Former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock has warned that though the voters are upset with the Tories, they are not yet in love with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
He told BBC Radio Four’s Week that it was “fair” to say that voters were not fully convinced by his party, and a majority in the House of Commons was not guaranteed.
Interestingly, Lord Kinnock was heading the Labour when it suffered a shock defeat during the 1992 general election. Opinion polls and political commentators had expected the party to win, but the Conservatives under Sir John Major pulled off a surprise victory.
He told BBC Radio Four, “Expressing enthusiasm is different from expressing desperation. People will say ‘let’s get the bloody Tories out’, but they won’t say ‘Hurrah hurrah, marvellous, freedom, liberation is with us because of Keir Starmer.’ They are entirely different departments of human sentiment.”
He said since Britain follows a first-past-the-post system the election results can sometimes be "very capricious”. However, he conceded that Labour was in a favourable position, and certainly not going to lose.
Like Kinnock, some other Labour insiders have warned against complacency over favourable opinion poll ratings and the recent victory in local elections.
Labour party chief Anneliese Dodds told The Telegraph, “We can be very good at losing elections people thought we would win. Think of 1992.”
Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator has been reminding colleagues that not a single vote has yet been cast for the general election.
Kinnock's remarks come shortly after Tory MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour. Many Labour leaders had criticised Starmer for allowing her to join the party.
The news of the UK coming out of recession is expected to provide some fillip to the Conservatives in the general election.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak and finance secretary Jeremy Hunt have tried to project this as proof that the economy has turned a corner.
Davindra and Seema Misra, and Vijay and Gita Parekh
Varchas Patel with his father Vipin and mother Jayshriben
Hasmukh Shingadia and his wife Chandrika were all victims of the Horizon scandal
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)