Keir Starmer wants to follow Margaret Thatcher’s footsteps into No 10, but for now the Labour leader is echoing her symbolic gestures on the battlefield.
Sir Keir donned some striking combat fatigues on a visit to troops stationed in Estonia – the latest political figure to channel Thatcher and her iconic photo on top of a British tank.
The Labour leader raised eyebrows by posing in a camouflage jacket for widely-shared photographs at a Nato base on the eastern European border with Russia.
It recalls one of Thatcher’s most famous pictures, riding a tank at a British base in West Germany in 1986 – a moment which help seal her image as the ‘Iron Lady’.
The nod to the Tory PM comes weeks after Starmer sparked a row with the Labour left by praising Thatcher and her achievement in unleashing “Britain’s natural entrepreneurialism”.
Margaret Thatcher riding a British tank in West Germany in 1986— (Getty Images)
He insisted he was no Thatcher fanboy and said he “profoundly disagreed” with some of her policies – but he continues to make gestures aimed at appearing prime ministerial in the eyes of traditional Tory voters.
Playing soldiers is not something politicians get to do very often, but the temptation to dress up in military gear is hard to resist when the opportunity comes along.
For some, such as former defence secretary Ben Wallace it has helped cement their reputation as fierce defender of Britain’s military. But when done heavy-handily, it can backfire.
Liz Truss, the former PM who spent only weeks at No 10, was mocked for pose on top of a Challenger 2 tank in battle gear during a visit to Estonia at the end of 2021.
Russian state TV ridiculed her effort to appear as the “new Iron Lady” and said she has a “touch of bipolar about her”.
Liz Truss tries to conjure up spirit of Thatcher during Estonia trip in 2021— (Simon Dawson/10 Downing Street)
Sir Keir’s efforts to show solidarity with the British military caused much mirth on social media on Friday.
Political commentator Sam Freeman compared the photos to a “ITV drama about a wrongly disgraced general given one last chance leading a poorly performing battalian”.
Pundit Hugh Brechin compared the stern in the Estonia snow look to dystopian drama.
“The year is 2030. the climate has collapsed. A polar Britain has descended into war. Forces loyal to Keir Starmer control approximately one third of the country: elsewhere, chaos reigns.”
Sir Keir Starmer visits the Tapa NATO forward operating base in Estonia— (PA)
One comment piece in The Telegraph dubbed Starmer a “disgrace” for wearing military clothes – pointing out that Thatcher wore a “rather fetching long white mac and matching headscarf” for her famous tank photo in West Germany.
The newspaper’s columnist Ross Clark fumed: “We know you who you are, Starmer: you are a lawyer, not a lance corporal. Stop trying to pretend you know one end of a bazooka from another.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a visit to Bovington Camp, a British Army military base in Dorset, to view Ukrainian soldiers training on Challenger 2 tanks— (PA)
Starmer warned that Russia is a “real and constant threat” as he visited soldiers stationed in Estonia to stress his party’s commitment to Nato and thank them for their service over Christmas.
Sir Keir said the UK and its allies “need to be prepared, we need to deter” in response to Moscow’s actions.
The Labour leader said: “I think we have to be mindful of that threat from Russia to Europe, to ourselves in the UK and the interference that goes on.”
