Rama Krishna Sangem
Keir Starmer, 61 has assumed charge as the new prime minister of the UK after he called on the King Charles III at Buckingham Palace around noon (5pm in India), July 5, Friday. Starmer accompanied by his wife Victoria rode to No 10, Downing Street, London and made a brief speech promising to rebuild the Britain for the prosperity of every person in the country.
Starmer lauded his outgoing predecessor Rishi Sunak who suffered a humiliating defeat in the July 4 parliamentary elections for his contributions as the “British Asian PM”. Starmer’s Labour Party won 412 MPs while Sunak led Conservatives just managed 121 MPs. Sunak conceded defeat and acknowledged that people were angry and disappointed with his government.
No swearing in ceremony
In the UK, there won’t be any public swearing in ceremonies or oath taking of the PM and ministers. The PM begins his work after being appointed by the King. The PM sends a list of ministers to the King and that’s all.
Keir Starmer vowed to bring change to Britain as its next prime minister after his Labour Party surged to a landslide victory in a parliamentary election on Friday, ending 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government.
The centre-left Labour won a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament with Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives suffering the worst performance in the party’s long history as voters punished them for a cost of living crisis, failing public services, and a series of scandals.
We did it,” Starmer said in a victory speech. “Change begins now … We said we would end the chaos, and we will, we said we would turn the page, and we have. Today, we start the next chapter, begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and start to rebuild our country.” With about a dozen results still to come, Labour had won 410 seats, the Conservatives 117 and the centrist Liberal Democrats 70 – their best ever performance.
250 Conservative MPs defeated
About 250 Conservative lawmakers were ousted in the crushing defeat, including a record number of senior ministers and former Prime Minister Liz Truss. A glum Sunak conceded defeat and said he had called Starmer to congratulate him on his victory.
“Today power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides,” Sunak said. “There is much to learn and reflect on and I take responsibility for the loss to the many good hardworking Conservative candidates … I am sorry.”
Despite his convincing victory, polls have suggested there is little enthusiasm for Starmer or his party. Thanks to the quirk of Britain’s first past the post system, Labour’s triumph looked set to be achieved with fewer votes than in both 2017 and 2019 – the latter its worst electoral showing for 84 years.
Starmer also comes to power at a time when the country is facing a series of daunting challenges.
Britain’s tax burden is set to hit its highest since just after World War Two, net debt is almost equivalent to annual economic output, living standards have fallen, and public services are creaking, especially the much cherished National Health Service which has been dogged by strikes.
He has already had to scale back some of Labour’s more ambitious plans, such as its flagship green spending pledges, while he has promised not to raise taxes for “working people”.
