KEIR STARMER NEEDS TO CHANGE THE LABOUR PARTY

Keir Starmer doit réformer le Parti travailliste

Le prénom de Starmer est Keir en hommage au fondateur du parti travailliste, Keir Hardie ; sa nomination à la tête du Labour en avril semble donc être un accomplissement du destin. Très populaire auprès des britanniques, cet ancien avocat a pourtant un électorat entier à reconquérir : les travaillistes ont subi une défaite écrasante face aux conservateurs lors des dernières élections.

Sir Keir, who took over as leader in April, has had a good debut. His net satisfaction score of 31% matches the best figure Tony Blair achieved as leader of the opposition according to Ipsos Mori. The best Mr Starmer’s predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, scored was -1%. But while voters tell pollsters that Sir Keir looks like a prime minister in waiting, they believe by larger margins that the Labour Party is not ready for government.

STARMER'S MAIN CHALLENGES

2. Given that Labour’s performance in the general election of December 2019 was its worst since 1935, it might reasonably be assumed that things can only get better. But Labour needs to win 123 seats to form a majority in Parliament in 2024, a swing similar to Mr Blair’s in 1997.

3. The biggest challenge is the economy. Mr Johnson wants to pour cash into railways, roads and hospitals, and voters think the Tories are better at running the economy by a margin of two to one. Peter Mandelson, an architect of Mr Blair’s victories, thinks the party needs a new agenda that embraces life sciences, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurs.

4. Another is culture. Like Mr Blair, Sir Keir has tacked right on cultural issues, backing a Tory policy of long prison sentences for yobs who vandalise war memorials, and has ducked a debate on trans rights. He praised Black Lives Matter protesters, but condemned the toppling of a statue in Bristol. On Brexit, Sir Keir, who pushed for a second referendum, says the issue is settled.

5. The third big challenge is Scotland. On the issue of independence—which the Scottish National Party wants, and the Tories oppose—

Labour sat in the middle of the road, and got run over. It held 41 seats out of 59 in 2010, and now has one. Without a recovery in Scotland it will struggle to win a majority in Westminster, so it needs to take a clear position on the union. But which? Support for a second independence referendum offers the possibility of a coalition with the SNP, but may alarm English voters who fear a break-up. Ruling it out might win back older Scottish voters who left for the Tories, but cost it with the young, who favour independence.

6. Given where Labour was six months ago, what Sir Keir has achieved is astonishing. “Something as simple as not being ashamed of the Labour Party is incredibly refreshing,” says an old hand. “But a return to normality is not sufficient to do what’s required in four years’ time.”

1. to take, took, taken over prendre la succession, le contrôle, la direction / leader ici, chef (du parti) / debut premiers pas / net ici, global, total / satisfaction score cote de popularité / to match correspondre à / figure chiffre, pourcentage / to achieve atteindre, obtenir / pollster organisme de sondage / in waiting en devenir, futur / Labour Party (le) parti travailliste.

2. given that étant donné que / performance résultats / general election élections législatives / to assume partir du principe, supposer que / seat siège (au Parlement) / swing basculement (des voix).

3. challenge défi ici, difficulté / to pour investir, injecter / cash ici, fonds / railway chemin de fer, ligne ferroviaire / (the) Tories (les) Conservateurs / to run, ran, run diriger / by a margin of two to one dans une proportion de deux contre un / agenda programme (politique) / to embrace ici, inclure, intégrer.

4. to tack (fig.) virer de bord (ici, à droite) / to back soutenir / sentence peine (de prison) / yob loubard, petite frappe / memorial monument commémoratif / to duck esquiver, éviter / to praise faire l’éloge de, applaudir / Black lives matter ("la vie des Noirs compte") slogan et mouvement dénonçant les violences policières à l'encontre des Afro-Américains / protester manifestant / to topple faire tomber, renverser / to push for exercer des pressions (pour obtenir qqch), réclamer / to settle régler.

5. to run, ran, run over écraser (voiture) / to hold, held, held détenir / recovery redressement / to struggle lutter, peiner à / Westminster Parlement britannique (siégeant au Palais du même nom) / union ici, RoyaumeUni (union de l'Angleterre, de l'Écosse, du pays de Galles et de l'Irlande du Nord) / to fear craindre / break-up rupture, scission / to rule out exclure / to win, won, won back récupérer; ici, regagner la confiance de / to cost, cost, cost coûter (fig.), valoir, faire perdre / to favour préférer.

6. astonishing ici, spectaculaire / to be ashamed avoir honte / refreshing rafraîchissant / old hand personne expérimentée, vieux routier, vétéran / to require exiger, demander.