Richard Spurr 1am - 4am
Labour planning to ‘change democracy to permanently keep themselves in power’, James Cleverly claims
1 July 2024, 08:20 | Updated: 1 July 2024, 08:50
Watch Again: Nick Ferrari is joined by Home Secretary James Cleverly | 01/07/24
The Home Secretary has claimed Labour have plans to "change democracy" to make sure they are "permanently in government".
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Tories have changed their electoral strategy in recent weeks to warn about a Labour "supermajority", with some accusing the party of prematurely conceding defeat.
It comes as the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, prepares to warn in a speech today about what he calls the dangers of an "unchecked" Labour government, The Times reports.
Asked by Nick Ferrari if the Tories had conceded defeat, Mr Cleverly said: “We’re still fighting for every vote.
“But look, Nick, we see the opinion polls. It would be ridiculous for us to not warn about the implications of a Labour victory.”
Read More: Rishi Sunak claims Labour would cause 'irreversible damage within first 100 days' in Downing Street
Read More: 'Green belt shouldn't be sacrosanct' Countryside Alliance supports new Labour review of land
Mr Cleverly went on to say that a Labour victory is not an inevitability but issued a warning about Labour's plans to extend votes to 16-year-olds.
He continued: “We also recognise that the Labour Party have said publicly that they’re going to pack out the House of Lords, they’re going to give votes at 16, they’re probably going to give votes to foreign nationals, probably going to give votes to people in prison.
“They want to permanently change the way our democracy works and make sure they have a permanent Labour government.
“I have no doubt that if the voters of this country return a Labour government, the regret is going to set in really quickly.”
Labour have confirmed they have no plans to extend the vote to prisoners and there is no policy to extend votes to foreign nationals.
However, Sir Keir Starmer previously said on LBC that it "feels wrong" to not allow people who live and work in the UK to vote.