Christians on the Left has celebrated Sir Keir Starmer being elected the Labour Party’s new leader.
The human rights lawyer beat rivals Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy in the first round of counting, securing 56 per cent of the 490,731 votes cast. Angela Rayner will be his deputy.
Sir Keir said his election was the “honour and privilege of my life”.
The Chair of Christian on the Left told Premier Christian News she was not shocked by his victory as he won a poll that was conducted within their organisation by a landslide.
“It came as no surprise but I'm really thrilled. I'm looking forward to working with them both because both of have come on this manifesto of unity and I really believe that's what we need for the Labour Party.
“There is there a hunger within the Labour Party members and the affiliates for unity because it has felt quite disunited over the last few years. And so we're looking for a new day where we can be strong and that we can put forward very effective policies.”
Davies told Premier there are many challenges that lie ahead for the new Labour leader as he takes on leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. She said Sir Keir has the hard task of making sure the party is heard.
“Where are the tests? Why haven’t frontline workers got the protective equipment? Is the money going to come forward for those people who have lost jobs or being furloughed at the moment? Those are going to be some of the immediate challenges.”
Davies added that anti-Semitism is a long term issue within the Labour Party that she’s looking forward to Sir Keir eradicating.
“They've got a hard task before them… both of them in uniting the party. But you know, where we're standing with them,” she said.
In an acceptance speech posted on social media, Sir Keir said his mission is to restore trust in the party as “a force for good and a force for change”.
He also apologised for anti-Semitism in Labour which has brought “grief” to Jewish communities.
His victory – which marks a significant change of direction for the party – came after the planned special conference to unveil the winner had to be shelved because of the coronavirus crisis.
The results were instead announced via social media, while the Labour Party website appeared to crash.
Angela Rayner won the deputy leadership with 52.6 per cent of the vote in the third round, and promised to “do everything” to repay her supporters’ trust.
Shortly before the result was announced, Boris Johnson wrote to opposition party leaders inviting them to a briefing and insisting “we have a duty to work together at this moment of national emergency”.
The Prime Minister congratulated Sir Keir in a call on Saturday afternoon and the pair agreed to meet next week to discuss the coronavirus crisis.
