Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer visits Colchester

Sir Keir came to Colchester town centre on Saturday, visiting the Three Wise Monkeys pub, Red Lion Books, and the Mercury Theatre.

He told The Gazette that the impact of rising bills was having a huge impact upon the voters he spoke to.

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Sir Keir said: “I wanted to come to talk to local people and to businesses about the cost of living crisis. But also, because we’ve got local elections here in Colchester, I wanted to meet the candidates and talk to voters.

“This is a very real chance for people in Colchester who are struggling, particularly with cost of living, to send a loud message - a message the government can’t ignore - about their inadequate response to the cost of living crisis.

“I met a 76-year-old man who lives here in Colchester, who said that because of the cost of living crisis and the inadequate response of the government, he’s had to go back to work three days a week.

"That’s the human impact on people here.”

Colchester Council currently has no overall control but has never been Labour-led. The party only won the parliamentary seat once, in 1945.

But Sir Keir claimed that voting Labour into the council would “make a massive difference” and outlined some of the plans they have.

He said: “We will be dealing with anti-social behaviour, having teams out there, emergency funds for those that need it most, along with council housing to provide safe and secure homes for people in Colchester.”

Sir Keir admitted that whilst he has hopes of gaining a council majority, the party still needs to “earn the votes.”

He said: “Our candidates are an excellent group of people, from a wide-range of backgrounds, young and old, with real experience but rooted here in Colchester.

“I know we have to earn every vote, but we’ve got such a positive team and message, I hope that we can make some progress.”