It’s official — Britain has a new prime minister.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to usher in “an age of national renewal” following the Labour Party’s decisive victory, ending the Conservatives’ 14-year reign.
Starmer, the Labour Party leader, led his team to a historic landslide win on Friday morning, marking the worst defeat in the Conservative Party’s history.
Starmer and his wife, Victoria, visited Buckingham Palace on Friday for a private audience with King Charles. During this meeting, the 75-year-old monarch requested that Starmer form a new government.
During the “kissing hands” ceremony, King Charles officially appointed Starmer as Britain’s new prime minister, following Rishi Sunak’s resignation earlier that morning.
In a brief victory speech at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the 61-year-old Starmer expressed his satisfaction with the win, stating that it “feels good.”
“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,” said Starmer, who has been steering the party towards its first general election triumph since 2005.
Starmer, a former public prosecutor and human rights lawyer who has led Labour since early 2020, vowed that the effort to “rebuild our country” would commence immediately.
“The sunlight of hope was shining once again in a country with an opportunity after 14 years to get its future back,” he said, adding that the British public will be “relieved that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this great nation.”
The Conservatives, under Sunak’s leadership, suffered their worst defeat since the modern party’s establishment in 1834.
Labour secured 410 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons, while Sunak’s Conservatives managed to win only 118 seats, though they were projected to claim 131 seats.
In a brief speech, Sunak acknowledged that it had been a “difficult night” for his party, with a record number of cabinet ministers losing their seats.
“The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn… and I take responsibility for the loss,” he said.
“To the many good, hard-working Conservative candidates who lost tonight, despite their tireless efforts, their local records and delivery, and their dedication to their communities. I am sorry.”
Sunak assured that the transfer of power would occur “in a peaceful and orderly manner, with goodwill on all sides.”
Appointed as prime minister in October 2022 following Liz Truss’s resignation after her historically brief 44-day tenure, Sunak is expected to formally announce his resignation on Friday morning. Subsequently, Starmer will visit Buckingham Palace for the “kissing hands” ceremony with King Charles III.
Thursday’s general election was the first to be held during the reign of the 75-year-old monarch, who ascended the throne in September 2022 following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.