Britain's Labour turns page on socialism with Starmer as new leader
Profile of Keir Starmer, the new leader of the British Labour Party
(AFP Photo/Gillian HANDYSIDE)
By Kate Holton, Reuters•April 4, 2020
LONDON (Reuters) - Keir Starmer was elected as the leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party on Saturday, pledging to bring an end to years of bitter infighting and to work with the government to contain the raging coronavirus pandemic.
Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions who was known for a forensic attention to detail when opposing the country's exit from the European Union, won with 56% of the vote.
The comprehensive defeat of an ally of the outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn, and the election of Angela Rayner as Starmer's deputy, heralds the end of the party leadership's embrace of a radical socialism that was crushed in the December election.
Starmer, who takes over immediately, said he would work constructively with government when it was the right thing to do, while testing Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson's arguments and challenging the failures.
"Our purpose when we do that is the same as the government's, to save lives," he said in a statement that was pre-recorded due to the pandemic.
Starmer added that once the country emerges on the other side, once the hospital wards have emptied and the threat subsided, it would need to build a fairer society, where key workers on the front line receive decent salaries and better chances in life.
"In their courage and their sacrifice and their bravery, we can see a better future. This crisis has brought out the resilience and human spirit in all of us," he said.
Johnson said on Twitter he had congratulated Starmer and the two agreed on the importance of working together.
The party of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown endured its worst election performance since 1935 in December, when infighting over strategy, a confused policy over Brexit and allegations of unchecked anti-Semitism turned traditional voters away.
Starmer pushed for a second Brexit referendum but said the election result had “blown away” that argument.
Corbyn ally Rebecca Long-Bailey came second in the party's vote with 28% and Lisa Nandy was third with 16%.
Many centrist Labour politicians celebrated the result as a sign that the government would finally face proper scrutiny.
"A fresh Labour leader will challenge the Tories where necessary and give the party the chance to renew itself in time for the next election," Alf Dubs, an opposition Labour lord who fled to Britain as a child to escape the Nazis, told Reuters.
Starmer acknowledged the scale of the task ahead.
Well ahead in opinion polls, Johnson's Conservatives have also occupied much of traditional Labour territory, with the coronavirus crisis prompting the ruling party to deliver unprecedented state support to workers and businesses.
"This is my pledge to the British people. I will do my utmost to guide us through these difficult times, to serve all of our communities and to strive for the good of our country," Starmer said.
"I will lead this great party into a new era, with confidence and with hope."
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry)
Keir Starmer elected new UK Labour leader: party
Phil HAZLEWOOD, AFP•April 4, 2020
The three Labour leadership candidates
(L-R) Lisa Nandy, Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey
(AFP Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS, Isabel INFANTES, Leon NEAL)
Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader in 2015
(AFP Photo/ISABEL INFANTES)
The announcement of the new UK Labour Party leader
was a low key affair in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic
(AFP Photo/Paul ELLIS )
London (AFP) - Britain's main opposition Labour party on Saturday announced that Keir Starmer had been elected as its new leader, replacing Jeremy Corbyn who resigned after its crushing December election defeat.
The 57-year-old former chief state prosecutor defeated Corbyn loyalist Rebecca Long-Bailey and backbencher Lisa Nandy for the top job.
Angela Rayner becomes the new deputy leader, Labour announced on Twitter, after it was forced to cancel a special conference because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Starmer, who was Labour's Brexit spokesman, thanked supporters and his opponents in the three-month campaign that followed Corbyn's election defeat to Boris Johnson's Conservatives.
He called it "the honour and privilege" of his life and vowed to "engage constructively" with Johnson's government, particularly in the fight-back against COVID-19.
But he also vowed to reunite the party, after deep divisions caused by veteran socialist Corbyn's hard-left ideals that clashed with advocates of a more centrist approach, and Brexit.
And he immediately addressed the issue of anti-Semitism that Corbyn was accused of failing to tackle, which tarnished the party's reputation and caused Jewish members to leave in droves.
"Anti-Semitism has been a stain on our party. I have seen the grief that it's brought to so many Jewish communities," Starmer said. "On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry.
"And I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us."
Starmer, who won 56.2 percent of the vote of more than 500,000 Labour members, acknowledged the party had "a mountain to climb", after four straight general election defeats.
But he vowed: "We will climb it."
Keir Starmer vowed to address the issue of antiSemitism in the party
(AFP Photo/Paul ELLIS)
- 'Bad blood and mistrust' -
Labour grew out of the trade union movement but moved to the political centre under former prime minister Tony Blair, who was in office between 1997 and 2007.
Corbyn spent a lifetime on the sidelines because of his left-wing views, and his election as leader in 2015, on the back of a huge surge in party membership, was a shock.
MPs and party members have been locked in an ideological battle ever since.
"There's really a lot of bad blood and mistrust," said Steven Fielding, a political expert at the University of Nottingham.
"The first challenge (of the new leader) will be to put a team together that at least looks like it has the ability to unify the party."
Winning back voters who defected to the Conservatives is also top of Starmer's "to do" list if Labour has any hope of victory at the next election, currently scheduled for 2024.
Brexit was a toxic issue for the party, torn between eurosceptic supporters in many northern English towns and pro-EU voters in the big cities such as London.
Starmer was opposed to Brexit and played a key role in moving Labour to support a second referendum on leaving the European Union.
However, voters were not convinced and Johnson took Britain out of the bloc on January 31.
- Coronavirus challenge -
The coronavirus outbreak has brought a more immediate challenge.
Johnson's government has imposed draconian curbs on public movement to try to stop the spread -- measures backed by Labour, although it successfully pressed for more parliamentary scrutiny of new police powers.
The Conservatives have also promised eye-watering sums to keep businesses and individuals afloat, wading into traditional Labour territory.
In response, Johnson's popularity ratings have shot up.
A YouGov survey last week found that 55 percent of the public had a favourable opinion of him, up from 43 percent a week earlier.
Some 72 percent thought the government was doing well -- including a majority of Labour voters.
Ministers have been on the back foot in recent days, however, over the lack of testing for coronavirus and the protection equipment for healthcare staff.
Labour has been pressing the issues, and Starmer said this would continue.
"My instinct will be to be constructive but to ask the difficult questions," he told the Guardian podcast this week.
Sir Keir Starmer Is U.K. Labour’s Knight in Shining Armor
Olivia Konotey-Ahulu,Bloomberg•April 4, 2020
(Bloomberg) --
After a decade in the political wasteland, members of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party have chosen a moderate, un-flashy lawyer as their new leader. Their hope is that turning the page on the socialist radical Jeremy Corbyn, who was resoundingly rejected by voters last year, will see them re-take power.
Keir Starmer, 57, offers dry competence and seriousness after a turbulent five years under the firebrand Corbyn. At a time when the U.K. is grappling with the global coronavirus crisis and its own exit from the European Union, a steady hand could prove popular.
“Maybe being boringly competent is a magical thing -- because we haven’t got many boringly competent politicians at the moment, particularly in government,” said Steven Fielding, a professor at Nottingham University and historian of the Labour party. “People just flock to him like a safety raft from a sinking ship.”
Starmer faces one urgent decision before he embarks on his long-term mission. First he must decide how far he should support Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s strategy for countering the pandemic and how stridently he should speak out against the government’s mistakes. There has been speculation that he could even join a government of national unity to see the country through the crisis, as happened in World War II.
Battered
In the years ahead, Starmer’s defining task will be to revive a battered opposition party, broken by its worst election defeat in 80 years, and then persuade Britain’s 47 million voters that he is the prime minister the country needs to put itself back together.
Starmer was born in 1962 in south London to a nurse and a toolmaker. He was the first member of his family to go to an academically selective grammar school. After studying at the universities of Leeds and Oxford he began the 30-year campaigning career in human rights law that would set him up for front-line politics.
He represented peace activists and environmental campaigners, and led a legal challenge against the sinking of an oil rig.
Gavin Millar, a top lawyer who interviewed the young Starmer for a junior position in the late 80s, remembers him as “very radical” with strong views about the law. In a legal world of high intellects, Starmer’s first-rate brain stood out, but so too did his commitment to the protesters and activists fighting the powerful during Margaret Thatcher’s decade of Tory rule.
The two shared an office, where Starmer, who loved indie-pop bands such as The Smiths, was known for working long hours. “I got a lot of two-in-the-morning emails from him,” Millar said.
Passion
During the course of Starmer’s legal career, Millar saw him become more measured and less “strident” in his outlook. But, fundamentally, his commitment to social justice remains as strong as ever, Millar said. “I don’t think the passion has changed at all – that is a constant in Keir.”
In 2008, Starmer took on one of the biggest jobs in the justice system, director of public prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Perhaps his biggest case was overseeing the highly controversial and ultimately successful retrial of two men for the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
After being given a knighthood -- he now prefers not to use the title “Sir” -- he was elected as Labour member of Parliament for a London district in 2015. Brexit gave Starmer his big chance in politics.
As Labour’s Brexit spokesman, he was constantly appearing in the House of Commons, picking apart Theresa May’s ill-fated attempt to negotiate a divorce deal with the European Union, and working with like minded opponents of a no-deal split across party lines.
Yet in the 2019 election campaign the Brexit policy he helped Labour to devise was partly responsible for the party’s dire result. He wanted a second referendum that would give the electorate the chance to vote to stay in the EU, but Corbyn declared that Labour would remain “neutral” and would not back either the leave or remain side. Voters wanted to move on and Johnson won with his pledge to “get Brexit done.”
Sea Change
Labour’s 2019 defeat was also a rejection of Corbyn, whose unpopular leadership turned voters off.
Starmer was the favorite to succeed Corbyn from the start, as Labour members apparently decided they needed to put their hopes of winning ahead of any emotioal attachment to the former leader’s old fashioned leftwing ideals.
“It feels to me like a real sea change in the party, a new seriousness,” said Labour MP Stephen Timms, who hosted a phone canvassing event for Starmer in his constituency. “I think Keir is going to be a serious contender for the leadership of the country.”
While the face is different, many of Starmer’s policy pledges were first adopted under Corbyn. They include putting up income tax on top earners and bringing rail, mail, energy and water into common ownership. Starmer has promised to oppose austerity and introduce a compassionate migration system with free movment across the EU.
Labour has now lost four elections in a row and with Johnson sitting on a comfortable 80-seat majority in Parliament, the odds favor a fifth defeat in 2024. Yet the coronavirus pandemic seems certain to reshape the country and shake up politics across the world. There is a chance that when the crisis eventually ends and the next election comes, the country will want new leadership.
“We can only win if we are united and relentlessly focused on the future,” Starmer said in his first rally of the leadership election campaign on Feb. 16. He made it sound easy. In reality, the task he faces is still huge.
The Labour Party remains dysfunctional and unpopular and that must change if it is to defeat Johnson’s Tories, said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University in London. “There’s clearly a case for some pretty brutal surgery, to the point of actual amputation,” said Bale. “It’s whether he’s prepared to actually wield not only the scalpel but the bone saw.”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader in 2015
(AFP Photo/ISABEL INFANTES)
The announcement of the new UK Labour Party leader
was a low key affair in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic
(AFP Photo/Paul ELLIS )
London (AFP) - Britain's main opposition Labour party on Saturday announced that Keir Starmer had been elected as its new leader, replacing Jeremy Corbyn who resigned after its crushing December election defeat.
The 57-year-old former chief state prosecutor defeated Corbyn loyalist Rebecca Long-Bailey and backbencher Lisa Nandy for the top job.
Angela Rayner becomes the new deputy leader, Labour announced on Twitter, after it was forced to cancel a special conference because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Starmer, who was Labour's Brexit spokesman, thanked supporters and his opponents in the three-month campaign that followed Corbyn's election defeat to Boris Johnson's Conservatives.
He called it "the honour and privilege" of his life and vowed to "engage constructively" with Johnson's government, particularly in the fight-back against COVID-19.
But he also vowed to reunite the party, after deep divisions caused by veteran socialist Corbyn's hard-left ideals that clashed with advocates of a more centrist approach, and Brexit.
And he immediately addressed the issue of anti-Semitism that Corbyn was accused of failing to tackle, which tarnished the party's reputation and caused Jewish members to leave in droves.
"Anti-Semitism has been a stain on our party. I have seen the grief that it's brought to so many Jewish communities," Starmer said. "On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry.
"And I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us."
Starmer, who won 56.2 percent of the vote of more than 500,000 Labour members, acknowledged the party had "a mountain to climb", after four straight general election defeats.
But he vowed: "We will climb it."
Keir Starmer vowed to address the issue of antiSemitism in the party
(AFP Photo/Paul ELLIS)
- 'Bad blood and mistrust' -
Labour grew out of the trade union movement but moved to the political centre under former prime minister Tony Blair, who was in office between 1997 and 2007.
Corbyn spent a lifetime on the sidelines because of his left-wing views, and his election as leader in 2015, on the back of a huge surge in party membership, was a shock.
MPs and party members have been locked in an ideological battle ever since.
"There's really a lot of bad blood and mistrust," said Steven Fielding, a political expert at the University of Nottingham.
"The first challenge (of the new leader) will be to put a team together that at least looks like it has the ability to unify the party."
Winning back voters who defected to the Conservatives is also top of Starmer's "to do" list if Labour has any hope of victory at the next election, currently scheduled for 2024.
Brexit was a toxic issue for the party, torn between eurosceptic supporters in many northern English towns and pro-EU voters in the big cities such as London.
Starmer was opposed to Brexit and played a key role in moving Labour to support a second referendum on leaving the European Union.
However, voters were not convinced and Johnson took Britain out of the bloc on January 31.
- Coronavirus challenge -
The coronavirus outbreak has brought a more immediate challenge.
Johnson's government has imposed draconian curbs on public movement to try to stop the spread -- measures backed by Labour, although it successfully pressed for more parliamentary scrutiny of new police powers.
The Conservatives have also promised eye-watering sums to keep businesses and individuals afloat, wading into traditional Labour territory.
In response, Johnson's popularity ratings have shot up.
A YouGov survey last week found that 55 percent of the public had a favourable opinion of him, up from 43 percent a week earlier.
Some 72 percent thought the government was doing well -- including a majority of Labour voters.
Ministers have been on the back foot in recent days, however, over the lack of testing for coronavirus and the protection equipment for healthcare staff.
Labour has been pressing the issues, and Starmer said this would continue.
"My instinct will be to be constructive but to ask the difficult questions," he told the Guardian podcast this week.
Sir Keir Starmer Is U.K. Labour’s Knight in Shining Armor
Olivia Konotey-Ahulu,Bloomberg•April 4, 2020
(Bloomberg) --
After a decade in the political wasteland, members of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party have chosen a moderate, un-flashy lawyer as their new leader. Their hope is that turning the page on the socialist radical Jeremy Corbyn, who was resoundingly rejected by voters last year, will see them re-take power.
Keir Starmer, 57, offers dry competence and seriousness after a turbulent five years under the firebrand Corbyn. At a time when the U.K. is grappling with the global coronavirus crisis and its own exit from the European Union, a steady hand could prove popular.
“Maybe being boringly competent is a magical thing -- because we haven’t got many boringly competent politicians at the moment, particularly in government,” said Steven Fielding, a professor at Nottingham University and historian of the Labour party. “People just flock to him like a safety raft from a sinking ship.”
Starmer faces one urgent decision before he embarks on his long-term mission. First he must decide how far he should support Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s strategy for countering the pandemic and how stridently he should speak out against the government’s mistakes. There has been speculation that he could even join a government of national unity to see the country through the crisis, as happened in World War II.
Battered
In the years ahead, Starmer’s defining task will be to revive a battered opposition party, broken by its worst election defeat in 80 years, and then persuade Britain’s 47 million voters that he is the prime minister the country needs to put itself back together.
Starmer was born in 1962 in south London to a nurse and a toolmaker. He was the first member of his family to go to an academically selective grammar school. After studying at the universities of Leeds and Oxford he began the 30-year campaigning career in human rights law that would set him up for front-line politics.
He represented peace activists and environmental campaigners, and led a legal challenge against the sinking of an oil rig.
Gavin Millar, a top lawyer who interviewed the young Starmer for a junior position in the late 80s, remembers him as “very radical” with strong views about the law. In a legal world of high intellects, Starmer’s first-rate brain stood out, but so too did his commitment to the protesters and activists fighting the powerful during Margaret Thatcher’s decade of Tory rule.
The two shared an office, where Starmer, who loved indie-pop bands such as The Smiths, was known for working long hours. “I got a lot of two-in-the-morning emails from him,” Millar said.
Passion
During the course of Starmer’s legal career, Millar saw him become more measured and less “strident” in his outlook. But, fundamentally, his commitment to social justice remains as strong as ever, Millar said. “I don’t think the passion has changed at all – that is a constant in Keir.”
In 2008, Starmer took on one of the biggest jobs in the justice system, director of public prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Perhaps his biggest case was overseeing the highly controversial and ultimately successful retrial of two men for the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
After being given a knighthood -- he now prefers not to use the title “Sir” -- he was elected as Labour member of Parliament for a London district in 2015. Brexit gave Starmer his big chance in politics.
As Labour’s Brexit spokesman, he was constantly appearing in the House of Commons, picking apart Theresa May’s ill-fated attempt to negotiate a divorce deal with the European Union, and working with like minded opponents of a no-deal split across party lines.
Yet in the 2019 election campaign the Brexit policy he helped Labour to devise was partly responsible for the party’s dire result. He wanted a second referendum that would give the electorate the chance to vote to stay in the EU, but Corbyn declared that Labour would remain “neutral” and would not back either the leave or remain side. Voters wanted to move on and Johnson won with his pledge to “get Brexit done.”
Sea Change
Labour’s 2019 defeat was also a rejection of Corbyn, whose unpopular leadership turned voters off.
Starmer was the favorite to succeed Corbyn from the start, as Labour members apparently decided they needed to put their hopes of winning ahead of any emotioal attachment to the former leader’s old fashioned leftwing ideals.
“It feels to me like a real sea change in the party, a new seriousness,” said Labour MP Stephen Timms, who hosted a phone canvassing event for Starmer in his constituency. “I think Keir is going to be a serious contender for the leadership of the country.”
While the face is different, many of Starmer’s policy pledges were first adopted under Corbyn. They include putting up income tax on top earners and bringing rail, mail, energy and water into common ownership. Starmer has promised to oppose austerity and introduce a compassionate migration system with free movment across the EU.
Labour has now lost four elections in a row and with Johnson sitting on a comfortable 80-seat majority in Parliament, the odds favor a fifth defeat in 2024. Yet the coronavirus pandemic seems certain to reshape the country and shake up politics across the world. There is a chance that when the crisis eventually ends and the next election comes, the country will want new leadership.
“We can only win if we are united and relentlessly focused on the future,” Starmer said in his first rally of the leadership election campaign on Feb. 16. He made it sound easy. In reality, the task he faces is still huge.
The Labour Party remains dysfunctional and unpopular and that must change if it is to defeat Johnson’s Tories, said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University in London. “There’s clearly a case for some pretty brutal surgery, to the point of actual amputation,” said Bale. “It’s whether he’s prepared to actually wield not only the scalpel but the bone saw.”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Keir Starmer declares ‘new era’ for Labour after landslide victory in leadership contest
Ashley Cowburn,The Independent•April 4, 2020
Read more
Who will be in Starmer's shadow cabinet?
Keir Starmer’s first 100 days: how can he make a mark in a crisis?
New Labour leader Keir Starmer faces challenge of uniting party
Starmer named as new Labour leader in first round of voting
We urgently need an effective opposition – Starmer needs to build one
Coronavirus: New Labour leader Keir Starmer promises to 'work constructively' with Boris Johnson
James MorrisSenior news reporter, Yahoo News UK•April 4, 2020
“Keir offered to work constructively with the government on how best to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, accepted the PM’s offer to meet next week and agreed arrangements for Privy Council briefings and discussions.”
Johnson said of the call:
I have just spoken to @Keir_Starmer & congratulated him on becoming Labour leader. We agreed on the importance of all party leaders continuing to work constructively together through this national emergency. I have invited him and other opposition leaders to a briefing next week.
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 4, 2020
Sir Keir was elected with a commanding 56.2% of the 490,731 votes cast by party members.
Though he subsequently agreed to work with Johnson, Sir Keir had also warned in his first statement following his election: “At times like this, we need good government, a government that saves lives and protects our country.
“It’s a huge responsibility and whether we voted for this government or not, we all rely on it to get this right.”
Johnson’s government has come under increasing fire over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, with questions raised about issues such as testing and protective equipment for frontline NHS staff.
Ashley Cowburn,The Independent•April 4, 2020
PA
Keir Starmer has declared a "new era" for Labour as he was elected the party's new leader after a landslide victory in the three-month contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
Sir Keir, who today becomes Labour’s 19th leader in its 120-year history, defeated the left-wing candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, and the Wigan MP Lisa Nandy for the top job.
Securing a convincing majority across all sections of Labour’s electorate – including registered supporters, members and affiliates – and a 56.2 per cent of the vote share overall, he said it was the “honour and privilege of my life” to be elected as the party’s leader.
“I will lead this great party into a new era,” he insisted. “With confidence and hope, so that when the time comes, we can serve our country again – in government.”
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner was also announced as the party’s new deputy leader, seeing off competition from Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler, Rosena Allin-Khan and Ian Murray, with 52.6 per cent of the vote share.
It comes as the veteran left-winger Mr Corbyn announced he was stepping aside from the role – after a four and a half years – in the wake of the party’s worst result in terms of parliamentary seats at a general election since 1935.
Sir Keir, the 57-year-old shadow Brexit secretary, has led the race from the start, winning the backing of 89 members of the parliamentary part in the first round of the contest, before securing the support of more than a dozen affiliated organisations in the second stage.
Ballot papers were sent out in late February to the party’s half a million members, affiliated trade unions and 14,700 “registered supporters” who each paid £25 to take part on a one-off basis.
Labour announced the results of the contest online at 10.45am after the party was forced to cancel a planned special members’ conference in central London due to the coronavirus pandemic. Candidates had effectively suspended their campaigns last month as the infections of covid-19 started to escalate in the UK.
Coinciding with Mr Corbyn’s resignation, Boris Johnson also wrote to the leaders of opposition parties at Westminster, inviting them to a briefing of senior government advisers next week as he insisted “we have a duty to work together at this moment of the national unity”.
He added: “I want to listen to your views and update you on the measures we have taken so far, such as rapidly expanding testing and providing economic support to businesses and individuals across the country.”
Remarking on his clear victory in the contest, Sir Keir said the coronavirus crisis had brought normal life to halt in the UK. "People are frightened by the strangeness, anxious about what will happen next. And we have to remember that every number is a family shaken to its foundation,” he said.
He added: “Our willingness to come together like this as a nation has been lying dormant for too long. When millions of us stepped out onto our doorsteps to applaud the carers visibly moved there was hope of a better future. In times like this, we need good government, a government that saves lives and protects our country.
"It's a huge responsibility and whether we voted for this government or not, we all rely on it to get this right. That's why in the national interest the Labour Party will play its full part.
"Under my leadership we will engage constructively with the government, not opposition for opposition's sake. Not scoring party political points or making impossible demands. But with the courage to support where that's the right thing to do.
"But we will test the arguments that are put forward. We will shine a torch on critical issues and where we see mistakes or faltering government or things not happening as quickly as they should we'll challenge that and call that out.”
Keir Starmer has declared a "new era" for Labour as he was elected the party's new leader after a landslide victory in the three-month contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
Sir Keir, who today becomes Labour’s 19th leader in its 120-year history, defeated the left-wing candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, and the Wigan MP Lisa Nandy for the top job.
Securing a convincing majority across all sections of Labour’s electorate – including registered supporters, members and affiliates – and a 56.2 per cent of the vote share overall, he said it was the “honour and privilege of my life” to be elected as the party’s leader.
“I will lead this great party into a new era,” he insisted. “With confidence and hope, so that when the time comes, we can serve our country again – in government.”
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner was also announced as the party’s new deputy leader, seeing off competition from Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler, Rosena Allin-Khan and Ian Murray, with 52.6 per cent of the vote share.
It comes as the veteran left-winger Mr Corbyn announced he was stepping aside from the role – after a four and a half years – in the wake of the party’s worst result in terms of parliamentary seats at a general election since 1935.
Sir Keir, the 57-year-old shadow Brexit secretary, has led the race from the start, winning the backing of 89 members of the parliamentary part in the first round of the contest, before securing the support of more than a dozen affiliated organisations in the second stage.
Ballot papers were sent out in late February to the party’s half a million members, affiliated trade unions and 14,700 “registered supporters” who each paid £25 to take part on a one-off basis.
Labour announced the results of the contest online at 10.45am after the party was forced to cancel a planned special members’ conference in central London due to the coronavirus pandemic. Candidates had effectively suspended their campaigns last month as the infections of covid-19 started to escalate in the UK.
Coinciding with Mr Corbyn’s resignation, Boris Johnson also wrote to the leaders of opposition parties at Westminster, inviting them to a briefing of senior government advisers next week as he insisted “we have a duty to work together at this moment of the national unity”.
He added: “I want to listen to your views and update you on the measures we have taken so far, such as rapidly expanding testing and providing economic support to businesses and individuals across the country.”
Remarking on his clear victory in the contest, Sir Keir said the coronavirus crisis had brought normal life to halt in the UK. "People are frightened by the strangeness, anxious about what will happen next. And we have to remember that every number is a family shaken to its foundation,” he said.
He added: “Our willingness to come together like this as a nation has been lying dormant for too long. When millions of us stepped out onto our doorsteps to applaud the carers visibly moved there was hope of a better future. In times like this, we need good government, a government that saves lives and protects our country.
"It's a huge responsibility and whether we voted for this government or not, we all rely on it to get this right. That's why in the national interest the Labour Party will play its full part.
"Under my leadership we will engage constructively with the government, not opposition for opposition's sake. Not scoring party political points or making impossible demands. But with the courage to support where that's the right thing to do.
"But we will test the arguments that are put forward. We will shine a torch on critical issues and where we see mistakes or faltering government or things not happening as quickly as they should we'll challenge that and call that out.”
(Getty Images)
Sir Keir also said he was “sorry” on behalf of the Labour Party for the “stain” that antisemitism had brought on the party in recent years after allegations that have plagued the party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership. “I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us,” he added.
In a statements, defeated candidate Ms Long-Bailey said Sir Keir will be a “brilliant prime minister and I can’t wait to see him in Number 10”, adding: “I will do all I can to make that a reality and to ensure the Labour Party gets into government with a transformative agenda at the next election.”
The left-wing group Momentum – set up to support Mr Corbyn’s radical, left-wing policy agenda in 2015 – said the organisation looks forward to working with him, but also pledged to hold him to account in the coming months and years.
“His mandate is to build on Jeremy’s transformative vision, and this means appointing a broad shadow cabinet who believe in the policies and will work with members to make them a reality,” they added. “In this new era Momentum will play a new role. We’ll hold Keir to account and make sure he keeps his promises, champion big ideas like the Green New Deal, build the power of Labour members and do everything we can to get a Labour government elected.”
Sir Keir also said he was “sorry” on behalf of the Labour Party for the “stain” that antisemitism had brought on the party in recent years after allegations that have plagued the party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership. “I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us,” he added.
In a statements, defeated candidate Ms Long-Bailey said Sir Keir will be a “brilliant prime minister and I can’t wait to see him in Number 10”, adding: “I will do all I can to make that a reality and to ensure the Labour Party gets into government with a transformative agenda at the next election.”
The left-wing group Momentum – set up to support Mr Corbyn’s radical, left-wing policy agenda in 2015 – said the organisation looks forward to working with him, but also pledged to hold him to account in the coming months and years.
“His mandate is to build on Jeremy’s transformative vision, and this means appointing a broad shadow cabinet who believe in the policies and will work with members to make them a reality,” they added. “In this new era Momentum will play a new role. We’ll hold Keir to account and make sure he keeps his promises, champion big ideas like the Green New Deal, build the power of Labour members and do everything we can to get a Labour government elected.”
Read more
Who will be in Starmer's shadow cabinet?
Keir Starmer’s first 100 days: how can he make a mark in a crisis?
New Labour leader Keir Starmer faces challenge of uniting party
Starmer named as new Labour leader in first round of voting
We urgently need an effective opposition – Starmer needs to build one
Coronavirus: New Labour leader Keir Starmer promises to 'work constructively' with Boris Johnson
James MorrisSenior news reporter, Yahoo News UK•April 4, 2020
Sir Keir Starmer, right, has promised to 'work constructively'
with Boris Johnson. (PA/file image)
New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has promised to “work constructively” with Boris Johnson during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Immediately after his election on Saturday, Sir Keir called Johnson and offered his help “on how best to respond” to the outbreak.
He also accepted Johnson’s invitation to meet with opposition party leaders next week, with the prime minister having called for all parties to “work together at this moment of national emergency”.
A spokesman for Sir Keir said: “This afternoon Keir Starmer spoke with the PM about the current national emergency.
New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has promised to “work constructively” with Boris Johnson during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Immediately after his election on Saturday, Sir Keir called Johnson and offered his help “on how best to respond” to the outbreak.
He also accepted Johnson’s invitation to meet with opposition party leaders next week, with the prime minister having called for all parties to “work together at this moment of national emergency”.
A spokesman for Sir Keir said: “This afternoon Keir Starmer spoke with the PM about the current national emergency.
“Keir offered to work constructively with the government on how best to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, accepted the PM’s offer to meet next week and agreed arrangements for Privy Council briefings and discussions.”
Johnson said of the call:
I have just spoken to @Keir_Starmer & congratulated him on becoming Labour leader. We agreed on the importance of all party leaders continuing to work constructively together through this national emergency. I have invited him and other opposition leaders to a briefing next week.
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 4, 2020
Sir Keir was elected with a commanding 56.2% of the 490,731 votes cast by party members.
Though he subsequently agreed to work with Johnson, Sir Keir had also warned in his first statement following his election: “At times like this, we need good government, a government that saves lives and protects our country.
“It’s a huge responsibility and whether we voted for this government or not, we all rely on it to get this right.”
Johnson’s government has come under increasing fire over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, with questions raised about issues such as testing and protective equipment for frontline NHS staff.
