(London) The new British parliament returned on Tuesday, with Labour now in government after its landslide victory in the general election on July 4.
The House of Commons was packed for this symbolic and convivial first session, during which more than 400 Labour MPs squeezed together without all managing to find a place to sit.
Labour’s Keir Starmer spoke for the first time as prime minister, stressing the notion of “service” in politics and welcoming the new composition of the House, in which more than half of the MPs are new (335 out of 650) and where 41% of seats are held by women, a record.
“This is the most diverse parliament in terms of race and gender that this country has ever seen,” Mr Starmer said.
“Our responsibility is to put an end to a policy that has too often seemed […] concerned only with her own interests […] and replace it with a service policy,” he insisted.
“The need to restore trust should weigh heavily on every member [de la Chambre, qu’il soit] new here or back”.
“We all have a duty to show that politics can be a positive force,” he added.
Former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak has delivered his first speech as opposition leader, congratulating his successor on his victory.
He described being an MP as “the greatest honour, privilege and responsibility”, and took the oath shortly afterwards on the Bhagavad-Gita, the foundational text of Hinduism.
Before being sworn in, the 650 MPs re-elected Labour’s Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker of the lower house.
Among the new entrants were five MPs elected for the hard-right Reform UK party, including their leader Nigel Farage, whose election was on the 8th.e attempt to enter the House of Commons.
After 14 years of Conservative rule and five Tory prime ministers, Labour won 411 seats in the general election on Thursday, securing a majority of more than 170 seats.
The Conservatives suffered their worst electoral defeat in history, with their group reduced to just 121 MPs.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced he will step down as Tory leader once the process to find a successor has begun.
The new parliamentary session will officially begin with King Charles III’s speech on Wednesday 17 July, which will set out the priorities of the Starmer government.