He offered his backing to Sir Keir despite having previously fuelled claims he was poised to rival the premier. But she suggested Labour had been similarly rocked by 'sleaze' rows that dogged the Tories, since Sir Keir entered Downing Street. But he cast doubt on whether Sir Keir would be the leader to achieve such a turnaround. Sir John said Sir Keir had positioned himself as 'the friendly local plumber' fixing issues with 'policy pipes', when voters really wanted their leaders to be 'the architect of Valhalla'. Sir John said: 'You need to do more than change the reality, you also have to influence perception.