Keir Starmer’s new pledge card has further fuelled speculation that he sees himself as the “heir” to New Labour’s Tony Blair.
The Labour leader has just unveiled six promises to win over voters ahead of the general election, including cutting NHS waiting times and recruiting more teachers.
These policies are not dissimilar to those Blair unveiled ahead of Labour’s landslide victory 26 years ago – and neither is the marketing material, apparently.
The image, from 1997, shows Blair smiling up into the distance, with the top button of his shirt undone, his tie slightly loosened and his sleeves rolled up.
The black and white image then has red writing over the top, reading: “Because Britain deserves better.”
It’s hard not to compare it to Starmer’s latest photoshoot.
The Labour leader is also pictured in black and white, wearing a white shirt and tie, with his sleeves rolled up.
There is a phrase printed against a red backdrop next to him, which reads: “My first steps for change.”
But, unlike Blair, Starmer has his glasses on, looks straight at the camera and has an incredibly stern expression on his face.
However, Starmer has denied copying Blair.
Speaking at today’s launch of six new Labour pledges, he said: “Everybody has been trying to say which leader are you most like, who do you have secretly tattooed on the inside of your arm, it is none of them.
“Some of the things that are important about winning power are the same of course they are.. It’s not copycat ... we are 27 years on from 1997.. the challenges we faced not are not same as faced by Tony Blair.”
Blair himself has admitted to meeting Starmer “reasonably frequently”, but he told the Financial Times that the current leader is “his own person” and deserves credit for pushing the hard left out of Labour.