UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Labour members to keep faith as he defended a multicultural Britain during a speech to his party’s annual conference that sought to allay questions over his leadership.
Struggling to fight off soaring support for the hard-right party Reform UK, Starmer told the gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, that he would “fight with every breath I have” for the “tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know”.
He stressed that the UK “stands at a fork in the road” between “renewal” offered by Labour, elected to power in July last year, or “grievance” offered by Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, likening it to a “battle for the soul of the country”.
“He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does,” Starmer said of Farage, accusing the Reform leader of wanting to turn “this proud, self-reliant country, into a competition of victims.”
Starmer has only been in power 14 months, during which his popularity has plummeted, leaving the centre-left party lagging well behind Reform in polls, and causing growing speculation about how long he might remain in the role.
He is regularly accused of a plodding style and of lacking a coherent vision for the country.
But he used Tuesday’s speech to launch an impassioned attack on Reform, while seeking to paint a more optimistic vision of the future.
“If you say or imply that people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin,” then “you are an enemy of national renewal,” Starmer said, prompting a standing ovation from the party rank and file.
Labour, beset by missteps and U-turns since it returned to power in July last year for the first time since 2010, lags 12 points behind Reform, according to weekend Ipsos poll.
The survey found Starmer had the lowest net approval rating for a prime minister since 1977.
It found that Starmer was even more unpopular than ex-premier Rishi Sunak just before he led the Conservatives to their worst defeat in history at the 2024 vote.
– ‘Long path’ –
The next election is not expected until 2029, but in recent days Starmer has been forced to insist that he can turn around Labour’s fortunes amid talk about leadership challenges.
Regional Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has urged Starmer to put forward a more leftist vision for Labour and has claimed that lawmakers have been urging him to run for leader, although he would first need to be elected as an MP and there is no opening currently.
Starmer insisted he could lead Britain towards being “a new country, a fairer country, a land of dignity and respect,” but warned it would take time.
“We need to be clear that our path, the path of renewal, it’s long, it’s difficult, it requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy, decisions that will not always be comfortable for our party,” Starmer said.
A painful, likely tax-raising budget, looms for Labour in November. There is speculation that bad results in local elections next May, including in Scotland and Wales, could trigger a leadership challenge.
Jacob Hamer, an 18-year-old Labour member who attended the conference, backed Starmer to revive his party’s fortunes.
“The old phrase is a week is a long time in politics, but I’d say a year is a short time in government. Frankly, policies take time,” he told AFP, referencing pledges to boost health service appointments and rapidly speed up house-building.
But 53-year-old Jonathan Farr was not so confident — he has a disability and was angered by the government’s plan to cut a disability payment, before it dropped the idea after an outcry from left-wing MPs.
“I think people voted for change and they don’t feel like they’re getting it, unfortunately,” he told AFP.
“I fear that come the day after the (May) elections, there will be a leadership challenge, or he’ll resign, but either way, I can see something happening.”
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