Britain: The Starmer who didn’t convince and the champagne that flowed abundantly into the Conservatives

If one believes in him in terms of a choleric Economist, the conferences of the British political parties offer nothing. It is primarily a cause for the political establishment of London, followed by lobbyists and journalists, to contact the British province to show that it is cut for the interests of its voters. At the same time, however, as the British inspection admits, political kneading takes place in the parties’ conferences, elected leaders (for example, Kir Starmer, the current Prime Minister of Britain, was elected to the Labour leadership at the party conference in 2020) and political careers are built.

A, and money is also raised. In 2023, from their conference and other similar events during the year, British Conservatives raised £7 million (1.4 million).

This year the annual conferences of the two major British parties took place by a few days, the Labour Party in Liverpool between 22 and 25 September, and the Conservative Party in Birmingham between 29 September and 2 October.

This year’s Labour conference took place with the party in government for the first time in fourteen years. Labour swept into the early elections on July 4. However, they did not enjoy a period of grace. In the three months that the new British Starmer government exercises power, it was forced to take a series of unpopular measures, mainly cut-off allowances. In the same short time, he was also struck by scandals for expensive gifts received by members of the government and by the Prime Minister himself. Starmer attended the conference in Liverpool with his popularity sinking: according to a poll, 60% of the British estimate that Labour will not win the coming election while 17% of those who voted Labour in the 4 July election say they have already regretted it. In Liverpool Starmer repeated that economics are needed, since his government inherited from the Conservative “hole” of £22 billion. Despite the statements about the “hurt winter” that is coming, the British Prime Minister tried not to insist on austerity measures, such as the abolition of the heating allowance for 11 million pensioners, a measure that met strong reactions. According to analysts, Starmer’s speech at the conference did not convince. Moreover, while the British government is expected to present the budget on October 30, neither the Prime Minister nor the new Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, which has been described as Thatcher of Labour, detailed the government financial programme. However, Raves pointed out that the tax on corporate profits would be extended. Kir Starmer at the Liverpool Labour Conference. Labour leadership reiterated its commitment to address the housing problem, one of Britain’s most acute problems, stressing that the government’s programme includes creating 1.5 million homes for the next five years. But the target is extremely ambitious, since the 1960s it has been recorded in Britain with a similar rate of reconstruction.

The upgrading of the British National Health System (NHS), free meals in schools were among the issues discussed at the conference, but not to the extent that Labour voters would like.

In foreign policy Starmer advocated ending violence in the Middle East and tackling climate change. The British Prime Minister was forced to emphaticly repeat his related commitments following protests by activists shouting against the sale of British weapons to Israel. The spirit of the Labour Conference was moderate optimism. Their goal is to “run forward” despite difficulties, unpopular measures, scandals, and negative polls.

Instead at the Birmingham conference, the British Conservatives attempted to investigate the causes of their heavier election defeat in the election (they obtained only 23.7% of the vote). One would expect the climate to be characterized by introversion. Instead, the atmosphere was invariably happy. “The champagne was flowing,” Politico wrote. What’s the Tories’ blessing attributed to? Partly in the fact that Labour in just three months of their electoral triumph, they cause enough discontent to the British. From the Conservative conference in Birmingham. REUTERS/Toby Melville

And because the British traditionally do not stand in defeats, the Tories conference became the framework where the four candidates who claim the party’s leadership from former Prime Minister Risi Sunak presented their positions. This is Kemi Madenock, a former minister responsible for entrepreneurship in the Sunak government, moderate James Cleverly, former Sunak Interior Minister, Robert Jenrik, a tough former Immigration Minister and centrist MP Tom Tuggenhat, who voted in favour of Britain’s EU stay in the 2016 Brexit referendum. The winner of the inner party battle for the Tories leadership is expected to be announced on November 2.