Words matter. These are the best Keir Starmer Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
In the absence of honesty from the Conservative party leadership, it is Labour’s duty to spell out the very real consequences of a no-deal Brexit. It is also our duty to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it.
If you go into a police station and report a burglary the first question is not: ‘Are you telling the truth?’ If you are the victim of a sexual offence, very often in the past that has been the first question.
Brexit is so important, it would have been neglect of duty to simply sit it out.
By remaining inside a customs union and the single market in a transitional phase we would be certain that goods and services could continue to flow between the E.U. and the U.K. without tariffs, customs checks or additional red tape.
I was a human rights lawyer for 20 years, I believed those values of dignity, equality and non-discrimination were a given. believed the only question in my lifetime would be – how much further do we extend those values? I did not think in my lifetime we’d actually be having an argument about those values.
There is nothing quite like working on a counter-terrorism case in real time.
There is a world of difference between not disclosing fine detail and relying on broad and generalised assertions. The first may be understandable; the second is not acceptable.
My parents didn’t have the opportunities they would have liked, but they didn’t complain about that because they thought they were part of a society where the next generation would have those opportunities.
We need a transitional Brexit deal that provides maximum certainty and stability. Labour will deliver it.
As we exit the E.U., there must be a new approach to immigration that has the consent of the British people and is managed in their interests.
There are potentially many offences that journalists could commit in the course of their business. It would be very unhealthy if you had a situation where a journalist felt that they needed to go to their lawyer before they pursued any lead or asked any question.
I believe Britain’s response to Brexit must be based on core progressive values: internationalism, cooperation, social justice and the rule of law.
We cannot allow Brexit to be driven by narrow and divisive Tory ideology.
To state that lethal force should not be used without a proper legal justification is to state the obvious.
No border controls anywhere in the world are able to prevent determined criminals from crossing borders.
It’s really important we make the case that this is not the country of Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson. That intolerance and hatred and division is not representative of our country.
Theresa May’s decision to call an unnecessary general election after Article 50 was triggered was deeply irresponsible.
I’m well aware of different views across my own party and across Parliament on pretty well all Brexit issues.
We have to make the argument that the only economically sound place to be is within Europe – we have to remember, it’s history again, that there are reasons we bound ourselves together as a set of European nations and it all came out of the second world war.
If the vote that is progressive is split then all that does is open up the path for the Brexit party and allow it to pretend it represents the majority view in this country.
For some people, work is the only safe haven from abuse. So all employers in businesses big and small, whether in the public or private sector, should be encouraged to create safe spaces at work where staff suffering domestic abuse can talk to an appropriately qualified person who can provide advice and offer support.
The Chilcot report is damning. It exposes a litany of failures over a long period, including reliance on flawed intelligence assessments, lack of planning and insufficient foresight of obvious consequences. But the report also exposes a chilling lack of rigour and a political culture of deference.
The E.U. has data systems that enable police and border guards to work together in real time to intercept wanted persons; and the European arrest warrant ensures their speedy return.
The framework for everything I’ve done has been human rights. That is about protecting the vulnerable and giving people access to courts where they wouldn’t otherwise have access to courts.
Our five-year-old son thinks I ought to work in the local bookshop, and I can see the appeal of that.
Britain needs a good Brexit deal to safeguard jobs, security and trade and to build a new partnership with the E.U. Achieving this will be fiendishly difficult.
Ensuring we have the best possible Brexit deal will take time, effort and huge diplomatic skill.
The key to understanding the impact of the Human Rights Act in the U.K. is to appreciate that civil liberties and human rights are not two sides of the same coin.
If immigration is simply seen as a numbers game, nobody will ever win that debate. The question should be: what is it we want to achieve? What do we expect of those who are arriving? What is the basic deal?
I would reject wholeheartedly any notion of a Labour Party that is not committed to returning to power at the first opportunity. Of course that needs to be principled power. But standing on the sidelines looking for the purest ideology is a dereliction of the duty for any Labour member.
When I was the director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013, I had staff working at the Eurojust HQ in The Hague 24/7.
As we leave the E.U., freedom of movement falls away, because it’s an E.U. rule… What we then have to say is, ‘What then is on the blank piece of paper that is an immigration policy?’
There is very, very little chance of bespoke transitional arrangements being negotiated at the same time as the rest of Article 50.
We will vote down a blind Brexit. This isn’t about frustrating the process. It’s about stopping a destructive Tory Brexit. It’s about fighting for our values and about fighting for our country.
A no deal Brexit would be a complete failure by the government to negotiate for Britain.
So if you want a really effective criminal justice strategy, you don’t build bigger prisons, you invest money in young kids – and you accept that it’s going to take years to work through, but it’s a more effective strategy.
I don’t subscribe to the view that people who are better off don’t want to live in a more equal society.
I wouldn’t characterise myself as a bleeding heart liberal, whatever that is.
It will be increasingly difficult to keep Scotland as a part of the U.K. I hope that doesn’t happen, but everyone knows David Cameron has put that at risk.
Labour has repeatedly emphasised that in order to avoid a cliff edge for our economy there will need to be a time-limited transitional period between our exit from the E.U. and the new lasting relationship we build with our European partners.
I spent five years prosecuting some of the most dangerous terrorists in this country, so it would be quite difficult for people to pin the charge of being soft on terrorism on me.
I am not a pacifist and I would back a lawful, coherent and compelling case for the use of military force by the U.K. against Isis.
The Human Rights Act is a really important constitutional document, it isn’t just a villain’s charter.
I’m absolutely fine with the rough and tumble of politics.
We were right to say from the outset that E.U. citizens should not be treated as bargaining chips but should have their rights guaranteed immediately. We were right to call on the government to publish a plan for Brexit.
