Paul Weller has branded Sir Keir Starmer a “slightly softer version of the Tory party”, as he says he fails to see much difference between the Labour leader and prime minister Rishi Sunak. The British rocker, 66, reflected on the forthcoming general election on 4 July, which was called by Sunak in May, as he expressed his doubts over Starmer’s values. “He’s just a slightly softer version of the Tory party, isn’t he?” the musician told The Big Issue.
“He’d be well served to remember who built the Labour party, trade unions and communists. So, I don’t see much difference between him and Sunak and all that mob. The fact that he’s a Sir puts me off a little bit in the first place.
” Weller, who recently released his 17th solo album 66, also shared his concern over the issue of homelessness in London, which he explores in his new music video, “I Woke Up”. “With the matter of homelessness, it’s: ‘How do you fix this?’ You can’t just keep moving people off and to another area,” he said. “It’s sweeping it under the carpet.
Why don’t we try and fix it? I’m not saying it’s an easy thing to fix.” He added: “Some of the homeless people round my way, some I chat to, it’s a mixture of things - some people have definitely got mental problems and they should be helped and looked after, some people have drug problems and could go through a programme. “But then you need a support system so that once they go through that programme they ca.