US News United Kingdom: Keir Starmer closes the Labor Congress with an uncompromising speech

© Stefan Rousseau / Pool via REUTERS Labor leader Keir Starmer, during his speech during the party's virtual congress, in Doncaster, on 22 September 2020.

This unprecedented Labor congress, essentially virtual, has had its impact reduced by the conditions imposed by the health crisis. In closing on Tuesday, Keir Starmer wanted to motivate his troops after their worst defeat since the 1930s last December and harshly criticized the incompetence of Boris Johnson's government.

With our correspondent in London, Muriel Delcroix

A new leader for a new start. Keir Starmer tried to inject a dose of optimism into his party’s ability to recover from ’s controversial years under his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn .

Against the Covid, the British Prime Minister tightens the screw and closes pubs and restaurants from 10 p.m.

© Copyright 2020, L'Obs Faced with the resurgence of the coronavirus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday 22 September further restrictions, including a 10pm curfew for pubs in England, warning of the possibility of "more drastic" measures. Accused of having worsened the toll of the pandemic by delaying the ordering of containment in March, the head of the Conservative government warned, before Parliament, that the United Kingdom had "reached a dangerous turning point" .

Keir Starmer eventually won the Labour leadership campaign by a comfortable margin, but this didn't stop some Labour MPs raising doubts about his credentials. Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Neil Coyle, described Sir Keir as a "comfort blanket" who won't win back voters.

Keir Starmer is to appeal directly to “red wall” voters who abandoned the party last year to “take While key elements of the speech are calculated to resonate broadly, notably a pledge to close In more personal elements, Starmer will point to his own background as the first member of his family to

During a difficult exercise, as he delivered his speech addressing an empty hall in the northern town of Doncaster , Keir Starmer was uncompromising. And that, first of all, vis-à-vis his own party which "deserved its defeat" in the elections of last December , because it would have considered the support of its traditional electorate for granted, in particular in the historic bastions of the North.

"We have understood the message and we ask you to give Labor a chance", pleaded the leader who put forward values ​​such as family and homeland. He also vowed to return his party to power after more than ten years of opposition.

But Keir Starmer has also violently attacked Boris Johnson's government, posing as a responsible and competent leader in the face of a draft Prime Minister, unable to keep in control since the start of the pandemic. This tactic has so far been successful, as Labor has caught up with the Conservatives in voting intentions and are neck and neck at 40%.

Nonetheless, in the midst of a global crisis and with the next election not scheduled for 2024, the main challenge will first and foremost be to make your voice heard.

► Also to listen to : Portrait of Keir Starmer, the new leader of the British Labor Party