Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, is deflecting criticism of his plans to stop working after 6 PM on Fridays if he becomes Prime Minister by invoking Judaism. Sir Keir, projected to win Britain’s July 4 snap election by a large margin, has hit back at critics, saying, “I would have thought to anybody it’s blindingly obvious that a Friday night is quite important in some religions and faiths.”
Shabbat, the Jewish Day of Rest, begins at sunset on Fridays. However, unlike his wife, the Labour leader is neither religiously nor ethnically Jewish, so it not clear why criticism of his desire to avoid work on Fridays would be anti-Semitic, as his defenders claim.
The Starmer family does not even observe Shabbat at all times, with Sir Keir telling the press, “Obviously [his wife’s] dad’s side of the family is Jewish, as people will appreciate, and we use that for family prayers—not every Friday, but not infrequently.”
Sir Keir’s father is said to have been a militant atheist, while his mother was Anglican. He claims he was “brought up Church of England, loosely” and is now an atheist. There is no evidence of Jewish ancestors in his family tree.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he has not “finished at 6 PM ever” and that clocking off so early in the evening would leave him unable to do the job properly.
Sunak’s Conservative Party is branding the Labour leader ‘Sir Sleepy’ and pitching voters that they “deserve better than a part-time prime minister,” in hopes this attack line will avert what is projected to be a “massacre” at the ballot box on Thursday.
Wednesday’s @guardian front page: Backlash over ‘antisemitic’ Tory attack on Starmer https://t.co/B56epTLAKc pic.twitter.com/XM4yO4hLdj
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 2, 2024
