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Sir Keir Starmer has been elected as the new leader of the Labour Party.
The 57-year old defeated Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy in a ballot of party members, trade unionists and registered supporters and will succeed Jeremy Corbyn as opposition leader.
The lawyer, who became an MP in 2015, won on the first round of voting, with more than 50% of ballots cast.
He said his task was to “lead this great party into a new era, with confidence and hope”.
In a video message released by the party, he said it was an “honour and privilege” to have been elected and he hoped Labour “when the time comes can serve our country again – in government”.
And he apologised for the “stain” of anti-Semitism that has tainted Labour in recent years. He pledged to “tear out this poison by its roots” and said his success would be judged on whether former Jewish members return to Labour.
The full results of the leadership contest were:
- Sir Keir Starmer – 275,780 votes (56.2%).
- Rebecca Long-Bailey – 135,218 votes (27.6%)
- Lisa Nandy – 79,597 votes (16.2%)
Just over 490,000 people voted in the contest, out of the 784,151 eligible to take part, in the three-month contest triggered by Mr Corbyn’s decision to step down after Labour’s heavy defeat in last year’s general election.
Coronavirus crisis
Meanwhile, shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner has been elected deputy leader, replacing Tom Watson, who stood down as an MP before the election. She defeated four other candidates but the contest was much closer, going to a third round of voting.
The 40-year old Ms Rayner beat Richard Burgon and Rosena Allin-Khan in a third round of voting, after fellow MPs Ian Murray and Dawn Butler had earlier been eliminated.
Saturday’s result was announced by e-mail after plans for a public event were dropped due to the coronavirus crisis.
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Sir Keir has described himself as a socialist but not a Corbynite, and vowed to keep key policies from the Corbyn era, such as nationalising rail, mail and water and repealing anti-union laws, in a 10-point plan.
The MP for Holborn and St Pancras, in London, had been the odds-on favourite to win the contest, having received the backing of more MPs and local Labour branches than his rivals as well as significant union support.
He led the Crown Prosecution Service before entering frontline politics. He served in Mr Corbyn’s top team for more than three years where he was responsible for the party’s Brexit policy.
His two rivals paid tribute to him, Mrs Long-Bailey saying he would be make “brilliant prime minister” and she “would do all she could to make that a reality”.
Ms Nandy said she was proud of her campaign and offered Labour’s new leader her “full support in the challenges that lie ahead”. “Our country is crying out for fresh leadership. We start today.”
‘Constructive opposition’
Sir Keir’s first task will be to lead Labour’s response to the coronavirus emergency, and he has been invited to take part in cross-party talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the government’s top scientific advisers next week, to “work together” on the crisis.
Sir Keir said he had been elected “at a moment like no other” and promised to work “constructively” with the government to confront the pandemic and not engage in “opposition for opposition’s sake”.
But he added: “We will shine a torch on critical issues and where we see mistakes or faltering government or things not happening as quickly as they should we’ll challenge that and call that out.”
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Prominent Labour figures have welcomed Sir Keir’s decisive victory, with former leader Ed Miliband saying “his decency, values and intelligence are what our country needs at this time of crisis”.
Labour MP David Lammy, who backed Sir Keir’s candidacy, said he was “ecstatic” about the outcome.
Outgoing shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who backed Ms Long-Bailey, urged the party to “unite now as a movement to achieve our socialist aim”.
