Starmer to insist Labour fit to govern as UK hit by crisis

Labour leader Keir Starmer will argue Tuesday he is ready to lead Britain out of economic crisis, as a new poll gave his once-fractured party its biggest lead in two decades over the ruling Conservatives.

The head of the main opposition will tell its annual conference that new Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Tories have "lost control of the British economy", as the UK reels from soaring inflation, imminent recession and a weakening currency.

His keynote speech at 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) comes the day after the pound crashed to an unprecedented low against the dollar.

That dramatic plunge has been blamed on a mini-budget unveiled Friday by Britain's new finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, which cut taxes -- including for the highest earners -- and raised government borrowing.

The currency rebounded somewhat early Tuesday, but remains vulnerable amid market concerns that the tax-slashing plan could drive up interest rates and derail public finances.

"What we've seen from the government in the past few days has no precedent," Starmer will say, according to his office, adding the Conservatives had squandered the economy for "tax cuts for the richest one percent".

Despite the gloomy economic outlook, Labour's rank-and-file are gathering in an upbeat mood in England's northwest city of Liverpool.

The party -- out of power for 12 years and dogged in recent times by ideological infighting -- appears more unified than at any point in recent years and has extended its lead in the polls.

The latest survey by YouGov showed it 17 points ahead of the Tories, its biggest lead since 2001 and the era of Tony Blair, who won an unprecedented three general elections for Labour from 1997.

A separate YouGov poll gave support to Labour's narrative about the Truss-Kwarteng budget plan, finding 57 percent of Britons think the measures collectively were unfair.

That was the worst score for any financial statement since the Conservatives took power from Labour in 2010.

Starmer's health spokesman Wes Streeting echoed the confident tone seen from delegates in Liverpool, telling Sky News that "the cavalry is coming with Labour".

Starmer, 60, took over the Labour leadership in April 2020 from the radical Jeremy Corbyn but initially struggled to break through with the public during the pandemic.

The Tories' problems under their previous scandal-plagued prime minister Boris Johnson, and now the spiralling financial crisis, have revived his fortunes.

The next election, however, is not due until January 2025 at the latest, when the party will try to overturn the majority of 80 that Johnson won against Corbyn in 2019.

Starmer has shifted Labour decisively away from the left following Corbyn's divisive five-year tenure.

In an unusual move, attendees at this year's conference on Sunday sang the national anthem "God Save the King", beneath images of the late queen Elizabeth II.

Fears the rendition would be marred by boos or heckles from the Corbyn-leaning left proved unfounded.

In his speech, Starmer will hail Labour as once again "the political wing of the British people", echoing Blair who previously deployed the same phrase.

He will also claim it is now "the party of the centre ground" and of "sound money".

"We know we can do it," Mary Stiles, 75, a former councillor from central England, told AFP of retaking power.

"We've got to do what Tony Blair did in 1997: we've got to get back in and change things."

Starmer has vowed

not to reverse the Conservatives' "hard Brexit" deal, which took Britain out of the European Union's single market and customs union.

He has also tried to steer clear of culture war issues, revolving around gender and racial politics, instead sticking to core themes around the economy, health care and crime.

The opposition leader will promise in his address a new "green prosperity plan" that prioritises economic growth alongside tackling climate change.

But there is disquiet from the party's traditional union backers about support for workers on strike over pay as inflation surges.

Starmer has barred his top team from appearing on picket lines and been less supportive of the walkouts than some on the party's left.