Starmer announces new cabinet, new FM demands immediate Gaza ceasefire
Starmer pledges to "rebuild Britain" as he assumed office on Friday following Labour's massive general election victory.
Hours after securing a resounding win, Prime Minister Keir Starmer began introducing his new cabinet. Britain's head of state, King Charles III, on Friday officially appointed Labour leader Keir Starmer as prime minister at Buckingham Palace.
A photograph released by the palace showed the monarch shaking hands with Starmer, whose party achieved a landslide victory in the general election, bringing an end to 14 years of Conservative rule.
Starmer chose David Lammy for British Foreign Secretary. Lammy has been representing Tottenham, where he grew up, since 2000 when he won a by-election caused by the death of Labour's Bernie Grant. Under New Labour, he was minister of higher education and culture.
Angela Rayner will serve as Deputy Prime Minister. She served as Sir Keir Starmer's deputy since he was elected Labour leader in 2020 and will take on the role of leveling up secretary, which she previously held.
Rachel Reeves will serve as Chancellor, and Yvette Cooper will serve as Home Secretary.
Pat Mcfadden has been selected as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Shabana Mahmood was selected as Justice Secretary. In 2010, Mahmood became the first female Muslim elected to the House of Commons.
Wes Streeting will serve as Health Secretary, and Bridget Phillipson is to serve as Education Secretary.
Serving as Energy Secretary will be Ed Miliband, who has had a central role in Labour politics, serving as MP for Doncaster North since 2005.
Peter Kyle will serve as Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, while Louise Haig will serve as Transport Secretary.
Liz Kendall is slated to become Work and Pensions Secretary, and Jonathan Reynolds is to become Business Secretary. Also included in the cabinet is Darren Jones serving as Chief Secretary to the Treasury while John Healey is to become Defense Secretary.
Starmer vows to 'rebuild Britain'
Starmer pledged to "rebuild Britain" as he assumed office on Friday following Labour's massive general election victory. "Now, our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal, and the return of politics to public service," he stated in his inaugural speech.
Starmer detailed that "the work of change begins immediately, but have no doubt, we will rebuild Britain."
He swiftly set about picking his new cabinet, while Rishi Sunak acknowledged defeat after his Conservatives lost at least 12 of their top cabinet colleagues, including his predecessor Liz Truss.
He apologized to the public before he left Downing Street and revealed he would step down as Tory leader once a successor was announced. The Conservatives won just 121 seats, a historic low.
With economic development sluggish, public services overburdened and underfunded as a result of massive cuts, and mass financial troubles in the country, Starmer has a massive to-do list and has pledged to restore integrity in politics.
European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz all congratulated Starmer, saying he would make a "very good, very successful" prime minister, while Ukraine affirmed both would be "reliable allies through thick and thin."
Former US President Donald Trump congratulated fellow populist Nigel Farage on his election to the British parliament on Friday but failed to acknowledge the country's new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party received the third most votes, but under Britain's electoral system, it received only four seats.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to say, "Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country!"
The Kremlin, on its part, said it was "not optimistic at all" about any change in difficult relations between Britain and Russia following Labour's victory in the UK general election.
"As far as we can see from their previous statements, they are not inclined to any flexibility or creativity in normalising bilateral Russian-British relations," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Lammy aims for UK foreign policy reset
Britain's new Foreign Secretary David Lammy is promising to reset relations with the European Union and work for a ceasefire in Gaza while also aiming to strengthen ties with Donald Trump's Republican Party, despite calling him a "woman-hating neo-Nazi sociopath."
While his goals originally in the election campaign were domestic, Lammy has a list of foreign challenges.
Labour has stated that long-term peace and stability in the Middle East will be an immediate priority. It has agreed to recognize a Palestinian state as part of a revitalized peace process aimed at achieving a two-state solution.
In a US visit in May, Lammy expressed Labour would cooperate with the US and find "common cause" with Trump, citing that "I do not believe that he is arguing that the U.S. should abandon Europe. He wants Europeans to do more to ensure a better defended Europe."
Lammy repeated his support for international efforts to establish an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as well as the release of all Israeli captives. He vowed that he would "get to work with tireless diplomacy" to achieve those two goals.
"All of us recognize the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza," Lammy remarked. He also vowed he would do everything he could to support US President Joe Biden's efforts for a ceasefire.
In May, Biden suggested a road to a peace arrangement, which he said "Israel" had proposed. It featured an initial six-week truce, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza's population centers, and the release of Israeli captives.