Guillermo Ximenis
London, September 26 (EFE). – UK opposition chief Keir Starmer faces Labor’s first national convention in person this week, with the challenge of removing doubts about his leadership and proposing a programme. With him .. to restore the “red belt” of voters who were seduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The conservative president’s attrition in the face of the UK’s shortage crisis, waiting lists in the health system and rising energy prices, among other factors, has narrowed his advantage in the polls.
However, the first obstacle that the opposition leader must overcome is internal. Popularity among his voters has waned in recent months: 58% of them think he is doing his job poorly, according to a recent YouGov poll, when only 23% turned him off in December.
Some of his followers of the religion criticize his lack of familiarity with the big issues that preoccupy today, such as Brexit and fiscal policies, and question his ability to re-engage the masses of voters who left Labor in the 2019 generals, particularly in the post-industrial regions of northern England.
Regain the center
Starmer won the 2020 party primary with a message of unity. His priority, rather than detailing his own political roadmap, was to heal the wounds of Labor’s worst electoral defeat in nearly a century and resign as leader to Jeremy Corbyn, who had the support of the left sector and some unions. weight in the game.
The current leader, a lawyer specializing in human rights, has tried to build bridges towards the left wing of his squad, although the speech in which he will lay the foundations for his proposals next Wednesday is expected to regain a more focused space than that occupied by his predecessor.
Not surprisingly, one of the collaborators who worked on this speech was Philip Collins, a former member of former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s team, who popularized the term “new business” as the hallmark of a program that prioritizes economic stimulus over businesses against a preference for nationalization.
Starmer hopes to win back the support of large masses of voters who turned their backs on Corbyn’s program two years ago, which included the nationalization of rail companies, electricity and water infrastructure and the Royal Mail, among others.
An alternative to Johnson’s ‘chaos’
The workers’ conference comes at a time when a shortage of manpower has closed dozens of gas stations in the UK and threatens to leave supermarkets, restaurants and various industrial sectors with short supplies.
The conservative government must simultaneously contend with the increase in energy prices, which could bankrupt many electricity companies, and saturate the health system that has caused the coronavirus pandemic.
Under this scenario, Starmer announced on Sunday that during the conference in Brighton (southern England) until Wednesday, he will put his recipes on the table to fix the “chaos” in which the country is mired.
Asked in an interview with the BBC about his proposals to fight the energy crisis, the Labor leader stressed that he “does not” support the nationalization of electricity companies at risk of bankruptcy this winter, despite the fact that he was at the time a supporter. “Supporting the Common Ownership of Rail, Post, Power and Water”.
“I don’t see a nationalization there,” Starmer replied, and asserted that as Prime Minister he “would be pragmatic in that sense.” “When common ownership provides value to the taxpayer and allows for better services, there must be common ownership,” he said.
He was also asked about his stance on tax increases, such as who ordered Johnson this month to pump new resources into the health system.
“We are analyzing the tax issue. Nothing is on the table, but we don’t know what the national finances will be like when we go to the next elections,” said the Labor leader, who is facing the challenge of rebuilding his party after the shock. Defeat the last generals. EFE
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