Britain’s Head of State King Charles III has officially appointed Keir Starmer as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK).
King Charles III appointed Starmer during an audience at Buckingham Palace on Friday, July 5, 2024, a few hours after his Labour Party swept to power.
Labour leader Keir Starmer officially became British prime minister on Friday hours after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition.
Starmer was elevated to the nation’s leader after a private ceremony with King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.
In the merciless choreography of British politics, Starmer is taking charge in 10 Downing St. shortly after Conservative leader Rishi Sunak and his family left the official residence and King Charles III accepted his resignation at Buckingham Palace.
“This is a difficult day, but I leave this job honoured to have been prime minister of the best country in the world,” Sunak said in his farewell address.
Sunak had conceded defeat earlier in the morning, saying the voters had delivered a “sobering verdict”.
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In a reflective farewell speech in the same place where he had called for the snap election six weeks earlier, Sunak wished Starmer all the best but also acknowledged his missteps.
He said: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss.
“To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success, I’m sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved.”
With almost all the results in, Labour had won 410 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons and the Conservatives 118.
“A mandate like this comes with a great responsibility,” Starmer acknowledged in a speech to supporters, saying the fight to regain people’s trust after years of disillusionment “is the battle that defines our age.”
Speaking as dawn broke in London, he said Labour would offer “the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day”.
For Starmer, it’s a massive triumph that will bring huge challenges, as he faces a weary electorate impatient for change against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric.
“Nothing has gone well in the last 14 years,” AFP quoted London voter James Erskine, who was optimistic for change in the hours before polls closed, as saying.
“I just see this as the potential for a seismic shift, and that’s what I’m hoping for,” he added.
And that’s what Starmer promised, saying: “Change begins now.”
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