Sir Keir Starmer replaces Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party (Picture:AP/GETTY/PA)

Jeremy Corbyn has congratulated Sir Keir Starmer being elected as the new Labour Party leader.

He took to Twitter to wish his successor well as Sir Keir promised to lead the party into a ‘new era with confidence and hope’ with the help of deputy Angela Rayner. Corbyn said: ‘Being Labour Party leader is a great honour and responsibility,’ he wrote on Twitter.

‘I look forward to working with Keir and Angela to elect the next Labour government and transform our country.’

Sir Keir defeated Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey in a ballot of party members and other supporters earlier today. The former human rights lawyer, who became an MP in 2015, won on the first round of voting.


Sir Keir apologise for the ‘stain’ of anti-Semitism on the Labour Party. (Credits: PA)

Angela Rayner replaces Tom Watson as deputy leader. (Source: EPA)

He wasted no time in apologising for the ‘stain’ of anti-Semitism on the Labour Party and promised to ‘tear out this poison by its roots’.



He also spoke to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and agreed to meet next week to discuss how they can work together to address the coronavirus crisis.

Around 490,000 people voted in the Labour leadership election, triggered by Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to step down following the party’s catastrophic defeat in last year’s general election.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner replaces Tom Watson as deputy leader after winning the contest in the third round of voting.

The new Labour leader has promised to meet Boris Johnson to discuss solutions to the coronavirus crisis. (Source: REUTERS)

Sir Keir has promised to keep some of the key policies from Corbyn’s time as Labour leader, such as the nationalisation of rail, mail and water.

The MP for Holborn and St Pancras, who was the favourite to win the contest, calls himself a socialist but not a Corbynite.

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