Keir Starmer, the UK’s new Labour Prime Minister, stepped into 10 Downing Street during a brief spell of sunshine on an otherwise rainy day in London. This marked a stark contrast to his predecessor’s rainy election announcement that preceded their downfall.
In his opening remarks as Prime Minister, Starmer addressed the nation, emphasising his government’s commitment to serving all, irrespective of their political affiliations. He emphasised the potential of politics to drive positive change and promised to demonstrate this during his new term.
The inauguration of Starmer marked the dawn of the Labour era. He immediately retreated into Downing Street to set up his cabinet. The new cabinet largely mirrored his shadow cabinet with minor exceptions. Key figures included Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves as the inaugural female Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Hilary Benn as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Notable exceptions were Emily Thornberry, previously Starmer’s shadow attorney general, and Lisa Nandy, the new culture secretary. Starmer opted to assign the role of attorney general to barrister Richard Hermer, bypassing Thornberry. This move comes in light of Thangam Debbonaire, the former shadow culture secretary, losing her seat.
Following this, Starmer had conversations with global leaders, including US president Joe Biden, where mutual commitments were reaffirmed to uphold the Belfast Agreement. He also spoke with Taoiseach Simon Harris, and Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly. A meeting between Harris and Starmer has been scheduled for July 17th at Downing Street.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, made his exit from Number 10 with his wife, Akshata Murty. This came after his party’s overwhelming defeat at the polls. Sunak took responsibility for this loss in a speech that, in contrast to his earlier delivery in rain, was made on a dry day. He extended his best wishes to his successor, Keir Starmer.
The announcement came that the head of the Conservative Party was resigning, however he pledged to remain until a new leader was appointed. Potential successors include ex-business secretary Kemi Badenoch and former home secretary James Cleverly.
In Northern Britain, the vote-tallying process carried on until the morning. Once completed, Sinn Féin had secured seven seats, and due to the losses by the DUP, they emerged as the party with the most MPs among the Northerners. This marks the first instance of a nationalist party dominating all three sections of government including Westminster, Stormont, and local councils.
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin First Minister, expressed that the victory signified that it was time for them to have autonomy over their own affairs locally.
Amidst the losers, the DUP made the headlines when their seat count dropped from eight to five. The most unexpected was the defeat of Ian Paisley jnr by the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice, Jim Allister in North Antrim. A Paisley member had held this seat for over five decades.
However, the loss of Liz Truss, the former premier in the elections on Friday in South West Norfolk, overshadowed this result. Her previously massive majority of 26,000 in what was known as a reliable Tory seat turned out to be insignificant in this election. This defeat made Truss the first ex-prime minister to lose their seat in an election since Herbert Asquith in 1918.