UK election latest: Starmer hits out at 'mess' left by Tories - and warns 'tough decisions' to come (2024)

The Tory election strategy was "idiotic" and forced voters into the arms of Labour, Suella Braverman has said in the wake of the worst defeat in Conservative history.

Writing an opinion piece for The Telegraph, the former home secretary said "we failed in office and deserved this result".

"Losing elections has consequences: I regret them, but too many Tories do not," she added.

"People didn't choose Labour, they rejected us."

She said the prime minister and the party employed an "idiotic strategy of intermittently and inconsistently making 'Tory right' noises - which disintegrated when set against our liberal Conservative record".

Ms Braverman is among the favourites to take over as the next Conservative leader, with the defeated Rishi Sunak set to depart, as soon as his successor is chosen.

She retained her seat in Fareham & Waterlooville, but Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK all made gains in vote share.

Moving to the future, Ms Braverman outlined three things the Tories must do before they can win again:

• Restore trust
• Restore credibility
• Restore hope

"We’re not a racist country needing 'decolonisation' and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)and all the progressive rest of it," she said.

She concluded by noting Nigel Farage's entry to the Commons, saying he "can just say the right things", but "we have to do them".

By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor

A new beginning for Britain and suddenly we find ourselves in a world turning itself inside out, posing clear challenges to the incoming Labour government.

The swing to the left in the UK comes just as some of our closest partners appear to be veering in the opposite direction.

After the chaos of right-wing Conservative rule, Britain has embraced the opposite: a left-wing government with a huge majority and a future that looks relatively stable and calm, dare we say it, even quite dull.

You cannot say the same for our neighbours and allies. After years of mocking and deriding the British for losing our political marbles, are our friends overseas now dropping their own?

Read more from Waghorn here...

David Lammy will head to Poland and and Sweden tomorrow, continuing a mini-European tour which began today in Germany.

The new foreign secretary replaced Lord Cameron when he was appointed to Sir Keir Starmer's cabinet yesterday.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Hitting the ground running, the visit will set the tone for the new foreign policy agenda and the importance of the relationship between the UK and our European allies to tackle shared challenges and increase security.

"Amongst a range of topics, co-operation on NATO and Ukraine will be important areas of discussion."

Sir Keir Starmer has announced further additions to his cabinet.

The King has approved the following appointments...

• Ellie Reeves as minister without portfolio
• Dan Jarvis MBE a Home Office minister
• Jim McMahon OBE as a levelling up minister
• Matthew Pennycook as a levelling up minister
• Douglas Alexander as a business and trade minister
• Jacqui Smith as an education minister
  

Former home secretary Jacqui Smith will also be made a peer, Downing Street announced.

Ms Smith served in Gordon Brown's cabinet.

Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden's first phone conversation has been shared on the world leaders' respective Instagram accounts.

The US president shared his congratulations for the newly appointed prime minister, adding "what a hell of a victory".

You can listen to their conversation by clicking the embedded video below...

A majority of people on the Sky News YouGov voters panel have expressed a cautious optimism about the new Labour government.

Half of the 46 constituencies represented by our panel changed party in the general election, with two-thirds of our voters backing a different party from their 2019 vote.

The panel has now delivered its verdict on the election result, which saw Labour win a landslide victory - ending 14 years of Tory rule.

There was some enthusiasm. One former Conservative voter told us: "I'm quite excited to look forward to what the future is going to bring and what this party is going to bring to the table."

But another described the result as "pretty depressing". They said: "I've never been a Labour voter, pretty sad... but I don't think they're going to do anything."

One former Labour supporter who backed the Greens said: "This has been a not-the-Tories and a pro-Reform vote, rather than a pro-Labour vote."

Read on here...

A bit more after Sir Keir Starmer's cancellation of the Rwanda deportation scheme.

A spokesperson for Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has commented, saying: "The Rwanda scheme was an extortionate gimmick.

"Over two years, five people were sent to Rwanda at a cost of at least £60m a person.

"If the last prime minister had believed it would work, he wouldn't have called an election before a flight went off.

"During the election campaign, the previous government had released 218 people previously detained pending removal to Rwanda were bailed.

"At this time, only two people remain in detention - these will be bailed in coming days."

The spokesperson also said Ms Cooper, the new home secretary, had briefed officials on how Labour was going to set up the Border Security Command.

"Plans are already under way to bring in additional capacity in the National Crime Agency to go after criminal smuggling gangs," the spokesman added.

Any football fans reading our blog today may have seen a worrying statistic on England's penalty record under Labour governments on X from our lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge.

As Sophy says after England beat Switzerland moments ago...

Messages from world leaders to Sir Keir Starmer after his election victory have ranged from congratulations to a blunt "I don't care".

Soon after Labour's landslide win became clear in the early hours of yesterday, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared congratulatory messages on social media.

Joe Biden followed suit later, with the White House confirming he had called Sir Keir to congratulate him.

Mr Biden said he is looking forward to working closely with him on the "full range of critical issues", while Downing Street said they discussed their "unwavering" commitment to Ukraine and the UK-US "special relationship".

In Russia, however,foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had a much more muted response...

So it's "Call me Keir", is it? Sounds very informal. But we shouldn't be fooled.

"I'm very happy to be called Keir or prime minister," he said at his first Downing Street news conference. "Perfectly happy to be called Keir."

How very Sir Tony Blair.

At his first cabinet meeting in 1997, Sir Tony famously began by telling his ministers: "Just call me Tony."

Sir Tony also was known for "sofa government", relaxed informal meetings with aides like Jonathan Powell and Alastair Campbell, but no civil servants or official minutes.

It was a style which appalled Whitehall mandarins and traditionalists, who claimed it led to indiscipline and poor decision-making. They would say that, wouldn't they?

Lord Cameron was famously lampooned as "Call me Dave", criticised for his "chillaxing" on the job and accused of being an "essay crisis prime minister".

So what did we learn of the Keir Starmer style at his first Downing Street news conference?

Find out here.