Keir Starmer vows to focus on domestic matters after globe trotting

Sir Keir Starmer has told aides he will concentrate on domestic matters after constant globe trotting has led to him being dubbed 'Never Here Keir' in Westminster.

Labour MPs have grown increasingly restive about the amount of time the Prime Minister has spent abroad.

Meanwhile, his poll ratings have plummeted after controversial measures such as cuts to the winter fuel allowance and imposing inheritance tax on farmers.

Sources have blamed the 'bad optics' on Sue Gray – who was ousted as No 10 Chief of Staff last month – with one saying: 'Much of it was put in the diary by Sue before she left.

'She would have had him out of the country even more if she had had her way.'

Last week's G20 summit in Brazil marked Sir Keir's 26th day out of the UK since July's election, with 15 international trips to ten countries. 

The source said: 'Much of it was unavoidable, but not all of it, and he knows it doesn't look great to be sunning himself in Rio de Janeiro while farmers are protesting and pensioners are freezing'.

Ministers have said that the constant travelling on planes with patchy wifi was making policy coordination difficult.

It is also distracting No 10 from firefighting the hostile reaction to Rachel Reeves's Budget, which has united tax-hit businesses, landowners and pensioners in opposition. 

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Voters in focus groups run by pollsters are increasingly mentioning 'Never Here Keir' as a reason for their disillusionment.

When asked about his travel schedule in Rio, Sir Keir argued that there was a 'direct link between the work I do internationally and the impact back at home'.

The four-day trip to Brazil, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and held talks on issues including the Ukraine war, came after visits to Ireland, Italy, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Washington DC, France, Azerbaijan and Samoa. 

He also flew to New York for the UN General Assembly after the Labour Party Conference in September.

Asked about pensioners struggling to heat their homes while he was abroad, Sir Keir said: 'It's very important to have those discussions because that's the way we trigger the money coming into our economy, to ensure that we've got better living standards, people feel better off and, crucially important, we've got jobs around the country.'