Lake District: Gary Neville and Keir Starmer visit Lakes for broadcast

Tonight, June 19 in Labour’s new Party Election Broadcast, Sir Keir made pledges for the country and talked about his special childhood memories of the Lake District to football icon Neville.

Walking in the fells, Neville heard from Sir Keir how he he believe his Labour Party will deliver change for the country. The Labour leader outlined his first steps and immediate priorities to deliver for the British people if Labour wins the General Election.

Both climbed the foothills of the Langdale Pikes, a place which is said to be deeply personal for the Labour leader. Most summers, his mother and father - both now passed - would drive the family up to the area to holiday there, where they’d climb the crags and eat fish and chips by the lakeside.

The pair visited the Lakes to film the broadcast (Image: Labour Party)

The family grew attached to the area especially after striking an unlikely friendship with esteemed fell walker and sketcher Alfred Wainwright MBE, who stayed in touch with the Starmers after meeting by chance on a fellside one summer. Wainwright even wrote to Sir Keir’s mother Jo Starmer when she became ill with a card telling her: ‘The hills are waiting for you’.

Sir Keir remembers that his mother wouldn’t go on holiday abroad but instead would choose to take her children to the Cumbrian fells. Visiting the miners’ cottages next to the Langdale Valley where the family would stay each summer, Neville asked the Labour leader: “If your mum and dad were here now, in these cottages, what would they be saying to you?”

Reflecting on what his parents would make of his career, he said: “They'd be having a real moment, and so am I actually. If she was back here now… and I was in a race to be a candidate for the Prime Minister of the country, they'd be really proud. It’d be a really incredible moment. It really would.”

Keir Starmer spoke emotionally about his love for the Lake District (Image: Labour Party)

Sir Keir, speaking ahead of the broadcast, said: “Seeing those same sites and cottages we so often visited on our family holidays was an emotional time for me. It gave me pause for thought to remind me why I do this job. It made me think of my mum, a public servant in the NHS for so many years, and those like her across the country who so heavily count on it in the toughest moments.

"But most of all, it was a reminder of the millions across the country who desperately need a Labour government to rebuild Britain."

Neville said: “It was a privilege to spend the morning with Keir filming this in the beautiful Lake District, he is a future Prime Minister who the country can believe in and trust.

“It’s in your hands. You have the power to make change happen. Vote Labour.”