Ken Loach: Sir Keir Starmer is 'destroying' left-wing of Labour party
2 October 2021, 13:49
Ken Loach's scathing criticism of Sir Keir Starmer
The filmmaker claims the Labour leader has committed treachery against the Labour movement by clamping down on the left.
"The Labour party is meant to be a democratic party and [Keir Starmer] is destroying dissent in the Labour party and intended to do so" filmmaker and former Labour member Ken Loach told Matt Frei.
Mr Loach joined Matt to reflect on the Labour conference when he was asked about his expulsion earlier on this year.
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He claimed that "right-wingers" are replacing traditional Labour voices at the local level and the leader is attempting to rid the party of any advocates of the left.
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"Upwards of 150,000 people have left the party, and you talk in your introduction of how he's in charge. My god Matt, if you destroy the party to that extent how come you're in charge?"
On the drop in membership, Mr Loach asked Matt to "imagine what would have happened if Jeremy Corbyn had been the leader and upwards of 150,000 people left the Labour party, he would be on [the news] nightly."
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Matt wondered what the filmmaker's view was of the scenes from Sir Keir's speech, where he was frequently heckled from the crowd.
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Mr Loach reiterated that "his aim has been to remove the left from the party" and suggested party members are on edge.
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"When he stood for leadership he promised unity and he knew at the time he would campaign against the left" Mr Loach said.
He concluded by urging Matt to "think of the treachery of the man" who stood with and supported Jeremy Corbyn in 2019 only to remove the whip from him in 2020
"What kind of man can you vote for that is guilty of that kind of treachery?"
The Labour party have been contacted for comment.
