UK Elections 2024: In a historic moment in the British political landscape, Keir Starmer has officially taken the reins as the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ending 14 years of Conservative rule, as he promises "change" to recover the flailing British economy. Starmer, 61, was appointed PM by King Charles III after he led the Labour Party to a landslide victory over the Conservatives in Thursday's general elections.
Starmer received the blessing of King Charles III to form a government in the “kissing of hands” ceremony, along with a photo of the occasion that served as the official announcement of Starmer’s new title. He will now head to take up his new residence at 10 Downing Street.
The centre-left Labour won a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament, winning 412 seats so far. The Conservatives led by outgoing premier Rishi Sunak suffered the worst performance in the party's long history, with 121 seats, 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."
'Leading from the front'
Sunak described Starmer as a "decent, public-spirited man" in his farewell speech before resigning as the PM and Conservative leader after suffering a massive defeat. Before Labour could cross the majority mark, Sunak conceded defeat and called up his Labour rival to congratulate him on the election victory.
Starmer will be credited with achieving an impressive reversal of fortunes for Labour after a crushing election defeat in December 2019, when the Conservatives were led by Boris Johnson. Starmer has consolidated the support of his party by attacking Conservative infighting, restoring discipline in his own party, pushing Labour closer to the political centre and running a steady campaign for the upcoming election.
His understated style has proved a strength for Labour as scandals, policy U-turns and plotting among the Conservatives diminished the governing party's standing. He lashed out at the infighting and misgovernance of Tory rule, particularly on the economy, climate change and immigration.
The election victory represents an incredible turnaround for Starmer and Labour, which critics and supporters said was facing an existential crisis just three years ago when it appeared to have lost its way after its 2019 drubbing. A series of Conservative scandals - most notably revelations of parties in Downing Street during COVID lockdowns - undermined then prime minister Boris Johnson and its commanding poll lead evaporated. This was followed by Liz Truss' disastrous leadership that forced her to leave office after only 49 days.
Starmer's challenges as PM
Starmer comes to power at a time when the country is facing a series of daunting challenges. People want change after 14 years of Conservative misrule, but enthusiasm for Labour remains low - as seen by the low voter turnout - as people reel from economic stagnation, housing shortages and hampered public services.
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 also suffering, especially the much cherished National Health Service which has been dogged by strikes.
Some of Labour's more ambitious plans, such as its flagship green spending pledges, have been scaled back while Starmer has promised not to raise taxes for "working people" amid criticism from Tories. Likewise, he has promised to scrap the Conservative's controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, even though he is yet to find an alternative to stop immigration.
Starmer also has the arduous task of restoring the party's tense relationship with the Indian community in the UK, which was strained under Jeremy Corbyn's anti-India rhetoric over Kashmir. He has pledged to kick-start a "new strategic partnership" with India including the long-negotiated Free Trade Agreement as well as deepening cooperation in security, education and climate change.
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