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Keir Starmer has been named the new leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, replacing Jeremy Corbyn.
In a video posted on his Twitter account, Starmer said it was the biggest "honor and privilege of (his) life" to be elected as the new leader.
London-born Starmer, named after the party's founder Keir Hardie, beat two rival members of parliament for the top job that will see him sparring with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.
The result of the ballot among party members and trade unionists gave Starmer more votes than his leadership rivals Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.
One of the first tasks for the new leader will be to respond to an invitation issued Saturday to all party leaders by Johnson to a coronavirus briefing at Westminster next week.
Johnson said he wants to engage constructively with other political parties, listen to views of other leaders, and update them on the measures Britain has taken so far against the pandemic.
In a statement released after his win, Starmer said that his first task will be to set Labour's approach to COVID-19, adding that he will play his part with other parties in responding to the virus.
"Coronavirus has brought normal life to a halt," he said, adding that he wants to "engage constructively" with the government in fighting it.
The leadership election race started some three months ago, with six potential candidates.
A special conference originally planned to announce the results was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Starmer was first elected to British parliament in 2015 for the London seat of Holborn and St. Pancras, and is currently the main opposition party's leading spokesman on Brexit as shadow secretary for exiting the European Union.
He takes over from left-wing politician Corbyn, who had led the party for four and a half years.
Corbyn had courted controversy since taking over as leader of the so-called workers' party in Britain, but membership grew to around 600,000 under his leadership.
His position was doomed after Labour became the victim of a Conservative landslide in a snap election called in December by Johnson.
It would take the biggest landslide in Labour's political history to see the keys of 10 Downing Street handed over to Labour, according to seasoned political commentators.
The Labour-supporting tabloid the Daily Mirror described the task as needing a swing greater than the one gained by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who seized control from the Conservatives in 1997.
In a commentary, the Mirror said Corbyn oversaw an impressive rise in party membership but bequeathed a party divided and in the electoral doldrums.
"All sides of the movement must come together behind the new leader," the editorial said, adding the winner of the leadership race faces a daunting challenge.
Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner was elected as deputy party leader, becoming second-in-command of the party.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
