Starmer ‘not surprised’ that platinum jubilee crowds booed Boris Johnson

Voters are ‘fed up’ with government inaction on cost of living crisis, says Labour leader

Keir Starmer has said he was “not surprised” that Boris Johnson was booed by crowds who gathered outside St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Friday.

The Labour leader said that the crowd’s reaction to the prime minister’s appearance was a reflection of how “fed up” voters are with the Conservative government.

But he said that it was the failure to respond adequately to the cost of living crisis that was driving public dissatisfaction with Mr Johnson, rather than the scandal over lockdown-breaching parties in 10 Downing Street.

Asked about the booing of the PM during a visit to the London Aquatic Centre in Stratford, Sir Keir told the PA news agency: “In many respects, I wasn’t surprised at that.

“I think so many people across the country are fed up with the government, particularly its inaction on the cost of living.”

He added: “A crowd will decide for itself how it wants to acknowledge and they were there to acknowledge and thank the Queen – that was absolutely in everybody who was there.

“They booed the prime minister, they are fed up with the government.

“But the vast majority were there to say thank you to the Queen and in a sense reflect on what she has given to our country, which is absolutely phenomenal.”

His comments come amid reports that Mr Johnson will next week attempt to regain the political initiative with a speech setting out plans to expand the right to buy scheme.

He is expected to announce that 2.5 million people who rent housing association properties will be given the chance to buy their homes at a discount.

Shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy said the proposal had first appeared in a Tory manifesto seven years ago before being “floated again” by her opposite number Michael Gove at the start of May.

Ms Nandy said: “We need a government with a serious plan to get money back into people’s pockets and make housing more affordable so every family can enjoy the security of a home.

“Instead we have a government that is out of touch and out of ideas, desperately recycling old policies.”