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Sir Keir Starmer has won the Labour Party leadership election, bringing Jeremy Corbyn’s near five-year tenure to an end.
The MP for Holborn and St Pancras said in an acceptance speech video shared after he won more than 56 per cent of the vote today (April 4) that the role was “the honour and privilege” of his life. He beat Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy in the final leg of the race. Angela Rayner has been elected deputy leader.
Starmer said in his video that recognises the scale of the task ahead of him. He paid particular attention to the coronavirus pandemic as well as how he will restore the nation’s faith in his party after the anti-semitism scandal and four consecutive losses at the polls.
It’s the honour and privilege of my life to be elected as Leader of the Labour Party.
It’s the honour and privilege of my life to be elected as Leader of the Labour Party. I will lead this great party into a new era, with confidence and hope, so that when the time comes, we can serve our country again – in government.
Posted by Keir Starmer on Saturday, April 4, 2020
Addressing the current pandemic and the readiness of the British people to help the most vulnerable – in particular the “courage” and “sacrifice” by medical workers, Starmer said: “Our willingness to come together like this as a nation has been lying dormant for too long.
“When we do get through this, we cannot go back to business as usual. This virus has exposed the fragility in our society. It’s lifted a curtain. We know in our hearts things are going to have to change.”
He went on to praise key workers – from NHS staff and paramedics, to cleaners and porters. “We can see so clearly now who the key workers really are. For too long, they’ve been taken for granted and poorly paid,” he said. “They were last, and now they should be first. In their courage and their sacrifice and their bravery we can see a better future.”
Elsewhere, the new leader said he feared “there are going to be some awful moments for many of us”, but reassured viewers: “we will get through this”. He noted that the pandemic has reminded “us of what really matters: our family our friends our relationships…our health, our connections”.
Starmer added that he will do “my utmost to reconnect us across the country, to re-engage with our communities,” and he noted the “stain” of anti-semitism on his party. “I have seen the grief it’s brought. 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 our Jewish members and those who felt they could no longer support us”.
Additionally, Starmer said he will “engage constructively with the government, not opposition for opposition’s sake” during the pandemic. “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.”
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