{"id":26249,"date":"2023-11-04T10:19:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T10:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mormonmediareviews.com\/?p=26249"},"modified":"2023-11-04T10:19:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T10:19:26","slug":"keir-starmer-paying-price-for-disrespecting-labour-heavyweights-says-ed-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mormonmediareviews.com\/politics\/keir-starmer-paying-price-for-disrespecting-labour-heavyweights-says-ed-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer paying price for disrespecting Labour heavyweights, says Ed Balls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keir Starmer says ceasefire in Gaza isn’t ‘correct position’<\/h3>\n

Sir Keir Starmer, under pressure over his refusal to back calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, is paying the price for \u201cdisrespecting\u201d two powerful figures within his own party, former cabinet minister Ed Balls has claimed.<\/p>\n

At least 31 councillors up and down Britain have quit in protest at Sir Keir\u2019s stance in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, which resulted in at least 1,400 deaths. Israel has responded by sending troops into Gaza, with fierce fighting reported between its troops and Hamas fighters.<\/p>\n

Similarly, several members of his frontbench team including Rosena Allin-Khan have broken ranks – as have Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, Labour Mayors of London and Manchester respectively.<\/p>\n

Mr Balls, speaking to co-host and former Chancellor George Osborne on his Political Currency Apple podcast, made his remarks as the pair considered the challenges the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East posed for the Labour leadership.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Mr Balls suggested one of the key points was that Sir Keir would be unwise to take the support of powerful regional mayors for granted.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> ULEZ camera damage just tip of the iceberg, Sadiq Khan warned[ANALYSIS] <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He explained: \u201cOne of the learnings he needs to put in place now is to understand the role that those Mayors play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Balls pointed to a speech made by Sir Keir this week in which, in contrast to Mr Burnham, Mr Khan and others, he set out his reasons for not backing a ceasefire, which he said would simply \u201cfreeze the conflict\u201d, with no guarantees that Hamas would not take the opportunity to regroup in the interim,<\/p>\n

Mr Balls added: \u201cI think he will look back and reflect upon this. If you remember the Uxbridge by election, the issue of ULEZ the emissions charge for old cars in London was controversial.<\/p>\n

\u201cKier Starmer and the people around him went out afterwards and had a real go publicly at the Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan for his ULEZ policy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was at the lobby drinks at Christmas Kier Starmer, made a joke mocking Andy Burnham and the reality is that you reap what you’re saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you don’t understand the standing and power these mayors have and if you think that they are people you can choose to be disrespectful to, then at the point when you need them as Kier Starmer found out this week, they might not be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sir Keir was likely to be the next Prime Minister and Mr Balls voiced his support – but added: \u201cPeople are always positioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, maybe there’s some positioning going on.\u201d<\/p>\n