KEIR Starmer has given his answer to whether he will be supporting Scotland at the Euros.
The question of whether they will back England is often put to SNP politicians, with the party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn telling ITV a flat “no” last month.
During a visit to Wiltshire on Wednesday, Starmer – a keen England fan – was asked the same question.
He responded: “I want Scotland to win, and I will keep wanting them to win – unless and until they get drawn against England.
“But until that point, actually, I want them to win the game.”
Starmer faced criticism in some circles when he was photographed not wearing an England shirt to watch the team’s opening Euros match against Serbia on Sunday.
The Labour leader had been advised that wearing a Three Lions shirt could injure his support in Scotland, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s depute leader, has been less coy. She has been spotted wearing both an England and a Scotland shirt as she watched the respective nations play at the Euros.
Last week, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he would be supporting Scotland first, and Portugal before England.
Asked if he would be backing England at the Euros, the Labour MSP said: “I'll be supporting Portugal first and foremost – after Scotland of course.
“I'll be supporting Scotland and then Portugal, because my son runs a Cristiano Ronaldo fan page on Instagram, does it very well, actually, so I'll be supporting Portugal.
Asked whether he’d be backing England to win their games against other teams, Sarwar said: “I'll be cheering on England in the games that aren't involving either Scotland or Portugal, and I have no trouble at all with the team next door doing well.”
Portugal came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in their opening Euros game on Tuesday.
England beat Serbia 1-0 in their opening game, while Scotland lost 5-1 to Germany in theirs.
Scotland are set to play Switzerland on Wednesday evening in Cologne and will be hoping for a change of fortunes.
Ahead of the game, Scottish actor Karen Gillan quipped that her national team had been lulling Switzerland into a “false sense of security” with the Germany loss.
