Labour's Landslide: Keir Starmer Takes the Reins as UK Prime Minister

Keir Starmer is now the UK Prime Minister after his party, the Labour Party, won Thursday’s general election.

Mr Starmer’s debut appearance on Downing Street comes after the British king officially asked him to form a new government on Friday afternoon.

The new prime minister led Labour to a landslide election win to defeat the Conservative party. While Labour got 412 members of parliament, the Conservatives only managed to get 121.

Mr Starmer, 61, addressed the nation for the first time as prime minister, saying, “Our work is urgent and we begin it today.”

Labour Party’s supporters have been in a celebratory mood following the victory, and outgone Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conceded defeat.

Mr Starmer thanked Mr Sunak for his “achievement as the first British Asian prime minister of our country”, adding that the “extra effort” that will be required “should not be underestimated by anyone.”

BBC reports that in Northallerton, Mr Sunak’s constituency, the word on the street is that Rishi Sunak has done a lot for the area, especially for local farmers. Some constituents also told the BBC that Mr Sunak was a “good chap” but that the Conservative Party lost the nation’s trust because they’ve “shot themselves in the foot too many times.”

Meanwhile, the new prime minister, who is chuffed by the election’s outcome, said the country has “voted decisively for change, for national renewal and the return of politics to public service.”

In a live broadcast, he vowed a “government of service” and spoke of the need for a national “reset.”

Speaking of people disengaging with politics, Sky News quoted Mr Starmer saying: “When the gap between the sacrifices made by people and the service they receive from politicians grows this big, it leads to a weariness in the heart of a nation, a draining away of the hope, the spirit, the belief in a better future that we need to move forward together.”

In concluding his first speech as prime minister, Mr Starmer said the four nations of the UK are “standing together again facing down as we have in the past the challenges of an insecure world.”

“With respect and humility, I invite you all to join this government in the mission of national renewal,” he said, adding that his government is committed to a “calm and patient rebuilding.”

“Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” Mr Starmer acknowledged, “It will take a while to rebuild.”