Labor Party elects more centrist leader amid virus turmoil

LONDON — Lawyer and lawmaker Keir Starmer was elected leader of Britain’s main opposition Labor Party on Saturday by a decisive margin, after a contest thrown into turmoil by the coronavirus outbreak.

A special conference to announce the winner was scrapped when the nation went into lockdown, and the news came in a press release accompanied by a prerecorded acceptance speech.

Starmer, 57, comes from Labor’s centerleft wing, and his election marks a shift from the more strongly socialist course set by his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.

Starmer acknowledged that he was becoming leader of the opposition “at a moment like none other in our lifetime” and promised to “engage constructively” with the Conservative government to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The party said Starmer won on the first round of voting with

56.2% of all the votes cast, well ahead of rivals Rebecca LongBailey and Lisa Nandy. Angela Rayner was chosen as deputy leader in a vote of Labor’s half a million members.

A former U.K. chief prosecutor named after Labor Party cofounder Keir Hardie, Starmer faces the challenge of reuniting a party deeply divided over the policies of Corbyn, The outgoing leader was elected party chief in 2015 and took Labor sharply to the left, proposing the nationalization of major industries and a huge increase in public spending.

Corbyn also faced allegations that he had allowed antiSemitism to fester in the party. He is a supporter of the Palestinians and critic of Israel. Starmer said “antiSemitism has been a stain on our party.”