KEIR Starmer will chair the first meeting of his new Cabinet and face questions from the media after promising to start work “immediately” on his first full day in Downing Street.
The Prime Minister appointed his Cabinet team on Friday after a landslide victory at the polls, making only minor changes to the shadow cabinet that existed before the election.
Starmer confirmed Rachel Reeves as Britain’s first woman chancellor, Angela Rayner as his deputy and Housing Secretary, and Pat McFadden as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
David Lammy was officially named Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper Home Secretary, John Healey Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting Health Secretary, and Bridget Phillipson Education Secretary.
READ MORE: SNP need to take time to consider what indy really means for us all
Shabana Mahmood and Ed Miliband will retain their briefs of justice and energy respectively, although former attorney general Emily Thornberry was replaced by barrister Richard Hermer.
The Cabinet is expected to meet before Starmer faces questions from journalists in his first press conference as Prime Minister on Saturday.
Other ministerial appointments are expected be announced over the weekend, with McFadden saying Starmer will move to quickly allocate responsibilities ahead of the Nato summit.
Starmer (below) will make his debut on the international stage as Prime Minister when he flies to Washington DC for the gathering next week, which is expected to include discussions on support for Ukraine.
He is also due to host the European Political Community summit in the UK on July 18.
It comes after Starmer promised “the work of change begins immediately” after leading Labour to a landslide victory at the General Election on Friday.
After 649 of the 650 Commons seats had been declared, Labour had 412 seats and the Tories 121, the worst result in the party’s history.
In his first speech on Downing Street, Starmer pledged to usher in an era marked by “stability and moderation” as he told voters: “My Government will serve you” whether or not they backed his party.
After a low turnout at the polls, he spoke of the need to rebuild trust in the political system following 14 years of Tory rule marred by the Partygate scandal and the chaos of Conservative infighting.
Labour’s vote share also suggests the new Government is unlikely to enjoy much of a honeymoon period, with around 34% of the electorate backing the party – less than Jeremy Corbyn secured in 2017.
A recount in the last seat left to formally declare – Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire – started at 10.30am – delaying the final result of the General Election.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here