Premiership of Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 5 July 2024 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party, after the Labour Party had won the 2024 general election.

Domestically, Starmer has said he will focus on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, education, childcare, and strengthening workers' rights, all of which were outlined in the Labour Party's 2024 election manifesto. He has stated his intention to establish the Border Security Command to replace the Rwanda asylum plan. In foreign policy, Starmer has supported Ukraine in its war against Russia and Israel in its war against Hamas.

Labour leadership bid
On 4 January 2020, Keir Starmer announced his candidacy for the Labour Party leadership election. By 8 January, it was reported that he had gained enough nominations from Labour MPs and MEPs to get onto the ballot paper, and that the trade union Unison was backing him. Unison, with 1.3 million members, said Starmer was the best placed candidate to unite the party and regain public trust. He also gained support from former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

During the leadership election, Starmer ran a left-wing platform. He positioned himself in opposition to austerity, stating that the outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn was "right" to position Labour as the "party of anti-austerity". He indicated he would continue with the Labour policy of scrapping tuition fees as well as pledging "common ownership" of rail, mail, energy and water companies and called for ending outsourcing in the NHS, local governments and the justice system.

Starmer was announced as the winner of the leadership contest on 4 April 2020, defeating rivals Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy, with 56.2% of the vote in the first round. As opposition leader, contrary to his leadership campaign, he moved the party toward the political centre, and also emphasised the project of eliminating antisemitism within the party. Starmer's leadership has been widely compared to Tony Blair's leadership and New Labour, having taken the party rightward to gain perceived electability.

Entering government
Labour entered the 2024 general election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls, and the potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period. In June 2024, Starmer released the Labour Party manifesto Change, which focuses on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, what Starmer describes as "clean energy", healthcare, education, childcare, and strengthening workers' rights. It pledges a new publicly owned energy company (Great British Energy), a "Green Prosperity Plan", reducing patient waiting times in the NHS, and renationalisation of the railway network (Great British Railways). It includes wealth creation and "pro-business and pro-worker" policies. The manifesto also pledged to give votes to 16 year olds, reform the House of Lords, and to tax private schools, with money generated going into improving state education.

In July 2024, Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory in the general election, ending fourteen years of Conservative government with Labour becoming the largest party in the House of Commons. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority and a total of 411 seats, the party's third-best result in terms of seat share following the 1997 and 2001 general elections. The party became the largest in England for the first time since 2005, in Scotland for the first time since 2010, and retained its status as the largest party in Wales.

In his victory speech, Starmer thanked party workers for their hard work – including nearly five years of revamping and rebranding Labour in the face of Conservative dominance – and urged them to savour the moment, but warned them of challenges ahead and pledged his government would work for "national renewal":

"We did it! You campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it and now it has arrived. Change begins now. And it feels good, I have to be honest. Four-and-a-half years of work changing the party. This is what it is for – a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, ready to restore Britain to the service of working people. And across our country people will be waking up to the news, relieved that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation. And now we can look forward. Walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back. We said we would end the chaos and we will. We said we would turn the page and we have. Today we start the next chapter, begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and start to rebuild our country."

As the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, Starmer was appointed as prime minister by King Charles III on 5 July 2024, becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown, the first one to win a general election since Tony Blair, and the first Labour government formed during the reign of Charles III. He and his wife Victoria Starmer were driven from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street. Starmer stopped the car on the way back from the palace and went on a walkabout outside Downing Street to meet cheering crowds. In his first speech as prime minister, Starmer paid tribute to the previous prime minister Rishi Sunak, saying "His achievement as the first British Asian Prime Minister of our country should not be underestimated by anyone," and also recognised "the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership" but said that the people of Britain had voted for change:

"You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change. To restore service and respect to politics, end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives, and unite our country. Four nations, standing together again, facing down, as we have so often in our past, the challenges of an insecure world. Committed to a calm and patient rebuilding. So with respect and humility, I invite you all to join this government of service in the mission of national renewal. Our work is urgent and we begin it today."

Other world leaders including Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, as well as Blair and Brown, congratulated Starmer after he was appointed prime minister. In his first day as prime minister, Starmer contacted Volodymyr Zelenskyy and told him that the change of government would make no difference to the UK's support for Ukraine, and that the UK would continue supplying defensive support amid the Russian invasion of the country. Starmer also contacted Biden, and discussed their shared commitment to the special relationship between the UK and US, and their plans for economic growth.

One of his first acts as prime minister was cancelling the controversial Rwanda asylum plan, claiming it to be "dead and buried." Home secretary Yvette Cooper started setting out the first steps towards establishing a Border Security Command, to tackle smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel. Starmer went on a tour of the four countries of the United Kingdom and met with the leader of the Scottish Labour Party Anas Sarwar, and also met with First Minister of Scotland John Swinney at the official residence of the First Minister, Bute House. He also met with mayors including Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan. Rishi Sunak unexpectedly announced on 22 May 2024, that a snap general election would be held on 4 July 2024, just two weeks before the summit is due to take place. The Labour Party won that election and Keir Starmer subsequently became prime minister. Starmer chaired the 4th European Political Community Summit.

Cabinet
His new government was formed throughout 5–7 July, with the new Cabinet first meeting on 6 July and the new Parliament being called to meet on 9 July. Starmer appointed women to a record half of the Cabinet (including Rachel Reeves as the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer in British history) and three of the five top positions in the British government, including Angela Rayner as Deputy Prime Minister.

Starmer also appointed three politically independent experts: scientist Patrick Vallance as Minister of State for Science, rehabilitation campaigner James Timpson as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation, and international law expert Richard Hermer as Attorney General for England and Wales. The government includes a few ministers from the New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy and Ed Miliband in the Cabinet, and Jacqui Smith and Douglas Alexander as junior ministers.

Policies
In 2023, Starmer set out five missions for his government, targeting issues such as economic growth, health, clean energy, crime and education. On 2 June 2024, Starmer pledged to reduce record high legal immigration to the UK by improving training and skills for British workers. Net migration to the UK was 685,000 in 2023.

In June 2024, Starmer released the Labour 2024 general election manifesto Change, which focuses on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, what Starmer describes as "clean energy," healthcare, education, childcare, and strengthening workers' rights. It pledges a new publicly owned energy company (Great British Energy), a "Green Prosperity Plan," reducing patient waiting times in the NHS, and renationalisation of the railway network (Great British Railways). It includes wealth creation and "pro-business and pro-worker" policies. The manifesto also pledged to give votes to 16 year olds, reform the House of Lords, and to tax private schools, with money generated going into improving state education.

The 2024 State Opening of Parliament outlined 39 pieces of legislation that Labour proposed to introduced in the months ahead, including bills to renationalise the railways, to strengthen the rights of workers, tackle illegal immigration, reform the House of Lords, and undertake a programme to speed up the delivery of "high quality infrastructure" and housing. In addition, a number of bills proposed by the previous Conservative administration were also included, notably the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which had appeared in the 2023 King's Speech, but had been abandoned after the election was called.

Bills

 * The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill enabling the government to renationalise the railways.
 * The Railways Bill to establish Great British Railways, a body overseeing the rail network.
 * The Better Buses Bill allowing greater scope for local government to take over the running of bus services.
 * The High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill to enable powers to improve rail services in northern England.
 * The English Devolution Bill to facilitate the devolvement of power to elected mayors of combined authorities.
 * Reform of the House of Lords. Two separate bills: to phase out the remaining hereditary peers in the House of Lords (House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill), and to increase the number of female bishops in the House (Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill).
 * The Budget Responsibility Bill requiring an official budget forecast to take place ahead of a government budget.
 * The Pension Schemes Bill introducing new rules and requirements for private sector pension schemes.
 * The Planning and Infrastructure Bill to simplify the approval process for critical infrastructure, and update compulsory purchase rules.
 * The Renters' Rights Bill banning no-fault evictions and extending building safety requirements to the private sector.
 * The Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill curbing ground rent costs and banning forfeiture.
 * The Great British Energy Bill to establish GB Energy, a state owned energy investment and generation company.
 * The National Wealth Fund Bill establishing a £7.3bn fund to be invested over five years in infrastructure and green industry.
 * The Water (Special Measures) Bill giving the water regulator Ofwat greater powers to prevent water company bosses from receiving bonuses, and to make water company bosses liable for any illegal activity.
 * The Crime and Policing Bill to give police greater powers to deal with antisocial behaviour. The bill will also make assaulting retail workers a specific offence.
 * The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill to require venues to establish procedures for dealing with terrorist threats, enacting Martyn's Law.
 * The Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill requiring offenders to attend sentencing hearings and removing parental rights from convicted sex offenders.
 * The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill enabling police to use anti-terrorism laws to tackle gangs who smuggle asylum seekers to the UK.
 * The Employment Rights Bill introducing a number new rights for workers, and banning the "exploitative" use of zero hour contracts.
 * The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill extending the right to make a claim for equal pay under the Equality Act to people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
 * The Tobacco and Vapes Bill to bring in a phased ban on smoking.
 * The Mental Health Bill to tighten rules on sectioning people, and change the rules on care for people with learning difficulties.
 * The Children's Wellbeing Bill requiring local authorities to keep a register of children not in full time education at school, and establish breakfast clubs for all primary schools in England.
 * The Skills England Bill to establish a public body to improve and devolve skills training.
 * The Conversion Practices Bill restricting "abusive" practices designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
 * The Digital Information and Smart Data Bill enabling people to use a digital ID to buy age-restricted content and for pre-employment checks.
 * The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill establishing new rules to protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.
 * Hillsborough law: A piece of legislation requiring public servants to be truthful during public inquiries.
 * A bill allowing the Crown Estate to borrow from the government in order to invest in new infrastructure projects.
 * The Football Governance Bill to establish a regulator for the top five tiers of English football.
 * A bill to establish an Armed Forces Commissioner with powers to inspect faulty kit and equipment.

Parliamentary business
Following the general election, chairs and member of select committees are yet to be appointed.

International prime ministerial trips
Starmer attended the 2024 NATO summit for his first international trip. On the flight to the summit, Starmer laid out a "cast iron" commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, following a “root and branch” review of Britain's defences. At the summit, Starmer signalled that Ukraine could use Britain's Storm Shadow missile donations to strike military targets inside Russia, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Starmer called for an "irreversible" membership strategy for Ukraine to join NATO. During an introductory meeting with the US president Joe Biden, Starmer presented Biden with an Arsenal FC shirt and emphasised the importance of the Special Relationship between the UK and the US.