Keir Starmer was battling for his future a week ago. After the retreat of his main Labour rival and his decision to take the gloves off against populist rival Nigel Farage, the U.K. prime minister’s shored up his standing.
His party’s annual conference in Liverpool had threatened to be a pressure cooker of discontent with the embattled premier. Instead, a barnstorming speech left his internal rivals humbled and the party unified behind him — for now.
Government ministers, members of Parliament and delegates assessed Starmer as being in a more comfortable place than he started going into the gathering of party faithful. While the danger to the premier is by no means gone — he faces a nightmarish budget in November, and tricky local elections in May next year — he managed to quiet speculation about his position.
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