New Labour MP Says Keir Starmer Is Leading The Most “Socialist Friendly Government” Of His Lifetime

A new Labour MP believes Keir Starmer is leading the most “socialist friendly government” he has ever seen as the party comes together for its first conference since winning the July General Election.

Patrick Hurley, the new Labour MP for Southport, and a former councillor in Merseyside, describes himself as a working-class politician and a staunch socialist. 

Speaking to PoliticsHome before the conference in Liverpool, Hurley said Starmer shares values similar to himself and that the Prime Minister's pledge to be at the “service of working people” chimed with the best traditions of socialism.

“Starmer says he considers himself a socialist, and that's good enough for me. It's certainly what I consider to be the most socialist friendly government of my lifetime,” he said.

“When [Starmer] said that he's putting the Labour Party back in the service of working people, to me, that means making sure that there is a class critique of society, making sure that we put more money into people's pockets, and making sure that we break down the barriers to opportunity.”

Hurley is the first Labour MP for Southport in its history after winning by a majority of 5,789 to unseat Tory Damien Moore on 4 July.

It was one of many striking results in Labour's landslide victory, with the seaside town in Merseyside having been represented by Conservatives for most of its long history, as well as eight MPs from the Liberals or the Liberal Democrats.

Since his victory, Hurley has been paying £80-per-night to stay in a small apartment used for university students at the London School of Economics (LSE) to help him work from Westminster. An MP will usually live in two properties to help them work in both Parliament and their constituency, and will use