Keir Starmer makes pitch for disillusioned Tory voters

Labour would reduce migration without "the psychodrama", Sir Keir Starmer has said in a direct appeal to Tory voters.

The Labour leader accused the Conservatives of "fighting like rats in a sack" over the Rwanda bill instead of governing.

In a speech marking the fourth anniversary of the 2019 general election, Sir Keir said he had overseen a "total overhaul" of his party.

He urged voters not to hand the Conservatives a "fifth term" in office.

"Only a change of government can bring change to our country," Sir Keir said.

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Sir Keir had been scheduled to speak in a seat which Labour would hope to win at the next election, but had to make a last-minute change to a location closer to Westminster to be available for a critical vote on the Rwanda Bill on Tuesday evening.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing the biggest test to his authority of the Conservative Party as he faces a rebellion among right-wing MPs on his flagship migration plan.

The PM has been holding meetings with potential rebels to shore up support for the Rwanda Bill - which seeks to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to the east African country.

Labour is opposing the Rwanda plan because it is doomed to fail and is "against our values", Sir Keir said.

While Conservatives are "all swanning around self-importantly, with their factions and their 'star chambers', fighting like rats in a sack, there's a country out here that isn't being governed," Sir Keir said.

Directly addressing Conservative voters and former Labour supporters who abandoned the party under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir said his party's "fundamental changes" were "not just a paint job".

Sir Keir said: "If you want lower migration and higher wages, or even if you just want a government committed to economic stability, the rule of law, good public services, restoring Britain's standing, making family life more secure, and putting the country first, then I say again, this is what a changed Labour Party will deliver.

"So join us on this mission, because whether you are a Conservative who is thinking of voting Labour for the first time, or a Conservative who has occasionally trusted us before, whether you've always voted Labour or have absolutely no intention of voting Labour, we will serve you."

Record loss

Labour has a commanding 18-point lead over the government in the national voting intention polls.

But the 2019 election saw Labour win its lowest number of seats for 80 years, leaving the path to government extremely difficult.

Sir Keir acknowledged that achieving a majority in the next election would require "a larger swing than Tony Blair's in 1997".

"When you lose an election that badly, you don't look at the electorate and say 'What on earth were you thinking?'" he said.

"You change your party, and evidence of how far we've changed our party is that Jeremy Corbyn won't be able to stand as a Labour candidate, at the next general election."

Sir Keir defended his time serving under Mr Corbyn, but claimed the party "lost our way into that 2019 election".

Labour need to "fight like we're five points behind in the polls", he said.

"We have to earn every single vote. Earn back the votes we lost and earn the votes we never got in the first place."