Keir Starmer: Odds slashed on Labour leader becoming Prime Minister after conference speech

Sir Keir Starmer delivering his speech on Tuesday (Getty Images)

Odds have been slashed on Sir Keir Starmer becoming Prime Minister after the next election following his speech at the Labour Party conference.

The Labour leader has seen his odds shorten from 4/5 to of 2/5 with bookmaker Coral as he becomes the strong favourite to win the next election.

It comes after Sir Keir gave a well-received speech to activists in Liverpool on Tuesday in which he pledged to “make Britain stand tall again”.

He spoke as the British economy plunged into a new crisis with families facing higher costs after the value of the pound against the dollar hit an all-time low.

Fears chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will cause unsustainable debt by borrowing £45billion to fund tax cuts and fire up the economy saw £1 worth just $1.03 at one point on Monday morning.

Sir Keir said the Tories should not be forgiven for the market turmoil and promised Labour would “restore our sense of collective hope”.

The Labour leader said: “At moments of uncertainty like this we must provide clear leadership.

“We must stand with working people. Meet their ambitions for real change. Walk towards a better future and build a new Britain, together.”

He said the Government had “lost control of the British economy” and “crashed the pound”.

“Higher interest rates. Higher inflation. Higher borrowing. And for what?

“Not for you. Not for working people. For tax cuts for the richest 1% in our society.

“Don’t forget. Don’t forgive.”

Conservative leader Liz Truss has now been given odds of 5/2 to remain Prime Minister at the next election.

“Things are looking good for Keir Starmer, not only is he the odds-on favourite to be prime minister after the next general election, there is a now a big gap between Labour and the Conservatives in the betting on the most seats,” said Coral’s John Hill.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll for The Times gave Labour a 17-point lead over the Tories – the biggest recorded for the party in the polling company’s history.

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During his speech, the Labour leader added that the Tories “haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed through the windows and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure”.

He promised a Labour government would “get us out of this endless cycle of crisis” with a “fresh start, a new set of priorities and a new way of governing”.

Sir Keir said the war in Ukraine was not to blame for the way the Tories had left the UK unprepared for the economic fallout and soaring energy bills.

“The war didn’t ban onshore wind. The war didn’t scrap home insulation. The war didn’t stall British nuclear energy. The Tories did that.”