Keir Starmer as the New Leader of the Labour Party

• Main Author: Elena Ananieva
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Institute of Europe Russian Academy of Sciences 2020-02-01
• Series: Научно-аналитический вестник Института Европы РАН
• Subjects: keir starmer; boris johnson; jeremy corbin; t. blair; uk parliament; labour party; conservative party; liberal democrats; parliamentary elections; scotland
• Online Access: http://vestnikieran.instituteofeurope.ru/images/Ananieva22020.pdf

After the Labour Party lost the December 2019 general election – the fourth in a row its leader J. Corbin stepped down. Keir Starmer succeeded him in early April. This article examines the influence of the party leadership election rules on its outcome and the reasons of Keir Starmer’s success. The analysis of his carrier and political programme as well as the composition of the new shadow cabinet shows that the new leader intends to unite the party and bring changes to its apparatus. The ratings of the Conservative and Labour parties since the 2019 elections demonstrate that the coronavirus pandemia tells on the volatility of the British society. Still, the electoral perspectives of Labour in 2024 will be bleak if the party does not overcome its internal crisis and the Tories could stay in power until 2029.