Jeremy Clarkson endorsement shows Labour has changed, says Keir Starmer

Former Top Gear presenter said he could vote Labour

Keir Starmer has welcomed an endorsement from former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, suggesting it is a sign "that people are beginning to notice that the Labour party has changed".

Mr Clarkson, a personal friend of David Cameron and longtime Tory, said at the weekend he could potentially vote Labour for the first time under Sir Keir, though he joked that he did not like the new leader's haircut.

Asked about the presenter's comments Sir Keir told LBC radio: "I'm very pleased to have the votes of as many people as possible... whether I've got to change my hairstyle for every single vote we'll have to wait and see.

"I'm very pleased that people are beginning to notice that the Labour party has changed and that's good."

Sir Keir's leadership ratings are topping those of all his predecessors as opposition leader since Tony Blair, suggesting he is personally popular with the public.

This has however yet to translate into votes, with opinion polls still showing Labour consistently behind the Conservatives and yet to reach the highest levels of support it polled during the previous parliament.

Mr Clarkson presented Top Gear from 2002 until 2015, when he was let go by the BBC following an alleged assault on a producer. He currently presents a revived version of the gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Also speaking on the same radio programme Sir Keir suggested teachers' unions were not to blame for delays in getting children back to school.

Played a recorded question by Boris Johnson asking his views on the issue, Sir Keir said: "Yes, schools are safe for some children to go back to at the moment. My children are in school. And I want all children back at school in September."

He added: "I don't actually buy his [the prime minister's] argument that it's the trades unions who have caused the problems.

"What this needed was leadership at the top and a plan. And frankly, every school I'm spoken to has said it comes down to the space they've got. If they've got a lot of space, they can do it, if they haven't, they can't.

Jeremy Clarkson (Getty)

"The day the schools were closed, the Prime Minister should have set up a plan to get them back open.

"Do you need pre-fab, do you need more classrooms built? Is there a library or a community centre you can use? These are the practical things we needed."

The Labour leader also criticised his party's 2019 manifesto, telling listeners that it was "far too long" and that "people didn't believe any of what was in it". He suggested the next one would be shorter.

Turning to the issue of antisemitism in the Labour party, Sir Keir defended his decision to sack his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey for sharing an article in The Independent in which the actor Maxine Peake repeated an alleged antisemitic conspiracy theory.

"The party is coming together and has come together in the last three months. This has got nothing to do with left or right in the party," he told the programme.

He added: "I want to unite our party but I am also determined to stamp out antisemitism. I think the two can go together."

Asked whether he would take similar action and sack shadow local government secretary Steve Reed for describing Jewish billionaire Richard Desmond as a "puppetmaster", Sir Keir said: "I haven't seen that tweet and I'll have a look at it when I finish here ... I haven't seen it, I haven't discussed it with Steve, but I will do."

On the issue of whether Prince Andrew should cooperate with US police looking into the actions of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein's, he said: "It doesn't matter who you are, you cooperate with the law enforcement authorities when they require you to do so."