Sir Keir Starmer was formally appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace as the UK’s first Labour prime minister since 2010, following his party’s landslide general election victory.
The King received The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP in an audience and requested him to form a new administration. Sir Keir accepted His Majesty’s offer and was appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. Labour returns to power with a significant parliamentary majority of 174, following a collapse in support for the Conservatives.
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After the formal appointment, Sir Keir is set to make his first speech in Downing Street. The Labour leader’s victory marks a dramatic turnaround for the party, which suffered its worst result in 2019 with 202 seats under Jeremy Corbyn. Despite only a 2% increase in national vote share, Labour won 412 seats, largely due to a 17-point surge in Scotland, where Labour regained its status as the largest party.
Outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak, speaking outside No 10, vowed to remain his party’s leader until formal arrangements for selecting his successor are in place. In his farewell speech, he apologised to unsuccessful Tory candidates and acknowledged the public’s “anger” and “disappointment.”
Sir Keir is expected to begin appointing his new cabinet on Friday afternoon, with the first meeting scheduled for Saturday. The Liberal Democrats also had a good night, winning 71 seats, their best result in a century, while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK secured four MPs.
