Starmer warns UK Labour is in ‘fight of our lives’ as party meets

The gathering comes amid talk of a possible leadership challenge, with Labour lagging well behind Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK party

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UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, centre. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Published: 1:55am, 29 Sep 2025

A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right.

Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future.

The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid chatter about a possible leadership challenge and follows two recent high-profile departures from his government in the wake of embarrassing revelations.

The conference, which ends on Wednesday, takes place with Labour lagging well behind the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party, led by anti-EU firebrand Nigel Farage, in national surveys.

Going into the conference, Labour trailed Reform by 12 points, while Starmer’s satisfaction ratings hit the lowest recorded by Ipsos for any prime minister going back to 1977.

Starmer said on Sunday that the party had “got the fight of our lives ahead of us”.

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