Keir Starmer blasts Tories over 'politics of self-preservation' amid National Trust 'war'

Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of looking to clamp down on opposition voices by trying to find “woke agendas” in British civic institutions.

In his speech at the Civil Society Summit in central London, the Labour leader was critical of Tory attitudes to the likes of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the National Trust.

Sir Keir said Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives were “waging a war on the proud spirit of service in this country”.

Promising a “reset” on relations with the charitable sector if he becomes prime minister, he said the governing party seemed set on “sabotaging civil society to save their own skin”.