LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Monday to prove the “doubters” in his own party and among the electorate completely wrong, as he tries to fight off calls for him to step down after devastating local election results for his Labor Party.Starmer argued he would “take on huge challenges” and restore hope to the country by building closer ties with the EU, six years after Britain’s bitter break from the bloc. “I know there are doubters on me and I know I have to prove them wrong and I will do that,” Starmer said during a speech in London. He said Labor is in a “battle for the soul of our nation”, and warned that Britain would go down “a dark path” if Reform UK, the anti-immigration party headed by Nigel Farage, comes into office. Labor MLA Catherine West, who in the speech vowed to launch a leadership challenge if there was no major breakthrough, said she would stay for now, although she urged Starmer to resign by September. Dozens of other MPs have also urged him to announce a departure date. Starmer hopes an ambitious set of legislative plans will regain momentum in Monday’s speech and Wednesday’s speech by King Charles III at the state opening of parliament. He announced plans to nationalize what was left of the once-mighty British Steel, a move that could save some industrial jobs in a region where working-class voters have abandoned Labor for Reform UK. Starmer also promised to put Britain “at the center of Europe” and forge closer ties with the 27-nation EU. Farage, who led the Brexit campaign, opposes any moves to get closer to the EU.ap