Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size London: Keir Starmer is proof that fortunes can turn relatively quickly.
Just a tick over three years ago, when UK Labour lost the Hartlepool byelection – a seaside seat it had held since 1974 – the new leader experienced a major confidence crisis and considered resigning. “I felt like I had been kicked in the guts,” Starmer told his biographer. It was a moment when he thought, “We are not going to be able to do this.
” Keir Starmer, pictured here in 2019, almost walked away from the Labour leadership three years ago. Credit: Bloomberg He made calls to his wife and even to his former legal colleagues at Doughty Street Chambers. Former workmate Ed Fitzgerald recalled telling him they’d always welcome him back “if he was finding it all too tough”.
He toughed it out. But Starmer had to be persuaded that he could win a general election, not just someone who could win back enough seats from the Conservatives to give the next leader a genuine crack at power. Barring an almighty upset, Starmer will become British prime minister on Friday, his Labour Party ousting the ruling Conservatives after 14 years.
It is no mean feat. Since 1900 – when Labour was formed – the party has won only eight out of 32 general elections. Only three Labour leaders – Cleme.
