LONDON: Keir Starmer will be the UK’s new Labour prime minister after a Tory rout saw former premier Liz Truss and a dozen serving Cabinet members lose their seats.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he took responsibility for the electoral mauling inflicted on his party as it suffered its worst ever result. This marks a spectacular turnaround since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an 80-seat Conservative majority and Labour suffered its worst result since 1935.
Sunak’s Departure
Rishi Sunak is expected to make a departing statement outside the famous black door of No. 10 this morning. He will then take a short car ride from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace for an audience with King Charles III, in which he will formally tender his resignation.
Starmer’s Ascension
Once Sunak has left, it will be Sir Keir’s turn to see the King at the palace. He will be appointed as the country’s next prime minister and asked to form an administration. Upon arriving at Downing Street, it is customary for the new prime minister to be greeted by the Cabinet Secretary and Principal Private Secretary—currently Simon Case and Elizabeth Perelman—at the door of No. 10.
The Transition
“The staff of No. 10 are lined up in the corridor, that long corridor down to the Cabinet Room, and they will clap,” Lord Robin Butler, who oversaw the transition as cabinet secretary when Labour swept into power in 1997, said. The new premier then typically heads into the Cabinet Room to receive security and intelligence briefings from civil servants.
Nuclear Codes
Sir Keir will be handed the nuclear codes and write “letters of last resort” to commanders of submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles with secret orders on what to do if the Government has been wiped out in a nuclear attack.
New Cabinet
This intensive induction into his prime ministerial duties will have to be fitted alongside key political decisions, including appointing his Cabinet as he begins to form a government. This is one of the most visible parts of a change of government, with ministers walking in and out of No. 10 in front of the rolling cameras outside.
Expected Cabinet Changes
Westminster watchers do not expect major changes to Sir Keir’s top team, with Rachel Reeves set to become the first ever female chancellor, Angela Rayner becoming deputy prime minister, and David Lammy set to keep the Foreign Office brief.
International Congratulations
Sir Keir could also start receiving calls from international counterparts wishing him well in the new job. Former Whitehall chief Lord Gus O’Donnell, who served Mr. Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron, said: “There will be countless telephone calls from world leaders wanting to congratulate him on his achievement, all of which will potentially provide opportunities for constructive dialogue.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will provide briefs to make sure none of these conversations are wasted.”
