Winston Churchill, often considered Britain\u2019s greatest leader, resigned at 80 in the face of mounting health problems. Keir Starmer, Britain\u2019s newest leader, wants to force lawmakers in the country\u2019s upper chamber to step down at the same age. Does this mean he thinks octogenarians like President Joe Biden should step back from politics? <\/p>\n
Despite growing questions about Biden\u2019s mental acuity and fitness for a second term, Starmer said the 81-year-old president had been \u201cin good form\u201d when the two met for talks, but \u201cof course\u201d he would say if he was concerned about him. <\/p>\n
Starmer, 61, is the latest in a series of world leaders who have been asked whether Biden is too old to campaign and govern effectively. But he spoke positively about their discussions at the summit on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were billed for 45 minutes. We probably went on for the best part of an hour, covered a lot of ground \u2013 and he was in good form,\u201d Starmer told Tapper. <\/p>\n
Starmer said the talks were \u201ca really good opportunity\u201d for him to \u201cspeak to the president about the special relationship\u201d between their two countries. He said Biden \u201cdeserves credit\u201d for presiding over a summit that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called a success. <\/p>\n
Zelensky\u2019s comments were made before Biden mistakenly introduced the Ukrainian leader as \u201cPresident Putin,\u201d having to correct himself hastily. In a press conference later Thursday evening, Biden also mistakenly called his Vice President, Kamala Harris \u201cVice President Trump\u201d when discussing if she could beat the former president. <\/p>\n
On his plan to force lawmakers in the House of Lords \u2013 which scrutinizes the government and makes recommendations on laws \u2013 to step down after turning 80, Starmer said the policy was \u201cmore to do with the size\u201d of the unelected upper chamber than the fitness of elderly politicians. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur second chamber is the biggest second chamber in the world. We\u2019ve got over 800 members. We\u2019ve got to get the size down,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Starmer is not alone in trying to downplay concerns about Biden\u2019s age. French President Emmanuel Macron, attending the summit in a weakened position with his country in political limbo after a snap parliamentary election, said Biden remained \u201cin charge\u201d and \u201cclear on the issues he knows well.\u201d <\/p>\n
Starmer was also asked by Tapper to clarify comments made by David Lammy, a longstanding Labour politician who became Britain\u2019s foreign secretary last week. <\/p>\n
In 2018, Lammy called then-President Donald Trump \u2013 who will also turn 80 in office if re-elected to a second term in November \u2013 a \u201cwoman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath\u201d and a \u201cprofound threat to the international order.\u201d <\/p>\n
Starmer said his government will \u201cwork with whoever is elected\u201d in November, but stressed \u201cI\u2019m a progressive and we\u2019re sister parties with the Democrats.\u201d <\/p>\n
Starmer\u2019s comments echoed his previous remarks on a potential Trump presidency; he told the BBC last year he would \u201chave to make it work,\u201d though that doesn\u2019t mean \u201cwe would agree on everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
Asked about Trump\u2019s threats to leave NATO and cut a deal with Putin, likely ending the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Russia, Starmer praised the \u201cclarity of purpose\u201d that other members have shown in the alliance during the summit. He also said Britain remains \u201cabsolutely committed\u201d to raising its defense spending to 2.5% \u2013 above the NATO guideline of 2% \u2013 but did not provide a timeline for this. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy position as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom could not be clearer, which is an unshakable support for NATO,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were proudly one of the countries that was there at the founding of NATO\u2026 We\u2019re proud of that history.\u201d <\/p>\n
A week ago, Starmer guided the Labour Party to a historic victory, winning a majority of 172 seats in the House of Commons and bringing to an end 14 years of Conservative rule. <\/p>\n
But, almost immediately, Starmer\u2019s victory was described as hollow and his mandate fragile, with critics pointing out Labour\u2019s relatively low share of the popular vote, despite its commanding victory under Britain\u2019s first-past-the-post electoral system. <\/p>\n
Asked if his victory was fueled more by anger towards the Conservatives than enthusiasm for Labour, Starmer hit back, saying his team deserved praise for turning the party around after it slumped to a dismal defeat in 2019 under the left-wing leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. <\/p>\n
\u201cI took over the Labour Party four and a half years ago. We\u2019d just had the worst general election result since 1935. The pessimists were saying, \u2018The Labour Party will never win a general election again.\u2019 The optimists said, \u2018Well you might, but it will take you 10 years,\u2019\u201d Starmer said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018No, we\u2019re going to do it in one parliamentary term. But we\u2019ve got to be ruthless, we\u2019ve got to be steely, we\u2019re going to change the Labour Party, we\u2019re going to turn it inside out and make sure it\u2019s a party that always says: Country first, party second.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
He said he had managed to pull his party back to the center ground, shunning the extremes. <\/p>\n
\u201cBrits are reasonable, tolerant \u2013 they don\u2019t much like the extreme left, they don\u2019t much like the extreme right. And we underestimate that,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the phrases I used in the election was we need a politics that trod more lightly on people\u2019s lives. And that\u2019s very important in Britain.\u201d <\/p>\n
Although he ruled out trying to rejoin the European Union, Starmer said he wanted to \u201creset\u201d Britain\u2019s relationship with the bloc. Starmer\u2019s \u201cnumber one mission,\u201d he said, is to restore Britain to economic growth, which has virtually flatlined since the 2008 financial crisis <\/p>\n
Starmer has softened his view on the British monarchy, having once talked about abolishing it, and said he was looking forward to his weekly audience with King Charles III, now he\u2019s become prime minister. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is always valuable to listen to what he has to say. He\u2019s incredibly interested in politics, in the affairs across the United Kingdom, and global affairs,\u201d said Starmer. \u201cThey\u2019re a really good frank exchange of views and long may they continue.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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