Exit Rishi Sunak, in cloud and drizzle… then the rainclouds part for Keir Starmer

For his arrival in Downing Street, the prime minister recreated a scene from New Labour’s 1997 playbook, with well-wishers waving Union flags. But how long will the mood of jubilation last, asks Joe Murphy

‘Beaming from ear to ear, Starmer strolled up and down the crowd with wife Victoria while the cheers rang out’ (AP)

It was like 1997 all over again. The sun came out for Keir Starmer’s arrival in Downing Street, lighting up the red, white and blue of flag-waving supporters.

Beaming from ear to ear, he strolled up and down the crowd with wife Victoria, both pumping hands eagerly while the cheers rang out. He took his time, savouring the moment he once doubted would ever come.

If it all looked familiar, that’s because these were exactly the same optics that New Labour crafted for Tony and Cherie Blair’s arrival 27 years ago. Starmer, according to Tom Baldwin’s biography, had been deeply inspired by those scenes; two leaders who brought their party from the wilderness after long periods of Tory rule.

Even the weather gods seemed to be on his side. Rishi Sunak, drenched six weeks ago, was driven away in cloud and drizzle. Labour had cleverly issued Union flag umbrellas – but they were not needed, because the clouds parted almost exactly the moment that new PM went inside Buckingham Palace to accept the King’s invitation to form a new government.

Finally, Starmer stepped back from the well-wishers, who included old friends as well as party staffers, straightened his shoulders and walked purposefully to the lectern to give a speech that was significantly different to the one Blair gave all those years ago. This was a script written for more straitened times and more volatile political weather.

Starmer spoke of a "weariness in the heart of a nation, a draining away of the hope, the spirit, the belief in a better future".

The collapse of trust under the Conservatives was a “wound” that could only be healed with action. Labour would govern “unburdened by doctrine”.

But Starmer also warned that "changing a country is not like flicking a switch", an open warning that his programme will need two terms to bear fruit. “It will take a while,” he added, ramming home the cautions.

At the same time, Starmer promised big, offering a future of affordable homes, lower energy bills and respect at work.

He finished with an invitation to the public to “join this government of service”, before he and “Vic” posed for pictures outside the famous front door.

There were no children in view, in contrast with the young Blairs who crowded into the shots in 1997. The Starmers keep their family strictly private, and do not even use their children’s names in public.

The front door opened and the Starmers were clapped by ranks of civil servants, and personally greeted by cabinet secretary Sir Simon Case, fresh from his Covid Inquiry battering, showing that some things in UK politics never change.

The sober tone set by Sir Keir reflected the difficult times that many Britons endure and the diabolical condition of the public finances. The new PM knows that painful choices will have to be made by his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, particularly on spending.

By contrast, Blair in 1997 inherited a growing economy with the deficit already under control and the money rolling in. Optimism was high, and the debate was over what to spend it on, not where the axe would fall.

Blair’s arrival at Downing Street on May 2 1997 was blessed by 27C temperatures. It felt like a public holiday rather than a political event. Downing Street, long closed to the public on security grounds, appeared to have thrown open its gates because it was lined with crowds waving Union flags. In reality, the throngs were Labour party workers, the flags handed to them to create the impression of a nation rejoicing.

Tom Baldwin’s biography quotes Starmer talking about those scenes: “The thing I remember most was the morning afterwards with Tony and Cherie walking up into Downing Street, the pavement filled with people screaming their heads off and waving flags,” he told Baldwin.

After 27 years, Sir Keir recreated those scenes. How long the mood of jubilation lasts is, however, another question.