Sir Keir Starmer stokes fears of stitch-up after admitting he might give Europeans and 16-year-olds a vote
SIR Keir Starmer stoked fears of a stitch-up yesterday after admitting he might give Europeans and 16-year-olds a vote.
And the Labour leader once again hinted at a coalition deal with the Lib Dems.
He yesterday confirmed he was looking at giving Europeans who live here a vote in general elections as well as local polls.
The one-time Remainer told LBC radio it felt wrong a European who had lived in the UK for years was not allowed a say.
Insisting it was not “settled policy”, he added: “The thinking behind it is that if someone has been here, say, ten, 20, 30 years, contributing to this economy, they ought to be able to vote.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said his plot showed he did not trust the British people.
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said Sir Keir was trying to “bring Brussels via the back door”.
On a Lib Dem coalition, Sir Keir said: “We’ll see. I’m going for a majority government.”
And he also opened the door to lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 — as in Scotland and Wales — if he became PM.
He said: “They can have babies, they can work, they can join the Army.
“So, there are big things you can do at 16 and 17.
“It’s not such an outlandish idea.”
Senior Tories accused him of seeking to rig the playing field as youngsters and immigrants were more likely to vote Labour.