Keir Starmer pledges ‘national renewal’ in first speech as UK prime minister

In his first address to the nation as prime minister, Keir Starmer said Britain had “voted decisively for change, for national renewal”, and pledged to lead a pragmatic government that would restore the nation’s hope and confidence in politics and public service.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street under a cloudy afternoon sky, Mr Starmer began by praising his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, who had delivered a brief farewell speech at the same venue a few hours earlier, before moving on to his own ambitions.

“We must move forward together,” Mr Starmer said, acknowledging the challenges ahead and nodding to a fractured vote that gave Labour its biggest parliamentary majority in decades but a low turnout that reflected disillusionment with Britain’s politics and economic woes.

“Have no doubt that the work of change begins immediately,” he said.

The Labour leader’s car arrived at Downing Street from Buckingham Palace, where King Charles III had invited him moments earlier to form a government. Before speaking, flanked by his wife, Victoria, Mr Starmer thanked cheering supporters, many of whom waved Union Jacks, in an echo of the welcome given to the last Labour leader to defeat the Conservatives in a general election, Tony Blair in 1997.

Mr Starmer outlined some specific policies in his remarks, speaking of a government “not burdened with doctrines”, and pledging to work pragmatically for all Britons, unite the nation and govern with respect and humility.

“Whether you voted Labour or not — and especially if you didn’t — I say to you straight away: ‘My government will serve you’,” he said. “Politics can be a force for good. We will show that.”

The British, he said, have given his party “a clear mandate, and we will use that to deliver change to restore service and respect in politics, end the era of noisy performance, be more careful with your lives and unite our country.”