to pay any UK tax on these earnings.

After paying a £30,000 fee to maintain her non-dom status, calculations suggest this enabled her to avoid having to pay £2.1m in UK tax on the £11.6m dividend she received from the company last year.

While Mrs Murty has not broken any law, Sir Keir said: “You can’t have a Chancellor telling people there’s no other choice during these difficult times than to pay more tax, while at the same time his family are using schemes to keep their own tax down.

"I think it’s clear for voters that the Labour Party is concerned with looking after the people of this country while the Conservative Government are looking after themselves.”

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Also present at the visit was the leader of Sunderland City Council, Labour’s Graeme Miller, who said he was “increasingly confident” ahead of polling day.

Cllr Miller said: “The on-door reaction we’ve been getting during our campaign is a very strong Labour response and I’m increasingly confident that on May 5 we will have a good night and that the doomsayers out there are going to be disappointed.

"We’ve lost Labour councillors in the past, but my message to voters is that we have listened to what they want and are delivering. You can see across the city the regeneration that’s going on and the transformation of how we work for people.

“Residents are seeing with their own eyes how our city is transforming, from the redevelopment of the Vaux site to the thousands of jobs being created by Nissan and Just Eat, to the fantastic work underway to breathe new life into Seaburn and Roker.”

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Sir Keir was visiting youngsters at the Southwick All Together Raising Aspirations project in which he was addressing one of the party’s other key areas of focus – to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour - and his pledge to create Community and Victim Payback Boards which would see offenders undertake unpaid community work.

Sir Keir said: “Labour will put security at the heart of its contract with the British people. We’ll put communities and victims at the heart of how offenders repay society and make sure justice is being seen to be delivered locally.”

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