Sir Keir Starmer has told Premier that the Labour Party owes a "huge debt" to Christianity, as he seeks to garner the faith vote in Thursday's General Election.

"It’s sometimes said that the Labour Party owes more to Methodism than it does to Marx," he said. "It’s certainly true that the history of the Labour Party owes a huge debt to the Christian tradition."

The Labour leader went on to say that his party shares "key values" with Christianity and will join with what Churches are doing to help "rebuild the country". 

"We share the abiding sense of the dignity and worth of every human being," he said, along with "the desire to tackle injustice, and the determination to care for those who are vulnerable and find themselves on the margins of our society."

Sir Keir also highlighted the central importance of the Church in tackling many of the key justice issues currently our society, and vowed to partner with communities of faith to fight for a better future. 

"There will be no decade of national renewal without the active participation of the church," he said. "We’ll engage churches across the delivery of all our missions because we know that their community connections and experience make us stronger."

'I'll always be grateful'

Despite saying he does not adhere to a particular faith, Sir Keir spoke warmly of his personal experiences with the Christian community.  

"When I was young, my mother was very sick," he told Premier. "I remember that the people in our community who really cared for her and looked after her right up until the day she died were the people from her church."

Sir Keir said that their compassion "wasn’t just because they were nice people". 

"It was a deep expression of their faith," he added. "They made a huge difference to her, and to our family during a really tough time." 

"I’ll always be grateful for that."
 

To read the full Q&A with Sir Keir Starmer, click here.