Faced with the setbacks of Liz Truss, British Labor believes again in its chances of victory

Le leader du parti travailliste, Keir Starmer, à Liverpool.

Posted Sep 27, 2022, 6:42 PMUpdated on Sep 27, 2022 at 7:45 PM

By provoking a storm in the financial markets since Friday, British Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng could not have done the opposition any better service. At the Labor Party Congress, which runs until Wednesday in Liverpool, the fall in the pound caused by promises of tax cuts by Prime Minister Liz Truss was on everyone’s lips, as proof that Labor is now better placed to govern, including on the economic front.

“The government has lost control of the economy, caused the pound to fall, increased UK borrowing costs. And why ? For tax cuts for the richest 1%”, launched Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, from the first minutes of his speech. “Remember, don’t forgive,” he added.

The atmosphere has changed since the last Labor Congress a year ago, at a time when Boris Johnson still enjoyed majority support in public opinion. Last year, in Brighton, Keir Starmer gave a river speech, peppered with boos from the left wing of the party. At the time, he was still trying to convince that he was the one capable of redressing the Labor Party since its rout in the 2019 elections.

Optimistic crowd

This time, he addressed a crowd swollen with optimism. A euphoria supported by the latest polls favorable to Labour. According to YouGov, Labor is credited with 45% of the voting intentions, against 28% for the Conservatives. At a record high, their lead has widened further since the Kwasi Kwarteng tax announcements. A few days before, another poll, by Savanta ComRes, gave Labor a 12-point advantage, which would translate into a majority of 56 seats in the House of Commons.

Even Andy Burnham, the thunderous Labor mayor of Manchester, a supporter of a more radical line, was optimistic: “This is the first conference since we have been out of government where I tell myself that we have our chances of ‘be in power within one to two years,’ he said on Sky News.

For Keir Starmer, the “partygate” was an opportunity to build his credibility and his image of probity. He escaped a fine from the police while Boris Johnson and his finance minister, Rishi Sunak, were sanctioned. Within the party, the former attorney general has turned the page on Jeremy Corbyn by refocusing his economic program and clearly affirming his support for NATO. On Brexit, a sensitive issue on which Labor lost part of the popular vote, Keir Starmer adopted a compromise position, refusing a return to the customs union, but favoring an easing of controls through an agreement veterinary.

Way to go

However, he still has some way to go before the next general elections, scheduled for January 2025 at the latest. Pollster James Hallam, after holding focus groups for the association “SMEforLabour” with voters who voted Conservative in 2019 , believes that his weakness lies in his personality, which marks little in public opinion. “People we interviewed are not quite sure who he is. Most know him for his attacks on Boris Johnson in ‘Partygate’, but that drowned out the rest of his speech,” he explains.

In his speech in Liverpool, Keir Starmer put forward some key proposals to mark the spirits: an increase in recruitment in the public health service, the NHS, the creation of a giant of renewable energies on public funds, or even guarantees on real estate loans to promote home ownership. He has ruled out any alliance with the Scottish separatists on the grounds that he believes “in the future of the Union”. A reminder that earned him the warmest applause in the assembly.

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