Keir Starmer praises Margaret Thatcher in bid to woo Tory voters

Labour leader risks wrath of his own party by hailing ‘sense of mission’ of former Conservative prime minister

Keir Starmer has praised Margaret Thatcher’s “sense of mission” as he makes a pitch for Conservative voters heading into the next election.

The Labour leader picked Thatcher as one of three former prime ministers he wanted to emulate if he became prime minister, alongside his Labour predecessors Tony Blair and Clement Attlee. All three, he said had a drive and sense of purpose that defined their premiership.