Labour's Keir Starmer becomes UK prime minister
Labour's Keir Starmer becomes UK prime minister
The Labour leader enters Downing Street after his party's landslide election victory.
I'm sure you all know this already but it's now official.
The fourth person ever to lead Labour to a majority. The first person since 1970 to win a majority and overturn a majority at the same time.
Very pleased that we're getting an improvement on the Tories. Starmer isn't radical enough for me personally, but I'm going to hold my judgment to see what he does. Would like to see some major reforms to universal credit, more house building, more green policies, etc.
Don't know about the first, but the second two are definitely part of their plans. Fingers crossed the plans translate into reality!
How many Sirs have then become prime ministers?
The British order of knighthood most frequently conferred on prime ministers has been the Order of the Garter, of which 30 male prime ministers (beginning with Sir Robert Walpole and later including Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Anthony Eden) have been Knights Companion (KG), and the first female, Margaret Thatcher, a Lady Companion (LG) of the Order. Nine prime ministers, including Thatcher, received it after serving office. Currently, the only living knights among them are Sir John Major, knighted in 2005, and Sir Tony Blair, knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours. The only prime minister to have received a British gallantry award was Anthony Eden, who won the Military Cross (MC) while serving in the army in the First World War, before entering parliament.[6][7]
There’s also lists of peerages that PMs have gotten, with loads of fun titles
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Sir Keir Starmer has become the UK's first Labour prime minister since 2010 after his party's landslide general election victory.Labour is returning to power with a huge parliamentary majority of 174, following a collapse in support for the Conservatives.Sir Keir has been formally appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace, replacing Tory leader Rishi Sunak, and will soon make his first speech in Downing Street.Speaking outside No 10, Mr Sunak vowed to remain his party's leader until formal arrangements for selecting his successor are in place.
In a short farewell speech, he apologised to unsuccessful Tory candidates and told the public: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment.
"Sir Keir is expected to begin appointing his new cabinet on Friday afternoon, before it meets for the first time on Saturday.Labour's victory has come largely as a result of a dramatic 20 point drop in Tory support, with the party down 250 seats to 121, a historic low.
LIVE: Follow all the latest general election results news Chris Mason analysis: Voters show ruthless drive to remove ToriesWhat are Labour planning to do in government?
Sir Keir fought a cautious campaign in which Labour made very few new policy pledges, but managed to largely retain the large polling lead over the Tories it began with when outgoing Tory PM Rishi Sunak called the election in May.This polling lead had remained steady since the disastrous premiership of Liz Truss, who lost her previously safe seat of South West Norfolk.Despite its resounding overall victory, Labour lost a number of former strongholds to independent candidates campaigning on pro-Gaza platforms.In one of the biggest shocks of the night, shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth lost his Leicester South seat, which had a majority of more than 22,000.Shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire lost in Bristol Central to the Greens, who celebrated their most successful election night ever after winning four seats, up from the one they held in the last Parliament.And shadow health secretary Wes Streeting - one of Labour's most high-profile figures during the campaign - saw his majority in Ilford North slashed from more than 9,000 to just 528.Mr Corbyn - standing as an independent after Sir Keir blocked him from standing again for the party he once led - was also returned in the North Islington seat he has represented since 1983, defeating Labour's official candidate by 7,247.
Labour fought its campaign on a manifesto centred around boosting the UK's sluggish rate of economic growth in recent years.It pledged to do this largely through changes to the planning system, and by making the country more attractive to inward investment.But against a difficult economic backdrop, party figures have admitted they face a challenge amid challenges to the public finances.
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It’s potato season 🥔