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'I haven't spoken to him in two and a half years,' says Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has denied being friends with former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite previously describing him as such. The Labor leader has sought to distance himself from the former leader, after taking steps to ensure Corbyn is not the party's candidate in the Islington North constituency at the next general election.
While answering questions on LBC Radio, Starmer was once again pressed to talk about his relationship with Corbyn, whom he once described as a "colleague" and a "friend".
Sir Keir told LBC: "I think and hope my position is very clear. Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as Labor's candidate at the next election."
Asked if Mr Corbyn was ever a friend, Sir Keir said: "No, not in the sense that we went to visit or anything." I worked with him as a colleague.
He added: "Like I said, I haven't talked to him in two and a half years."
During the 2020 leadership race, Sir Keir described Mr Corbyn as a colleague and a friend.
But Starmer insisted he did not support the party's left-wing leadership and only accepted a role in his shadow cabinet to maintain "effective opposition".
He said, “Let's go over it. I didn't vote for him in 2015 when he ran for leader. I wanted him to retire in 2016, he won again. Once again, I did not vote for him. But I felt that we needed an effective opposition, that I shouldn't just walk off the stage.
Mr Corbyn has been suspended for his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission which found the Labor Party under his leadership to be responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination while fighting to combat antisemitism.
Banned by his successor from running for Labor again, he said he had "no intention of giving up" fighting for his constituents. But he is likely to be stripped of his Labor membership if he decides to stand as an independent candidate in the next election.
Frenemies: Corbyn and Starmer attend an election campaign meeting in 2019
It comes as Sir Keir said that "of course" Brexit "has had an impact" on cross-Channel travel after a weekend of disruption at the Port of Dover.
The Labor leader has urged Rishi Sunak's government to "get it together" after coach passengers were forced to spend hours waiting to enter the Kent port, be processed and board ferries at the start of the holiday period from Holy Week for many schools.
Sir Keir told LBC: "Of course Brexit has had an impact, there are more checks to be done. That's not to say I'm advocating a reverse Brexit, I'm not. I always said there was no need to go back." . now.
The Labor leader said "hardly anyone" was talking about transgender rights and issues, and wondered why these issues were at the center of so much political debate.
"Almost no one talks about trans issues," said Sir Keir. "Sometimes I wonder why the hell we spend so much time discussing something that isn't a feature of the dining room table or the kitchen table or the coffee table or the bar table."
He told LBC that his position was that "for the vast majority, let's say 99.9%, biology matters" when it comes to defining a woman.
Sir Keir said Labor was trying to agree on a "common sense" position, but the party was "not ready to ignore" the small number of people who identify as a different sex from the one they were born with.
Reuters
Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Keir Starmer
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