Great Britain British Prime Minister: We must build a new Britain

SDA

24.9.2024 - 19:35

dpatopbilder - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses members at the Labour Party Conference at ACC Liverpool. Photo: Jon Super/AP
dpatopbilder - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses members at the Labour Party Conference at ACC Liverpool. Photo: Jon Super/AP
Keystone

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has put his country in the mood for tough decisions. "I know that many of the decisions we have to make will be unpopular," said the 62-year-old at a party meeting in Liverpool. He was giving his first speech as head of government at the annual conference of his social democratic Labor Party.

Starmer accused the previous Conservative government of leaving the country in a poor state. "We need to build a new Britain," said Starmer. At the same time, he warned against easy answers and also condemned the racist riots that people had instigated in some cities over the summer.

Starmer reacts calmly to hecklers

His speech was briefly interrupted by a heckler who wanted to demonstrate against British arms supplies in the Middle East conflict. The man apparently had an admission ticket for the 2019 conference, Starmer countered. At the time, Labour was still led by Jeremy Corbyn, who had been accused of not taking decisive enough action against anti-Semitism in the party.

The Labour Party has been in power in the UK since the beginning of July. The party conference will also be accompanied by a discussion about expensive gifts. Starmer and others had come under fire for accepting expensive clothing from a major donor, for example. Starmer's poll ratings have fallen in recent weeks.

SDA