UK | Starmer ‘eager’ to deliver change

(London) New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday he was “eager” to deliver promised change in the United Kingdom, making economic growth his government’s “number one mission.”

Wasting no time, on his first full day in office, Labour’s Keir Starmer gathered his key ministers on Saturday morning before holding a press conference from 10 Downing Street.

In particular, he confirmed his intention to abandon the highly controversial plan of the previous conservative government to expel migrants to Rwanda.

This project “was dead and buried before it even began. It was never a deterrent […]I am not prepared to continue with gimmicky measures,” Keir Starmer said.

On Friday, the 61-year-old former human rights lawyer was officially tasked by King Charles III with forming a new government, marking a political shift after voters ousted conservatives who had ruled the country for 14 years.

“I’m looking forward to implementing change and I think, and I hope, what you’ve already seen demonstrates that,” he told reporters at his news conference.

The challenges are numerous, with a struggling economy, public services in great difficulty, and the still significant repercussions of the cost of living crisis.

“We have a lot of work to do, so now let’s get to work,” he had told his government a little earlier during his first cabinet meeting.

“We must ensure that growth is everywhere across the country so that people live better everywhere,” he insisted to the press, announcing future “difficult decisions.”

From Sunday, he will therefore go to Scotland – where Labour won back many seats from the independentists during the election – to Wales, and to Northern Ireland.

“Politics that are interested in personal interests is yesterday’s politics,” he said, promising a government with a sense of “service to everyone, whether they voted for us or not,” after the scandals that marred the last conservative governments.

In Thursday’s election, Labour won a landslide majority, with 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, a score close to Tony Blair’s historic 1997 victory.

During the campaign, the man who entered politics only nine years ago promised the return of “stability” and “seriousness”, with rigorous management of public spending.

Support for NATO and Kyiv

On foreign policy, Keir Starmer on Saturday assured the UK of its “unwavering support” for NATO, as well as for Kyiv in its war against Russia.

He is heading to the summit next week marking the 75th^e anniversary of the organization in Washington for what will be its first steps on the international scene.

As of Friday, he has already had telephone conversations with several heads of state and government, including US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On Friday, Keir Starmer began to form his government.

Angela Rayner, a representative of Labour’s left wing, has been appointed deputy first minister for housing.

For the first time, a woman holds the highly prestigious post of Finance Minister, former Bank of England economist Rachel Reeves.

David Lammy, who came from an immigrant family from Guyana, became the head of British diplomacy.

In a more junior role, Keir Starmer on Saturday appointed Patrick Vallance as science secretary, who will serve as the government’s scientific adviser during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Succession

Following the legislative elections, Parliament appeared to have been completely reshuffled, with the Conservatives retaining only 121 deputies.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak will step down as Tory leader once the succession process is organised.

The Liberal Democrats (centrists) have become the third force again, with 72 seats, a record. In a real political shock, the anti-immigration and anti-system Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has entered with five MPs.