{"id":88696,"date":"2024-07-05T23:23:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T23:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/05\/keir-starmer-appoints-cabinet-after-landslide-general-election-victory\/"},"modified":"2024-07-05T23:23:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T23:23:21","slug":"keir-starmer-appoints-cabinet-after-landslide-general-election-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/05\/keir-starmer-appoints-cabinet-after-landslide-general-election-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer appoints cabinet after landslide general election victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sir Keir Starmer has appointed his cabinet after Labour’s landslide election win, making Rachel Reeves the UK’s first female chancellor.<\/p>\n

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is another of a record 11 women in the 25-strong team. <\/p>\n

Earlier, after becoming the UK’s first Labour prime minister since 2010, Sir Keir promised to restore trust in politics with a “government of service”.<\/p>\n

In a largely unchanged Labour frontbench line-up, David Lammy has become the foreign secretary. <\/p>\n

Yvette Cooper, one of three members of the last Labour cabinet under Gordon Brown, is the home secretary. <\/p>\n

The new cabinet will meet for the first time on Saturday morning, with Sir Keir vowing to start Labour’s “urgent” work immediately. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after being appointed PM by the King at Buckingham Palace, Sir Keir pledged<\/a>: “My government will serve you, politics can be a force for good. <\/p>\n

“The work of change begins immediately, but have no doubt, we will rebuild Britain.”<\/p>\n

In his farewell speech outside No 10<\/a>, Rishi Sunak apologised to unsuccessful Tory candidates and told the public: \u201cI have heard your anger, your disappointment.”<\/p>\n

Labour won 412 seats – giving the party a majority of 174 in the new House of Commons. The Conservatives were reduced to a record low for them of 121 MPs, a net fall of 251. <\/p>\n

The Liberal Democrats made 63 gains, giving them 71 seats. The SNP suffered a severe defeat, losing 38 seats to stand on nine with one constituency still to declare. <\/p>\n

Reform UK won five seats, include leader Nigel Farage’s in Clacton, with the Greens increasing their number of MPs from one to four. Plaid Cymru doubled its number of MPs from two to four. <\/p>\n

Before polling day, Sir Keir repeatedly refused to confirm the details of his top team for fear of appearing complacent. <\/p>\n

But within hours of becoming prime minister on Friday afternoon, his appointments came thick and fast – suggesting plans had been in place for a long time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sir Keir Starmer is the first Labour prime minister in 14 years, having taken charge of the party after its worst election result since 1935<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Alongside her role as Sir Keir’s deputy, Ms Rayner will also take control of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.<\/p>\n

A significant majority of the cabinet were state educated – with only three attending private schools.<\/p>\n

The other two veterans of the last Labour government are Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn.<\/p>\n

Mr Lammy also served as a minister in the last Labour government alongside Pat McFadden, who takes over the Cabinet Office, and Defence Secretary John Healey.<\/p>\n

All cabinet members supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum. Ahead of the election, Sir Keir ruled out the UK rejoining the EU single market in his lifetime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While forming his cabinet, Sir Keir also spent his first few hours as PM receiving customary calls of congratulations from world leaders.<\/p>\n

US President Joe Biden told Sir Keir he looked forward to “further strengthening the special relationship” with the UK, according to statements from both the White House and Downing Street<\/p>\n

Both leaders “reaffirmed the special relationship between our nations and the importance of working together in support of freedom and democracy around the world”, the statements said.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also congratulated Sir Keir on his election victory.<\/p>\n

In a social media post, Mr Zelensky said: “I am grateful to Prime Minister Starmer for reaffirming the UK’s principled and unwavering support for Ukraine.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sir Keir and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris committed themselves “to reset and strengthen” Anglo-Irish relations “with urgency and ambition”, the Irish government said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel Reeves said she felt a “historic responsibility” being the first female chancellor<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Though mostly a continuation of Sir Keir’s opposition team, the new cabinet includes some unexpected appointments.<\/p>\n

The PM has chosen relative unknown Richard Hermer as attorney general, rather than Emily Thornberry who had shadowed the role. <\/p>\n

Mr Hermer, a friend of Sir Keir’s from his days working as a barrister, will receive a life peerage to allow him to sit in the House of Lords and attend cabinet.<\/p>\n

Some members of Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet have not yet been given new positions – including Ms Thornberry, shadow women and equalities secretary and party chair Anneliese Dodds, and shadow minister without portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds.<\/p>\n

A peerage has been given to former government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance to become a science minister in the new government. <\/p>\n

James Timpson, the brother of ex-Tory MP Edward Timpson, has also received a peerage and has been appointed prisons minister. <\/p>\n

Mr Timpson is currently CEO of the Timpson Group, which has a policy of employing ex-offenders across its UK watch and shoe repair chain.<\/p>\n

Neither Lord Vallance nor Lord Timpson will attend cabinet, the BBC understands. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Reeves is the first woman to hold the second most important role in government in the office’s 708-year history.<\/p>\n

Posting on social media, Ms Reeves said being the first female chancellor came with a “historic responsibility”.<\/p>\n

“To every young girl and woman reading this, let today show that there should be no limits on your ambitions.”<\/p>\n

Ms Reeves told her new team of Treasury officials she was “under no illusions of the scale of challenges we face”. <\/p>\n

In a speech she said she could not promise it would be easy and “it’s a long road ahead”.<\/p>\n

“We’re a new team, it’s a new start so let’s get to work,” she added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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David Lammy promised to “reset” the UK’s relationship with overseas allies after being appointed foreign secretary<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Mr Lammy posted on social media that being appointed foreign secretary was “the honour of my life”.<\/p>\n

The world “faces huge challenges”, but Mr Lammy said he would “navigate them with the UK’s enormous strengths”.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Lammy said his first priorities were “a reset on Europe, a reset on our relationships with the global south and a reset on climate”.<\/p>\n

Asked if previous comments describing ex-US President Donald Trump as “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath” would hurt Labour’s relationship with a potential future Trump presidency, Mr Lammy said: “I will work closely with whoever is in the White House.”<\/p>\n

Despite a winning a 174-seat majority, Sir Keir has been forced to fill unexpected holes in his team after key allies lost their seats, defying the night’s trend.<\/p>\n

In one of the biggest shocks, shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth lost his Leicester South seat, which had a majority of more than 22,000, to independent candidate Shockat Adam, who campaigned against Mr Ashworth’s stance on the war in Gaza. . <\/p>\n

Former shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire lost to Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer in Bristol Central<\/p>\n

After surviving a challenge from a pro-Gaza independent in Birmingham Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood, a key ally of Sir Keir, has been appointed justice secretary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Cabinet team announced are:<\/p>\n