Starmer pledges immediate action on ‘broken’ NHS and says Rwanda plan is ‘dead and buried’ - live
Sir Keir Starmer unveiled his plan for first 100 days as prime minister, as Jeremy Hunt rules himself out of Tory leadership race
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As Sir Keir Starmer led the first full day of the new Labour government, he delivered a press conference addressing the nation as the new prime minister.
Setting out his first steps to lead the country, he promised not to raise taxes to fund the “broken” NHS and labelled the previous government’s Rwanda scheme a gimmick that was “dead and buried before it started”.
He made a raft of appointments on his first day in Downing Street, including Rachel Reeves as Britain’s first female chancellor and David Lammy as foreign secretary, who called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The party won one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in history, with 412 seats — a majority of 176.
After the Conservative Party’s defeat, with just 121 seats, preparations are under way for a leadership contest, with Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, and Priti Patel all tipped as potential contenders to replace Rishi Sunak.
Who has Sir Keir Starmer picked to be in his Cabinet?
What will happen to the US and UK ‘special relationship’ with PM Starmer in charge?
After the serial winners succumbed to their worst ever defeat, what next for the Tories?
‘Moment of the night’: Viewers mock Nadine Dorries as she clashes with panelists on Channel 4’s election show
Pinned: Sir Keir Starmer’s key takeaways from prime ministerial press conference
Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled his next steps as leader and plan for the first 100 days. During the press conference he:
- Confirmed he would be visiting all four UK nations and would meet all metro mayors across the country this week.
- Vowed to end “tribal politics” and govern under the mantra of “country first”, adding: “Self-interest is yesterday’s politics. I want a politics in this country that works for you.”
- Claimed he is “restless for change” as he was asked how soon he can deliver concrete improvements, and promised to “govern for the whole country”.
- Warned his government will “have to take the tough decisions, and take them early” when asked whether he would be willing to raise tax to fund public services.
- Promised to end “gimmicks” such as the Rwanda scheme, adding that Rishi Sunak’s plan to deport asylum seekers to the African country was “dead and buried” before it even started.
Watch: President Joe Biden congratulates prime minister Keir Starmer on ‘a hell of a victory’
Downing Street has released footage of the moment Sir Keir Starmer spoke with US president Joe Biden following Labour’s general election win.
The call, which took place on Friday, saw the new prime minister being congratulated for “a hell of a victory”.
New Defence Secretary John Healey stressed his mission to “make Britain secure at home and strong abroad” as he addressed the Ministry of Defence for the first time.
He told Armed Forces and civilian staff: “We know these are serious times – war in Europe, conflict in the Middle East, growing Russian aggression, increasing global threats. We know there are serious problems – with our Armed Forces hollowed out and underfunded for 14 years.
“And this Government now is totally committed to 2.5% of defence spending, to Nato, to the nuclear deterrent and to support for Ukraine.
“The country has new leadership. This ministry has new leadership. Our mission is to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad, with the guiding principle of one defence.
“Because it isn’t just those who serve in uniform who defend this country, it’s those of you who serve in the Civil Service, who work on the production line, who staff the research labs, who develop software – and I want to see defence at the heart both of the future security of this country and the future success of this country.
“And that means an Armed Forces well-equipped and ready to fight, a skilled, scalable industrial base, a stronger relationship with allies, a more influential MoD, a public that understands and better supports, those who are willing to serve – those whose service is the ultimate form of public service.”
Keir Starmer congratulated by world leaders
As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s calls with world leaders continued, he spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, this morning.
“The leaders exchanged congratulations on their respective election wins, and reflected on the strength of the relationship between the UK and India.
“The Prime Minister said he looked forward to further deepening the strong and respectful relationship between both countries, and welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s leadership on key global challenges, such as climate change and economic growth.
“Discussing the importance of the living bridge between the UK and India, and the 2030 roadmap, the leaders agreed there was a wide range of areas across defence and security, critical and emerging technology, and climate change, for the two countries to deepen co-operation on.
“Discussing the free trade agreement, the Prime Minister said he stood ready to conclude a deal that worked for both sides. The leaders hoped to meet at the earliest opportunity.”
Tory reveals reason party got general election wrong
Conservative Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who was part of John Major’s cabinet, has revealed where the general election went wrong for Rishi Sunak.
The former foreign secretary believes his party needed to remember its heritage on the “centre right”.
He said: “We’ve got to remember the centre as well as the right.” He added the party needs to choose a new leader who would lead from the “centre right”.
Mr Rifkind also said party memberships should have less power in choosing their chief and giving paid up members more say caused chaos under Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in the Commons.
It comes as the Tories are preparing to hold a leadership contest with Jeremy Hunt ruling himself out of the race.
Angela Rayner becomes one of Britain’s most powerful women
Angela Rayner is now a woman to watch out for after being handed her own department as secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, taking over from Michael Gove.
She has also been appointed the deputy of Sir Keir Starmer, only the second woman to hold the role after Therese Coffey in Liz Truss’s 49-day government.
Ms Rayner will mirror the role of John Prescott who was Tony Blair’s deputy and also in charge of the department for local government and development.
The cabinet minister has also an extraordinary background. Born in Stockport, she was brought up on a council estate and left schoold at 16 with no qualifications and pregnant with her first son.
Speaking to the Financial Times, she previously said: “When I was young, we didn’t have books because my mother couldn’t read or write.”
When she entered parliament in 2015, she became the first woman MP in the 180-year history of Ashton-under-Lyne.
Blair’s aide warns Starmer about taking over Number 10
Alastair Campbell, who was Tony Blair’s press secretary during Labour’s 1997 landslide, has warned the new prime minister about his new life in No 10 ahead of his first cabinet meeting.
The former aide said Sir Keir Starmer and the new cabinet will “take time to adjust” to the pace of Downing Street and transition from campaign mode to being in government.
He said: “You have to go from the campaign, where you’ve been making promises for change, and then you’ve got to deliver them.
“In these early days, a new government has an awful lot of good will, a lot of momentum, a lot of energy, a lot of excitement within the government machine - and you’ve got to exploit that.”
Editorial: Starmer has ambition but the next few years will be hard going
There will be crises, unpopularity and the rise of Reform and the Greens:
Editorial: Starmer has plenty of ambition, but the next few years will be hard going
Editorial: Sir Keir Starmer promised change and he seems to mean it, but he needs a strong team around him to navigate the challenges to come
The 2024 general election in numbers
The dust has mostly settled on this year’s UK general election, with the polls closing at 10pm on Thursday and virtually all votes counted overnight*.
Labour has secured a historic win with a significant majority – though less than some polls predicted – while the Conservatives have suffered their lowest-ever number of seats since 1832.
But with some surprising twists and dramatic seats on knife-edge losses, let’s dive into the election by numbers.
The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian has the full story:
The 2024 general election in numbers: From history-making results to huge vote swings
The Independent’s data correspondent looks at last night’s shock figures, from the closest seats to the biggest swings
Jacqui Smith to be made a peer
Former home secretary Jacqui Smith has been appointed as an education and will be made a peer, Downing Street has announced.
Ms Smith previously served in Gordon Brown’s sabinet.
Ellie Reeves, the sister of Rachel Reeves, has been made a Cabinet Office minister, Dan Jarvis a Home Office minister, and Jim McMahon and Matthew Pennycook ministers in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Douglas Alexander has been made a business minister.
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