Labour can win over region's voters who ditched party for Tories, argues Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to persuade voters to "look again" at Labour, insisting he can win over voters who ditched his party for the Tories.
In an interview with the Express & Star, the Labour leader said he was committed to winning back seats in the Black Country lost to Boris Johnson's party in 2019.
Bidding to capitalise on the latest Tory sleaze scandal, Sir Keir said he would be a regular visitor to the region as he ramps up preparations for the next general election.
He said: "We're going to fight to win everywhere.
"I'm well aware that in order to persuade people to look again at Labour and then hopefully to vote for Labour, I have to show why it matters to me, which is why I want to be among the communities where we want to be winning the argument."
Sir Keir said he was furious that Parliament's reputation had been "trashed" by the row over Owen Paterson, who wad found to have lobbied ministers and officials on behalf of companies that were paying him.
He later stood down as the MP for North Shropshire, but only after the Government had ordered Conservative MPs to vote against his suspension.
Sir Keir accused the Prime Minister of treating the public with "contempt", and said it was a "scandal in its own right" that Tory MPs had reportedly been threatened with cuts to constituency funding if they did not vote with the Government.
He has also warned of a looming cost of living "triple whammy", with prices going up, taxes rising and changes to Universal Credit.
"A number of very serious issues are coming out of the end of the sewage pipe," he said.
