Starmer insists he is a socialist but refuses to rule out tuition fees rise

Keir Starmer has insisted he is a socialist and a progressive, but has said the country does not have the money to allow him to fulfil some of the pledges he made during the 2020 Labour leadership race.

- Aletha Adu

Starmer made the comments as he came under increasing pressure to spell out whether he will raise tuition fees if Labour wins the election.

The Labour leader yesterday made a personal speech in Lancing, West Sussex, reflecting on how his working-class upbringing had informed his politics.

He said his parents had to choose between not paying their telephone bills or going into debt, which meant he understood the importance of economic stability.

He later insisted he had kept "most" of the 10 key pledges he made during his leadership bid to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, but said he was being honest with the electorate about the damage that had been done to the economy by the Tories, instead of "pretending like very many politicians" and later breaking a promise.

When asked by the Guardian if he would rule out raising tuition fees, following warnings from vice-chancellors and former ministers that universities will be at risk of bankruptcy without increased funding, he did not directly answer the question.

He told Sky News after his speech: "I said that we should abolish tuition fees. Now that the damage that's been done to the economy, particularly by