Starmer insists he is no copycat of Blair

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he is no “copycat’ of Sir Tony Blair as he launched his election campaign. Sir Keir used a campaign rally in Essex to set out six of his main general election pledges. The 61-year-old unveiled a new version of Labour’s traditional pledge card. Asked what he would say to critics who may label him as a “copycat Blair”, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The first thing I would say about Tony Blair which is more important than whether he took his tie off is he won three elections in a row. “And what Blair did in 97 is what Wilson did in 64 and Attlee did in 45 which was to take the Labour Party from opposition into power. “And the thing that unites them was the ability to glimpse the future and to persuade people to go on that journey to a changed future.” He added: “In that way there are similarities because I do think you have got to glimpse the future, you have got to understand the challenges... but it is not copycat because we are now what 27 ye