After a landslide election win, Sir Keir Starmer has named his first cabinet with a record 11 women among the 25-member team. Rachel Reeves made history as the UK’s first female chancellor, while Angela Rayner became the first deputy prime minister. Starmer promised change in his first speech as prime minister, focusing on economic stability, cutting NHS waiting lists, and tackling illegal immigration. The Cabinet meeting’s agenda was set to focus on Labour’s “first steps” which includes these priorities.
David Lammy has become the foreign secretary while Yvette Cooper is now the home secretary. There were some unexpected appointments which included Richard Hermer as attorney general, rather than Emily Thornberry who had shadowed the role. Members of Starmer’s shadow cabinet are yet to be given new positions, including Thornberry, shadow women and equalities secretary, and party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds, and shadow minister without portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds. A peerage has also been given to former government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance to become a science minister in the new government.
Labour won 412 seats in the election – giving them a majority of 174 in the new House of Commons. The Conservatives were reduced to a record low for them of 121 MPs, a net fall of 251. The Liberal Democrats made 63 gains, giving them 71 seats. The SNP suffered a severe defeat as they lost 38 seats to stand on nine with one constituency still to declare. Reform UK won five seats, including leader Nigel Farage’s, with the Greens increasing their number of MPs from one to four. Plaid Cymru doubled its number of MPs from two to four.
Starmer pledged to restore trust in politics with a “government of service.” After receiving calls of congratulations from world leaders, he spent his first few hours as PM focusing on international relations, talking to US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris. Farage also propelled into Parliament with winning 14.3% of the vote under Reform UK. Sunak promised to stay on as leader of the Conservatives until his successor is chosen by the party
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