Britain’s new prime minister Keir Starmer pledged action to fix the country, not just words, on Friday, but warned the voters who handed him a massive electoral majority and those who voted against, that improvements would take time.
Standing outside his new office and residence at Number 10 Downing Street, Starmer cut a serious figure, acknowledging the scale of the challenges that faced him after his party’s landslide victory in a parliamentary election ended 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government.
He was greeted by huge cheers and in turn took time before making his speech to shake hands with and hug aides and well-wishers who lined Downing Street.
Standing behind a lectern, he said he understood that many Britons were disillusioned with politics after years of scandal and chaos under the Conservatives, who were roundly rejected in Thursday’s election, suffering a historical loss.
“This lack of trust can only be healed by actions, not words. I know that,” he said.
“Whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly – My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good. We will show that.”
The centre-left Labour won a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament, prompting Rishi Sunak’s resignation on Friday morning. Keir Starmer then went to meet King Charles and was formally named Prime Minister.
“My government will fight every day until you believe again. From now on, you have a government unburdened by doctrine, guided only by the determination to serve your interest,” he said, underlining something he had repeated during the campaign – that he would put country first, party second.
“To defy, quietly, those who have written our country off. You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change.”
The election result has upended British politics. Labour won some 410 seats, an increase of 210, while the Conservatives, the western world’s most successful party, lost about 250 lawmakers, including a record number of senior ministers and former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Sunak’s Conservatives suffered 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.
“To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry,” Sunak said in a final speech outside Downing Street, adding he would stay as Conservative leader until the party was ready to appoint his replacement.
“I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss.”
