Prime Minister Keir Starmer held his first cabinet meeting Saturday as his new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.
“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” he said.
Starmer’s Labour Party delivered the biggest blow to the Conservatives in their two-century history on Friday in a landslide victory on a platform of change.
Among a raft of problems they face are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing a broken healthcare system, and restoring trust in government.
“Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
In his first remarks as prime minister on Friday after the meeting “kissing of hands” ceremony with Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer said he would get to work immediately, though he cautioned it would take some time to show results.
“Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said as enthusiastic supporters cheered him outside his new official residence at 10 Downing. “This will take a while. But have no doubt that the work of change begins – immediately.”
Starmer has said he will scrap the Conservatives’ controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. The plan had cost hundreds of millions of pounds without a single flight taking off.
“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale said. “It’s going to ditch the Rwanda scheme, but it’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.”
Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticised Starmer’s plan to end the Rwanda pact.
“Years of hard work, acts of parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said on Saturday.
“There are big problems on the horizon which will be I’m afraid caused by Keir Starmer.”
