Keir starmer branded 'coward' for not 'standing up' to woke labour

KEIR STARMER 'PLAYING POLITICAL GAME' WITH COVID SAYS HOLDEN It comes as Sir Keir was warned Labour had no chance of winning back the votes of millions of Britons unless he

completely overhauls the party's ideology and direction. Deborah Mattinson, the former pollster who is now Labour's Director of Strategy, said swathes of voters remain clueless

about what Sir Keir stands for and where the party is going. She said this will likely result in another Conservative victory at the 2024 general election. RELATED ARTICLES Sir Keir has

found himself stuck in the middle of a fierce culture war as his party splits in two. While many of the Left have committed to so-called "woke" values, others on the centre-right

and right have pushed back against the radical cultural consensus of the day. No issue has become more politicised than transgender rights, with Labour currently at the heart of a debate on

whether those who have transitioned to the opposite sex should be given the same rights and recognition as those born as that sex. Other things have also embittered Sir Keir's time as

leader, like the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and his support for the taking the knee. Keir Starmer: The Labour leader was called a 'coward' for not standing up to the woke

brigade (Image: GETTY) Taking the knee: Starmer received mixed reviews after he and Angela Rayner took the knee (Image: Twitter/@Keir_Starmer) Joanna Williams, a leading academic and

director of Cieo, a think-tank, said she believed Sir Keir's lack of pushback against these things proved there was an "element of cowardice" about his leadership. She told

Express.co.uk: "It's definitely there, for not wanting to appear different to the woke lobby on Twitter, or not daring to stand up and contradict them. "You get the impression

sometimes that he's aware these things don't always play out very well, but it's it's almost as if he can't help himself; or as if there's an element of

cowardice where he can't bring himself to say anything or do anything that's going to contradict those people." During the Labour leadership elections last year, a

controversial pledge card calling on the party to expel "transphobic" members split the contenders. JUST IN: WILL YOU AVOID HOLIDAYS TO EUROPE AFTER CHARGE FOR BRITONS ANNOUNCED?

Lisa Nandy: She and Rebecca Long Bailey agreed to the pledge card (Image: GETTY) Lisa Nandy joined Rebecca Long-Bailey in signing the 12-point pledge card by the Labour Campaign for Trans

Rights (LCTR) that also describes some organisations including Woman’s Place UK as "trans-exclusionist hate groups". Sir Keir, however, refused to sing it. He instead chose to

endorse a less contentious 10-point pledge by LGBT Labour. Emily Thornberry also spoke out against the pledge card. DON'T MISS EU countries 'depend on UK tourism' as bloc

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site [ANALYSIS]  Labour news: Starmer has had a tough time in trying to connect with the country (Image: GETTY) Blackpool: He recently visited Blackpool and spoke to voters about their

concerns going forward (Image: GETTY) Yet, Ms Williams noted: "The problem is he hasn't got the courage to follow through with it and actually condemn all the abuse that's

being directed at people like J K Rowling, or within his own party. "He simply won't follow through and come out and defend those women." Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for

Canterbury, was recently victim to a pile on by transgender rights activists after she liked what was perceived to be a transphobic tweet. Brexit: Many say people are weary of Starmer

because of his Brexit flip-flopping (Image: Express Newspapers) While the party has been largely silent on the case, neither defending or criticising her position, LGBT+ Labour is calling

for Ms Duffield to lose the whip and Sir Keir to suspend her from the party. According to The Times, Labour is thought to be investigating the case. Ms Duffield has denied allegations of 

transphobia. Culture wars: Starmer, like most of the UK's leaders, have found themselves in the culture wars (Image: GETTY) RELATED ARTICLES Last month, Sir Keir affirmed Labour's

commitment to update the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and “introduce self-declaration for trans people”. Susan Dalgety, a columnist for The Scotsman, said this single act had "just

condemned thousands of women, many of them Labour members, to the political wilderness". She continued: "He had become a willing lieutenant in the culture war that passes for

political discourse in 21st century Britain, joining Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson in making identity – not economic and social renewal – the focus of their political message."