Labour leader Keir Starmer 'determined' to win back Wakefield seat in future elections

Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is 'determined' that his party will win back the Wakefield seat in any future election.
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Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan won the seat in last year's election, which was the first time in almost 90 years that the constituency had not voted in a Labour candidate.

But in a visit to Wakefield this afternoon, new leader Keir Starmer confirmed that the party hoped to reclaim the seat in any future elections.

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He had earlier attended meetings with teachers to discuss the upcoming release of GSCE and A-level results, before attending a virtual meeting with political leaders from across West Yorkshire.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is 'determined' that his party will win back the Wakefield seat in any future election.Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is 'determined' that his party will win back the Wakefield seat in any future election.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he is 'determined' that his party will win back the Wakefield seat in any future election.

But asked if he believed his party would be in a position to win back the Wakefield seat in a future election, Starmer said: "It is something I'm determined to change, but I have to recognise that that election result in December last year was devastating, here in Wakefield and across the United Kingdom.

"My job as Labour leader is to rebuild trust in the Labour party as a force for good and a force for change.

"The only way I'm going to do that is to be in places like Wakefield talking to colleges, to local communities, to businesses, and listening to what they have to say.

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"In order to rebuild that trust I'm determined that we will reconnect, reengage and listen to people.

But in a visit to Wakefield this afternoon, new leader Keir Starmer confirmed that the party hoped to reclaim the seat in any future elections.But in a visit to Wakefield this afternoon, new leader Keir Starmer confirmed that the party hoped to reclaim the seat in any future elections.
But in a visit to Wakefield this afternoon, new leader Keir Starmer confirmed that the party hoped to reclaim the seat in any future elections.

"This is a mountain that we have to climb as the Labour party, but I'm determined that we're going to do it."

Starmer also raised concerns about the handling of local lockdowns, which were introduced in Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees earlier this month.

Downing Street has insisted that decisions on local lockdowns are "guided by the data", after concerns were raised about introducing restrictions to whole local authority areas.

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But Starmer said that local authorities were unprepared to deal with the lockdowns once they were announced.

He said: "When the took the measures they did in terms of local restrictions we openly supported them, as did local authority leaders.

"But the communication has been very, very poor. The communication in these cases, announcements were made at 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock at night, very often on social media, which changed the rules for people starting at midnight, caused huge chaos and uncertainty.

"Lots of local people and communities just didn't know what the rules are. That is no way to handle a situation like that.

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"Nobody can pretend that there won't be local outbreaks, it's very difficult to get this right, but the question is: are the right steps in place to prepare for this?

"We're all used to fire drills. Nobody wants a fire, but in the event of a fire this is what you do. Clear communications, you're in charge of this, you're in charge of that, this is what we'll do.

"We haven't had anything like this, and one of the issues concerning the leaders I was talking to this morning is that in effect they're having to learn how to handle this in real time.

"There should be a plan of action."