The marathon programme of hustings, that is.Īfter 12 two-hour sessions over six weeks, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will face questions from party members - some adoring, some stroppy - no more. The Labour leader also defended his plan to freeze energy bills for six months as not being short-term - adding that his long-term plan is to increase insulation. I don't think the role of the prime minister is (to) have a cabinet meeting and then go on to a picket line.' Sir Keir defended his record as a 'proud' trade unionist, but says the current dispute over picket lines is a 'question of roles'. He added that he would build on the Northern Ireland Protocol rather than rip it up, as he says the current government is doing. 'I have got relatively young kids… We have got to put our shoulder to the wheel and make Brexit work.' 'We have left the EU and we're not going back and therefore we have to make it work. He said: 'It is astonishing the government hasn't gone down that route. He said the country needs 'to improve on the deal we have got, because it is not a good deal and it isn't working for many businesses' - and questioned why the government hasn't taken VAT off energy bills. The Labour leader was speaking to members of the public during a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in. Sir Keir Starmer says the UK needs to 'make Brexit work' and 'improve on the deal' already in place.

Another word for running through