Starmer: I’m a socialist and progressive who will always put country first

Labour leader says damage done to economy by Liz Truss and Tories means he can’t fulfil some 2020 pledges

Keir Starmer has insisted that he is a socialist and a progressive, but said the country does not have the money to allow him to fulfil some of the pledges he made during the 2020 Labour leadership race.

Starmer, who has been under increasing pressure to spell out whether he will raise tuition fees if Labour wins the election, made a personal speech in Lancing, West Sussex, on Monday, reflecting on how his working class upbringing has informed his politics.