Sawt Falasteen - Starmer vows to fight for Britain's 'soul', thwart far right

During the keynote address at Labour's annual conference, Starmer sought to allay questions over his embattled leadership by defending a multicultural Britain and upping his attacks on the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.

"I will fight with every breath I have -- fight for working people, fight for the tolerant, decent, respectful Britain I know," he told the gathering in Liverpool, northwest England.

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" put forward by Reform, led by Nigel Farage, which is surging in popularity.

"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 been in power 14 months, during which his popularity has plummeted, leaving his centre-left party trailing Reform in polls. That has caused growing speculation about how long he might remain as prime minister.

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, receiving a standing ovation from the party rank and file.

"We will renew this country, until we can say, with total conviction, that Britain is built for all," he added.

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 a weekend Ipsos poll.

The survey found Starmer had the lowest net approval rating for a prime minister since 1977.

It showed Starmer to be 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 UK 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 current opening.

Starmer insisted he could lead Britain towards being "a new country, a fairer country," but warned it would take time.

"Our path, the path of renewal, it's long, it's difficult, it requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy," Starmer, 63, said.

Labour member Sarah Chaker told AFP she believed Starmer's speech showed he can turn his fortunes around.

"I felt that he restored the faith. He certainly restored mine," she said.

But Farage said Starmer's speech was "a desperate last throw of the dice from a prime minister who is in deep trouble", and vowed to teach him "a lesson" at local elections due next May, including in Scotland and Wales.

There is speculation that disastrous results in those polls could trigger a leadership challenge. They will be held in the wake of a budget unveiling in November likely to raise taxes.

Starmer faces a difficult balancing act between taking on Farage, particularly on immigration, while trying to keep more left-wing members of his party on side.

"We're pleasing no-one by on the one side trying to sort... out Reform, and then on the other side we're kind of losing our more progressive voters to the left," deputy leader candidate Lucy Powell said ahead of Starmer's speech.

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