Keir Starmer talks about ‘abolition of the monarchy’ in 2005 video

Sir Keir Starmer once boasted of supporting the abolition of the monarchy, a newly rediscovered video revealed today – as Labour was urged to become more patriotic to win back voters.

The Opposition leader was caught on camera in 2005 discussing the irony of being appointed a Queen’s Counsel – a senior barrister – for a film about a court case he was involved in.

In a clip unearthed by the Guido Fawkes blog the then 39-year-old human rights lawyer said: ‘I got made a Queen’s Counsel, which is odd since I often used to propose the abolition of the monarchy.’

In the years since the interview Mr Starmer’s views appear to have softened however. In 2014 he accepted a knighthood in the New Year Honours after five years as Director of Public Prosecutions.

He was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles in April that year.

And when the issue of the monarchy was raised last year in the Labour leadership election he said he did not want it abolished but he would like to ‘downsize it’. 

The release of the 16-year-old clip comes as Labour under his leadership was encouraged to use patriotism to get closer to voters who fled the party under his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.       

The strategy, presented to officials by the party’s head of research last month, suggested Sir Keir pose with the union flag and military personnel, according to a leaked ‘rebranding’ plan.

 It suggested Sir Keir makes ‘use of the flag, veterans’ to convince disaffected former voters that Labour reflects their values.

There was also a reference to ‘dressing smartly at the war memorial’ – an apparent swipe at Mr Corbyn notoriously wearing a scruffy-looking anorak to the Cenotaph wreath-laying in 2018. 

In a warning sign for Sir Keir, although he is seen as a positive asset for the party focus groups showed voters have noticed his habit of ‘sitting on the fence’. 

The Labour leadership seem to have taken the advice to heart already, with Sir Keir seen against the backdrop of the union flag for speeches and party political broadcasts over recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir looks to be trying to shake off his reputation for facing both ways on issues like Brexit, including by demanding blanket Covid ‘quarantine hotel’ rules for UK arrivals, and making a bold call for teachers to be prioritised for vaccinations over half-term.  

Labour insisted the presentation was based on in-depth research by the Republic agency dating from September, and was not written by party officials.

However, sources praised the report as a ‘really interesting and strong piece of work’. 

A spokesman for Sir Keir aid the document had not been endorsed by the party.

Refusing to be drawn on specifics in the leaked memo, he told reporters: ‘The first point to make clear is that it is not a Labour Party document.

‘It was a document produced by an external agency about the Labour Party – it was created by a third party and the recommendations in that report are their recommendations.

‘It is not right to say it was presented as our strategy. That is not what it was and to claim otherwise is wrong.

‘We will write our own strategy and that will be a strategy focused entirely on how do we restore trust and how do we win in 2024.’

Asked to respond to a focus group remark mentioned in the report suggesting Sir Keir had been ‘sitting on the fence’ on issues, his spokesman gave a list of examples where Labour had challenged the Government, such as on bringing in tighter border controls to block new variants of coronavirus from entering the country.

According to the Guardian, party officials were told during the presentation last month that voters were confused about ‘what we stand for, and what our purpose is, but also who we represent’.

Comments from focus groups included that Sir Keir ‘needs to stop sitting on the fence’.

His tendency not to take a firm stance has fuelled a perception that Labour is ‘not being forthright and honest … about where we want to be’. 

One Birmingham voter slapped that it was ‘two different parties under one name’, while in another damning sign of the Corbyn legacy a Grimsby resident said: ‘They are the voice of the students. They have left real people, taxpayers behind.’

The report was based on focus groups from Watford to Grimsby conducted in September along with nationwide polling. 

One slide said ‘communicating Labour’s respect and commitment for the country can represent a change in the party’s body language’.

Another recommendation was: ‘The use of the flag, veterans, dressing smartly at the war memorial etc give voters a sense of authentic values alignment.’ 

Mr Corbyn’s record of having campaign for unilateral disarmament and against all major British military interventions since the Second World War was seen as toxic for Labour during his time in charge.

It culminated in Boris Johnson winning an historic majority by demolishing the party’s traditional ‘Red Wall’ heartlands.  

This week Sir Keir fronted a party political broadcast beside a union flag, as he promised to ‘rebuild our country’. 

The party is also believed to be using flag-branded header images in emails more often. 

However, the approach has sparked alarm from some on the Labour Left. 

Norwich MP Clive Lewis, himself a former soldier, told the Guardian: ‘The Tory party has absorbed Ukip and now Labour appears to be absorbing the language and symbols of the Tory party.’

He added: ‘It’s not patriotism; it’s Fatherland-ism. There’s a better way to build social cohesion than moving down the track of the nativist right.’