Major boost for Keir Starmer as Gordon Brown backs Labour leadership bid
2 min read
Keir Starmer's leadership bid has been handed a major boost after he secured the endorsement of Gordon Brown.
In a video message, the former Prime Minister said Sir Keir had "all the qualifications" to become the next Labour leader as he warned the challenges facing the party had never "been so great".
The endorsement from the party grandee will come as a further boost for the leadership frontrunner who is odds-on favourite with bookmakers to be named as Jeremy Corbyn's successor on 4 April.
In the video posted on Sir Keir's social media channels, the former Labour leader said the party had three "worthy candidates", but that the Shadow Brexit Secretary had the "expertise and eloquence" to defeat Boris Johnson.
"Rebecca Long-Bailey has emphasised the importance of a Green New Deal," he said. "Lisa Nandy has talked rightly about the importance of empowering our communities.
"But there is one candidate with the expertise, with the eloquence, with the dedication, with the commitment and indeed with the values that are necessary for Labour to return to power.
"Keir Starmer has all the qualifications that are necessary for a Prime Minister of the future. A vote for Keir Starmer is a vote for hope.
"It’s a vote for the future. It’s a vote for the values that all of us believe in deeply. Join Keir Starmer and let’s elect a Labour Government."
He added: "It’s 120 years since the Labour Party was created and I’m proud of what the Labour Party has achieved in more than a century. But never before have our challenges been so great.
"In the last 10 years the Conservative Government have succeeded in demolishing much of the social fabric and the post-war social contract that we created. Millions of workers are on low pay and millions of children as a result are in poverty."
Responding to the comments, Sir Keir tweeted: "Labour in government can do - and has done - incredible things. Privileged to have the support of Gordon Brown."
The endorsement comes after Mr Brown joined fellow former Prime Minister Tony Blair in backing Ian Murray in the party's deputy leadership contest.
Mr Murray, the party's sole Scottish MP, has been the most critical of Jeremy Corbyn's premiership, but won the backing of the party grandees after he called for a "change in direction" for the party's leadership.
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