London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out coalition with Lib Dems

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out coalition with Lib Dems

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out a coalition with the Lib Dems if Labour fails to win a majority at the next general election.

Asked if he would do a deal with the Lib Dems, the Labour leader told the BBC this was a "hypothetical question".

But he said he would never do a deal with the SNP because of a "fundamental disagreement" on Scottish independence.

Despite local election gains, experts say support for Labour may not yet be enough to win an overall majority.

Last week the party gained 537 councillors and 22 councils in England, including key battlegrounds like Swindon, Plymouth, Medway and Stoke-on Trent.

Those are places where Labour is hoping for success at the next general election.

Following the results, Sir Keir said his party was on course for a majority.

The BBC's projected national share - which estimates what the outcome would have been if all of Britain had the chance to vote - put Labour at 35%, nine points ahead of the the Conservatives.

But many commentators have predicted this level of support may not translate into an overall majority at the next general election, which must happen before January 2025.

If no party wins a majority in the House of Commons, the result is a hung Parliament.

The party with the most seats is usually asked to form a government but in order to secure a majority it must get support from other parties - either through an informal deal or a formal coalition.

Asked if he would ever do a deal with the Liberal Democrats, Sir Keir told the BBC: "I want to press on for a Labour majority, that's what we're aiming for. This is a hypothetical question."

However, in response to the same question in relation to the Scottish National Party, he said: "No... because there's a fundamental disagreement.

"I will never do a deal with a party that thinks the separation of the United Kingdom is the way forward."

Put to him that this was also a hypothetical question, Sir Keir insisted "there is no basis for a deal at all with the SNP because of their politics of separation".

On Sunday, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey - whose party gained 12 councils and more than 400 councillors on Thursday - ruled out going into a coalition with the Conservatives but refused to say the same for Labour.

He said it was a "hypothetical question" adding that he would not "take the voters for granted".

On Tuesday, he added that the party's strategy was to target Conservatives in so-called "blue wall" areas of southern England and there must be "no sitting back".

It all adds up to what looks like symmetrical flirting from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

They each answer the question in exactly the same way, despite being able to be categoric about equally hypothetical situations of deals with the Conservatives and the SNP respectively.

In both local elections and at a general election, in most instances Labour and the Lib Dems are competitive against the Conservatives in different parts of the country.

Expect to see Tory MPs and ministers talk up what they see as the dangers of a hung parliament, with Labour reliant on other parties for support.

In 2010, the Lib Dems formed a coalition government with the Tories but the party paid the price at the next general election, losing 49 seats.

The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition lasted a full term and was arguably more stable than the Conservative-only governments that followed it.


Sir Keir said he was "confident" Labour's local election results put the party on course for a majority but he was not "complacent", saying "there's more work to do".

The Labour leader added that his party's campaign had focused on tackling the cost of living and it now needed to "deliver".

Leaders of the 22 councils won by Labour have been given the job of drawing up "emergency cost-of-living plans" within their first 100 days, as well as reviewing local housing and development policies.

Sir Keir was also asked if he agreed with comments made by Labour's then-Business Secretary Peter Mandelson at the height of the New Labour government under Tony Blair, that he was "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich as long as they pay their taxes".

"I'm very relaxed about people being rich and getting rich," Sir Keir said.

"I know what aspiration is. I came from a working class background and I was able to not only head up the Crown Prosecution Service but now lead the Labour Party."

He added: "But I want, obviously, everyone to pay their taxes and I want fairness and I want equality and I want every child to have that opportunity."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted his five priorities - including cutting inflation, bringing down NHS waiting lists and tackling small boat crossings - are the best way to put his party back on track after it lost 48 councils and more than 1,000 councillors.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×