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Shouldn’t the UK’s Energy Secretary be a little ‘brighter’ than this? Grant Shapps made a bit of a show of himself during a Sunday morning appearance on Sky News, after his ploy to brand Keir Starmer as a ‘radical left’ politician fell flat.
If anything, the Labour leader has been under fire for lurching towards the centre-right in recent months. Starmer remains at odds with the more left-leaning factions of his party, following his sharp departure from Jeremy Corbyn’s policies.
However, it seems that this Tory attack line needs updating. Their attempts to tar Starmer with the same brush won’t have much impact, given that there are vast differences between him and his predecessor. It’s perhaps a briefing Shapps should have received before going on-air.
Host Sophy Ridge challenged Shapps on FIVE separate occasions to explain himself, after he said that Mr. Starmer ‘represents a number of radical left policies’. Under relentless pressure, the government minister tried to change tact.
He instead rephrased his argument, pointing out that Starmer was more than happy to serve as a member of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. However, this did nothing to tie in to his first point, and Ridge continued to probe him on the matter.
Unfortunately, Shapps just about managed to waffle his way out of danger, and into another discussion topic. Nonetheless, the uncomfortable exchange has been derided on social media, with many accusing the long-serving Tory of telling ‘outright lies’.
You can see a clip of Shapps vs Ridge below. Although he gets visibly agitated by the line of persistent questioning, Shapps does manage to avoid the question he could not provide an answer to. Truly, these are the standards being set by our most senior politicians…
