Socialist Keir Starmer has become Britain’s new prime minister, replacing Rishi Sunak after Labour’s landslide victory in Thursday’s general election. The transition was swift. As soon as the final results were in – Sunak resigned early on Friday – King Charles III called Starmer at Buckingham Palace, accompanied by his wife Victoria, and asked him to form a new government. The Labour leader “Sir Keir accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed her hands on his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” the palace said. The meeting with Carlos III lasted 20 minutes. In the end, Starmer called for unity, promised to “treat every person with respect” and left an assurance: “No matter how fierce the storms of history, one of the greatest strengths of this nation has always been our ability to emerge into calm waters.” Sunak’s resignation announcement was painful, and he apologised several times, but the verdict of the people was merciless to the Conservatives, who have delivered their worst ever result in 14 years in power. “Today is a difficult day, at the end of several difficult days,” Sunak said. The Scottish National Party has also been hit hard by the Labour wave, losing more than 30 MPs. In the opposite direction is Nigel Farage, the leader of the far right, who saw his Reform UK party enter parliament for the first time, electing four MPs. Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate him on the achievement. “Nigel is a man who truly loves his country!” the White House candidate wrote on the social networking site Truth Social. A champion of good reporting, Keir Starmer has made several promises which he now intends to put into practice. Firstly, a levy on private schools to help pay for state education, and an emergency levy on energy companies to help support the transition to clean energy. Affordable housing, strengthening workers’ rights, reducing waiting lists for health care and creating mechanisms to strengthen immigration controls are other ideas that the new British prime minister intends to implement. “Our country voted decisively for change, for national renewal and for the return of politics to public service (…). We are going to prove it. We have changed the Labour Party, we have put it back to work and that is how we will govern. Country first, party second,” he said. Keir Starmer
Born in London, he made his name as a human rights lawyer before becoming a prosecutor. The son of a factory worker and a nurse, he rose to the leadership of the Labour Party after the party’s defeat at the 2019 general election, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn. An Arsenal fan, he is married to Victoria Alexander, with whom he has two children.
Born in London, he made his name as a human rights lawyer before becoming a prosecutor. The son of a factory worker and a nurse, he rose to the leadership of the Labour Party after the party’s defeat at the 2019 general election, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn. An Arsenal fan, he is married to Victoria Alexander, with whom he has two children.