Keir Starmer said he was not surprised that Boris Johnson was booed by some members of the public when he arrived at St Paul’s for a platinum jubilee event, saying, “They’re fed up with the government.”
The prime minister drew a mocking heart from viewers when he arrived at the National Thanksgiving Service on Friday for the Queen’s service with his wife, Carrie, in audio and video footage captured by cameras.
As he climbed the stairs, Johnson did not look puzzled, smiling and nodding. Some people could also be seen in the crowd applauding and cheering.
Instead, when the Labor leader arrived a few minutes later, the crowd remained silent.
Citing the cost of living crisis, Starmer said on Saturday: “In many ways, I was not surprised by that.
“I think a lot of people across the country are fed up with government, especially its inaction on the cost of living,” he told PA Media at the London Aquatics Center in Stratford, East London.
When asked if it was a reflection of the public attitude towards politics, Starmer said, “A crowd will decide for themselves how they want to recognize and they were there to recognize and thank the queen, that was absolutely all that they were there.
“They booed the prime minister, they are fed up with the government, but the vast majority were there to thank the queen and, in a sense, to reflect on what she has given to our country, which is absolutely phenomenal.”
Meanwhile, Nadine Dorries has been accused of “taking voters for fools” after she claimed on Friday that there were more people applauding Johnson than booing.
The Prime Minister’s Secretary of Culture and Loyal Ally suggested that reports of boos had been exaggerated. “There were many, many more cheers, but that’s not a good headline,” he tweeted.
Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner responded, calling her a “misinformation minister.”
“Your usual reminder that Nadine Dorries is Boris Johnson’s misinformation minister,” she tweeted Saturday. “They take you for fools.”
Labor MP Christian Wakeford, who defected from the Conservatives in protest of Johnson’s leadership, said: “That’s because it’s not true, Nadine.”
Chris Ship, ITV News’ royal editor, described the incident as “very strong”.
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“The facts are, and I was there, the boos were very strong. You can’t escape that. Journalists are there to report. Not to invent things,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Lord Rennard tweeted that Dorries’ claim was not true: “Lies like this are the reason people decide to boo Boris. Everyone can hear the live comment for themselves. when Boris left they were even stronger. “
Although Johnson was upset in the campaign ahead of the 2019 election before winning an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, it is feared that boos among royalists could be a negative sign of how he is viewed by the public.