London: At a time when polarisation and incendiary rhetoric is dominating politics worldwide, a light-hearted and healthy conversation between former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Labour successor Keir Starmer is a welcome sight. Sunak used his first speech as an opposition leader to offer some "advice" to Starmer that evoked laughter from both sides of the political spectrum.
The good-natured exchange in the House of Commons followed the King’s Speech, marking the State Opening of Parliament as King Charles III read out the new Labour Party government’s legislative agenda and priorities for the year ahead. This was the first sitting of the House of Commons following the July 4 general election in which Starmer's left-leaning Labour Party won an overwhelming victory, ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule.
As custom dictates, Sunak spoke first as the interim leader of the Conservatives until his successor was elected by the Tory membership after the party’s electoral defeat. He started his speech by paying tribute to King Charles and condemning the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump.
What was Sunak's 'advice' to Starmer?
"On the government benches, life comes at you fast. Soon you might be fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder and offered the junior ministerial role, then you'll find yourself attending cabinet, then in the cabinet, and then when the Prime Minister's position becomes untenable you might end up being called to the highest office," said the 44-year-old British Indian leader, while politicians laughed at his humour.
Sunak was referencing to his rapid rise in the Conservative ranks to be appointed Britain’s first prime minister of Indian heritage in October 2022 after scandals cut short the tenure of his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. His tenure ended in a humiliating defeat for the Tories due to political and economic turmoil.
"Before you know it, you have a bright future behind you, and you are left wondering if you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44," he joked further, resulting in more laughs. "It is right to begin by congratulating the Prime Minister on his decisive victory in the election. He deserves the goodwill of all of us in this House as he takes on the most demanding of jobs in the increasingly uncertain world in which we now live."
Sunak acknowledged that Labour had tapped successfully into the public desire for change and the Conservatives had the responsibility for holding them accountable for delivering on the commitments they made to the British people. "In the national interest, we will not oppose for the sake of it, but when we disagree with the government, it is our responsibility as the opposition to say so," he added.
Starmer's gracious response to Sunak
The 61-year-old Prime Minister thanked Sunak for his "generosity" since the general election on July 4 and revealed that they discussed the England football team’s recent defeat in the UEFA Euro final in Germany. “We are all responsible for the tone and standards that we set, and I want to thank the right honourable gentleman (Sunak) in every exchange that we had since the election, and in his words today, he has gone well beyond the usual standards of generosity, and I thank him for that,” said Starmer.
However, Starmer soon set the tone of his government's approach by taking aim at the Conservatives for "the chaos of the past 14 years." He also pledged “no more wedge issues, no more gimmicks, no more party political strategies masquerading as policy” under his watch.
"This government has been elected to deliver nothing less than national renewal, to stop the chaos of the past 14 years, turn the page on an era of politics as noisy performance and return it to public service and start the work of rebuilding our country. A determined rebuilding, a patient rebuilding, a calm rebuilding, a rejection in this complicated and volatile world of those who can only offer the easy answer, the snake oil charm of populism," he further remarked.
Starmer said the King's Speech "takes the brakes off our economy" and promised "national renewal" after his centre-left Labour Party won a commanding majority in the national election. This came after King Charles read out the laws which the government wants the House of Commons to approve.
The package of more than 35 bills focuses on growing the economy, including reforms to make it easier to build homes and speed up the delivery of major infrastructure projects, improving transport, and creating more jobs. However, Starmer faces a number of daunting challenges, including improving struggling public services with little room for more spending.
(with inputs from agencies)
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