LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer slammed the 'shambles of a Government' on a visit to Warrington as he vowed to tackle the cost of living crisis.

The politician has promised Britain’s shoppers that a Labour government will ‘always value the pound in your pocket’.

It comes as Sir Keir’s Labour Party receives a public endorsement from Richard Walker, the executive chairman of Iceland supermarkets and former Conservative Party member.

Sir Keir visited the Iceland store in Golden Square Shopping Centre today, Monday, to meet staff and shoppers, as new analysis from Labour reveals, it says, how Tory policies have ‘worsened the cost of living for Britain’s hardworking supermarket and retail staff’.

He said: “I think the cost of living crisis, the number one issue for many people here in Warrington, in Iceland, that is the issue for everybody who is coming in here shopping, bar none, and we can’t carry on with the shambles of a Government that we’ve got, that’s making a bad situation worse.”

Warrington Guardian:

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer visited the Iceland store in Golden Square Shopping Centre, in Warrington. Photo: PA

 

Labour-run Warrington Borough Council has debt totalling around £1.8 billion – and Sir Keir was asked if that figure is of concern to him.

He says he is ‘very concerned at the very many councils that are struggling financially’.

“This is a pattern across the country, it’s because councils have been driven into the ground by this Government, just as all public services have, just as the NHS has been driven into the ground,” he said.

“So if we get to win the election, and are privileged enough to serve our country, we have to pick that up, turn it around and I think as far as council funding is concerned, we’ve got to go for a longer-term settlement. This is what council leaders are crying out for, we’ll work with them to make sure that local people don’t lose out because of this failed government of 14 years.”

Furthermore, today, Sir Keir said ‘a Labour government I lead will always value the pound in your pocket’.

“Under the Tories, the cost of living crisis is hammering working people, yet their policies are leaving supermarket and retail workers hundreds of pounds worse off,” he added.

“I’m delighted that Richard Walker has backed Labour. The work that he and his colleagues at Iceland have done to help customers through the cost of living crisis has been commendable.

“With Labour, shoppers and shop workers will get a fair deal. We’ll tackle the cost of living crisis, get Britain’s economy growing again and get our country’s future back.”