Wes Streeting has called the Conservative Party’s attacks on Keir Starmer’s work ethic a “total disgrace”.
The Labour leader has faced fierce criticism for saying he wanted to make time to spend with his children after 6pm on Friday evenings.
Responding to the comments, made in an interview with Virgin Radio, the Conservatives have claimed the Labour leader would be a “part time prime minister” if he wins the election on Thursday.
Starmer told Virgin Radio: “We’ve had a strategy in place and we’ll try to keep to it, which is to carve out really protected time for the kids, so on a Friday – I’ve been doing this for years – I will not do a work-related thing after six o’clock, pretty well come what may. There are a few exceptions, but that’s what we do.”
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A Conservative Party attack on social media said: “Keir Starmer has said he’d clock off work at 6pm if he became prime minister. You deserve better than a part-time prime minister.
It added: “The only way to prevent this is to vote Conservative on Thursday.”
Rishi Sunak told reporters on Monday: “I haven’t finished at six ever.”
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, said it is “unrealistic” of Starmer to aim to finish working at 6pm on Fridays.
She told LBC Radio: “I do think that it’s pretty unrealistic for a prime minister not to work past 6pm. I also think it’s a bit odd because they’re also saying they want to make people in the NHS work overtime and at weekends, so I think to do that on one hand, and on the other hand say that you’re not going to work past 6pm is a bit tin-eared.
“Like I said, I haven’t really seen what he was driving at, but I think he’s going to get a shock if he goes into government and thinks that he doesn’t have to work past 6pm.”
Asked on Times Radio if he would work beyond 6pm on a Friday, shadow health secretary Streeting said: “I’m sure I will be and I’m sure Keir will be doing so too.
“The attacks on him are a total disgrace and it shows how far these people have fallen, how heavily they’re scraping the barrel and why they need to be removed from office on Thursday.”
“It’s a disgrace and the stench of their lies and hypocrisy is even more overwhelming than the vomit they left for Downing Street cleaners, and like those cleaners we’ll clean up the Tories’ mess too if we’re given the chance on Thursday, and as far as I’m concerned, given their behaviour this morning, that change can’t come soon enough.”
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