Keir Starmer leaves for Nato summit in first foreign trip as PM — as it happened

Georgia Gould, former leader of Camden council, joins the Cabinet Office while Sarah Sackman, a barrister at Matrix Chambers, becomes solicitor-general.

Alistair Carns, a former lieutenant colonel in the Royal Marines and holder of the Military Cross, becomes veterans minister. Miatta Fahnbulleh, a former senior civil servant, becomes an energy minister while Kirsty McNeill, a former aide to Gordon Brown, joins the Scotland Office.

It is highly unusual for MPs to be appointed to the government immediately after being elected and marks them out as stars of the future. However, it also risks angering other Labour MPs who have endured 14 years of opposition without reward.

A climate change adviser who proposed Britain reach net zero carbon emissions has been appointed by the government to help it fulfil its mission of providing clean power in the next five years.

Chris Stark was chief executive of the climate change committee when it proposed that the country be a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050.

The target became law in June 2019 in what was one of Theresa May’s last pieces of legislation before stepping down as prime minister.

Stark will lead a new mission control centre, the first of its kind in UK government, and it is hoped he can use his expertise to accelerate the process of providing clean energy by troubleshooting problems as they arise.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “This new mission control centre, benefitting from the expertise and experience of Chris Stark’s leadership — and bringing together the brightest and best in the national interest — will have a laser-like focus on delivering our mission of clean power by 2030.”

Kemi Badenoch has used the first meeting of the shadow cabinet to criticise Rishi Sunak’s election campaign amid concerns that some colleagues are failing to grasp the “enormity” of the Conservative Party’s landslide defeat.

The shadow housing secretary, who is seen as a frontrunner for the Tory leadership contest, said at Tuesday’s meeting that Sunak’s decision to call an early election without informing his cabinet was a mistake and bordered on “unconstitutional”.

She said that instead of telling cabinet ministers first, Sunak had opted to inform a small group of colleagues, including Craig Williams, his parliamentary private secretary, who subsequently admitted placing a bet on the election date. She described Williams as a “buffoon”.

Read in full here.

The swearing in process allows MPs to make an oath or affirmation of allegiance to the King.

They are required by law to do so if they wish to speak in debates, participate in votes or receive their salary.

Sinn Féin members who win Westminster constituencies in Northern Ireland refuse to swear allegiance to the British Crown, as they are Irish nationalists, while others do so under protest.

Among them who refused were both members of the SDLP, who are also Irish nationalists, and Labour’s Zarah Sultana who said she was doing so “in order to serve my constituents” in Coventry South.

The swearing in process is continuing, with the House of Commons expected to sit until 9pm.

The Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who was the first MP to swear allegiance to the King today, said the Commons was expected to sit from 11.30am until 4pm tomorrow and then from 9.30am until 11.30am on Thursday.

He said: “I hope we’ll have made enough progress to permit all members to swear-in who wish to do so. The House will therefore need not to sit again before Wednesday July 17 when we return for the King’s Speech.”

At that point the new Labour government will set out its legislative priorities for the coming year. The Speaker said the House would likely start its summer recess on July 30.

Before boarding, Starmer said the uplift in spending must be made within ‘our fiscal rules’

STEFAN ROUSSEAU – WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES

Before departing for the Nato summit in Washington DC, the prime minister also said he was committed to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.

Sir Keir Starmer said the uplift in spending had to be made “within our fiscal rules” and that he needed to carry out a review before setting a timetable for when his government would reach that goal.

The Conservatives had pledged during the election campaign that they would do so by 2030.

Starmer said: “I am committed to that 2.5 per cent within our fiscal rules. That strategic review needs to come first but today, tomorrow and the next day is all about standing together with our allies, discussing practically how we provide further support to Ukraine, and to send a very, very clear message to Putin that we will stand against Russian aggression wherever it is in the world.”

Sir Keir Starmer said the Nato summit in Washington DC would send a clear message to Vladimir Putin of the allies being united against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Referring to Monday’s missile attacks that damaged the country’s largest children’s hospital in Kyiv, the prime minister said: “My message is very, very clear. This Nato summit is an opportunity for allies to stand together, to strengthen their resolve, particularly in light of that appalling attack, against Russian aggression.”

He made the comments before departing for the US with his wife Victoria.

“I’m pleased to have the early opportunity to confirm and reaffirm Labour’s strong support, unshakeable support for Nato,” he added.

“We are a founding member, it’s now the 75th anniversary but this is an opportunity to send that message in relation to Russian aggression wherever.”

According to the latest figures, the missile attack has killed 41 civilians.

Mark Francois spoke of his anger at Rishi Sunak’s handling of the general election after the Conservative chairman vote.

Asked by Sky News if he blamed him for the heavy loss, Francois said: “Yes. He threw us into an election with absolutely no warning, there was no need to call the election, the whole party was expecting it to be in the autumn.”

He said Sunak had told members to book their summer holidays before having a “brainwave” to call the snap election.

“This was a mad decision taken by six people in the bunker and we’ve seen the result,” Francois added. “Ultimately the buck stops with Rishi, he led the party to disaster.”

The 1922 committee plays a central role in the election and, sometimes dismissal, of the Conservative party leader.

MPs use the committee to vote on who they think the leader should be and can submit letters to its chairman expressing no confidence in their current one.

If the letters of no confidence pass a particular threshold, then the chairman informs the leader of the party that they will face a vote of no confidence.

The chairman also sets out the rules and timetable for leadership elections and they will do so again this year when someone is chosen to replace Rishi Sunak.

There are 121 Tory MPs in parliament and, according to figures released by the committee, 98 of them voted this evening.

Mark Francois said he and Julian Smith, the former Northern Ireland secretary, were also turned away from voting in the election for the chairmanship of the 1922 committee.

The Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford said the party’s whips had messaged MPs saying they could vote until 6pm.

He said that when he later arrived in the committee room to vote he was told the ballot had closed.

He told Sky News: “What’s happened is the 1922 committee have come up with one set of timings, the whips have told Tory MPs there was another set, a lot of Tory MPs didn’t get a chance to vote.

“The result is void, we should do it again next week when it is absolutely crystal clear what the timings and the rules are.”

Blackman, the Tory MP for Harrow East, won by 61 votes to 37

Bob Blackman has been elected as chairman of the 1922 committee after beating Geoffrey Clifton-Brown by 61 votes to 37.

However, there have been calls for the vote to be re-run after reports of confusion over the timing of the vote.

It was claimed the shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh were turned away after arriving too late to vote.

Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, used his speech to praise the Speaker for helping new members of the House settle in.

Congratulating Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his re-election, he said: “I can already say on behalf of the new cohort of Green MPs that we have been very pleased with the support you have given us … you’ve shown that you go out of your way to support new members in this House”.

Ramsay also joined Sir Keir Starmer in emphasising the importance of politics being about public service.

“And I very much hope in this new parliament, we can all move to a less tribal form of politics where we work together where we can agree and move things forward in the national interest,” he added.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been the Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019

HANNAH MCKAY/PA WIRE

Colum Eastwood, whose Social Democratic and Labour Party have two seats in this parliament, used his speech to joke about the importance of not falling out with the Speaker.

“I want to take this opportunity also to welcome all the new members, even the ones that I profoundly disagree with,” he said. “The one piece of advice I have to give every new member here is to remember that the Speaker doesn’t just chair the meetings — he’s the boss. He is in charge of everything around this place and I would do well not to fall out with him.”

He suggested “sucking up sometimes is good” before congratulating Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his re-election.

The SDLP, like Sinn Féin, is an Irish nationalist party but they do take their seats in Westminster and Eastwood has previously sworn allegiance to the King under protest.

Another party to take a Westminster seat from the DUP was Alliance, as Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood won in Lagan Valley.

The party stands for broadly liberal values and is not designated in Northern Ireland as being either unionist or Irish nationalist.

Eastwood, the only MP for her party in this parliament, said: “My presence here demonstrates a changing, more-shared and integrating Northern Ireland, and of that in Alliance we are very proud.”

She added: “All of us in this House do owe a debt of gratitude to our constituents, I will never forget the constituents of Lagan Valley and I join with everybody in the whole House in looking forward to committing to public service for all.”

One of the MPs to win a seat from the DUP at the election was Jim Allister, the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice.

His victory was the first time he had been elected to Westminster and a first for his party. He founded it after resigning from the DUP in 2007 after they agreed to govern in Stormont with Sinn Féin.

Addressing the Speaker, he said: “With me on my best behaviour, and you at your tolerant best, I trust that we will have a mutually cordial relationship going forward. I will certainly draw upon your guidance and the experience that you bring to this House.”

Allister told the Commons he had a “very clear message” which was that “Northern Ireland’s place within this United Kingdom must be restored”. He cited areas of law in Northern Ireland which he said were “controlled by a foreign parliament”.

The process for choosing the next Conservative chairman has begun, with only two backbenchers bidding for the position on the 1922 committee.

Bob Blackman and Geoffrey Clinton-Brown were present for the hustings, along with 88 other Tories, which took place in the last hour, according to Sky News.

Once a chair of the 1922 committee is confirmed, the process for the party choosing a new leader and the timetable for this will be able to begin. Rishi Sunak has said he will step aside as leader of the opposition as soon as a replacement has been confirmed.

Whoever is elected chair is likely to have a conversation with Sunak about whether he intends to stay on during the contest or leave sooner.

One party whose representatives will not be taking part in the swearing in process is Sinn Féin.

For the first time the republican party won more Westminster constituencies than any other party in Northern Ireland. The DUP lost three seats at this election meaning they now have a total of five compared to Sinn Féin’s seven.

However, members of the latter do not take their seats in parliament because they refuse to swear allegiance to the King.

The party are calling for a referendum on Northern Ireland becoming part of the Republic of Ireland.

Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, also used his speech to welcome the re-election of Sir Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker.

He said: “We are thrilled to see you back in your seat but for those new members of parliament who have yet to understand just how this place works, some of them will learn through time that Jim Shannon needs no further encouragement.”

Hoyle had referred to Shannon in his speech earlier today during which he submitted himself for re-election.

He said: “Needless to say in this role you need staying power. I’ve already been the Speaker during the tenure of three prime ministers, two monarchs and one Jim Shannon.”

There are 264 female MPs in parliament today

HANDOUT/UK PARLIAMENT/AFP

The Westminster leader of Plaid Cymru also used her speech to hail the increasing number of women elected to this parliament saying it showed steady progress towards proper representation.

Liz Saville-Roberts said: “I am heartened that for the first time in history, the proportion of women elected here is over 40 per cent and more than half of those are new to this House. It is fantastic to see steady progress towards proper representation.”

She added: “All of us here, whether we belong to the largest parties, the smallest parties or no parties at all, we were all elected in the same way. Whatever the size of our parliamentary grouping, the principle of one vote, one value is the foundation of our democracy and that principle should be cherished and defended for the sake of all our constituents.”

Stephen Flynn, the leader of the SNP, has told the speaker that they should “let bygones be bygones” following their clash earlier this year over a vote on Gaza.

The furore in February began after Sir Lindsay Hoyle allowed a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire.

It meant Sir Keir Starmer was able to sidestep a rebellion by dozens of his MPs who would likely have voted for the SNP motion. Flynn accused Hoyle of treating his party with contempt.

Flynn told him today: “I think it’s safe to say that me and you didn’t always see eye to eye during the course of the last parliament but in politics and in life, I think it’s important to let bygones be bygones and to focus on the future.”

The SNP have seen their numbers in Westminster shrink by 39 and they now have only 9 MPs.

After Sir Keir Starmer and his cabinet have been sworn in, they are followed by the shadow cabinet. The full order for swearing in is as follows:

• Father of the House
• Cabinet ministers
• Shadow cabinet ministers
• Privy counsellors
• Other ministers
• Other members in order of seniority by length of service

Two outgoing deputy speakers have told Times Radio that mobile phones should be banned in the House of Commons chamber.

After the Labour MP Barry Gardiner’s phone started to ring in the Commons today, Dame Eleanor Laing said phones are distracting MPs from the debate.

Laing told Times Radio’s Matt Chorley: “We now allow people to bring in phones and iPads, etc. And I think that we’ll have to look at that again because what happens now is an awful lot of people come into the chamber, sit down and start playing on their phones, sending messages, etc.

“Not just a quick text to look at and then put your phone down but actually sitting there for an hour or more, not paying attention to the debate.”

Nigel Evans told Chorley that people were “obsessed with their mobile phones” and described it as “ridiculous”.

The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used his speech to say they would scrutinise the new Labour government.

His party has replaced the Scottish National Party as the third largest in the Commons following the general election with a record 72 seats.

He said: “We on these benches will hold the government to account, that is our job. We will focus on the health and care crisis, we will focus on ending the sewage scandal, we will focus on helping people with a cost of living crisis.”

Diane Abbott used her first speech as Mother of the House to welcome new MPs to parliament and to pay tribute to her predecessor Harriet Harman.

She told the 304 new members that being an elected representative in Westminster was “great job and you will never regret coming here”.

She added: “When I was a new member in 1987, there were only 40 female members of parliament. Today we have 264, and some of us are glad that we have lived to see this.

“And I can’t speak about the increased numbers of female members of parliament without referencing my predecessor Baroness Harriet Harman, who did so much work to have an equal and diverse House.”

The Reform leader Nigel Farage used his first speech in the House of Commons to criticise the former Speaker John Bercow.

Farage said the party’s five MPs were “the new kids on the block” and he said that the Speaker could be judged “from the way the outside world” saw him.

He continued: “It is pretty clear to everybody that you [Sir Lindsay Hoyle] act with great neutrality, that you have brought tremendous dignity to the role as Speaker so we absolutely endorse you entirely for this job.”

Criticising John Bercow’s time as speaker, he added: “And it is, I must say, in marked contrast to the little man that was there before you and besmirched the office so dreadfully in doing his best to overturn the biggest democratic result in the history of the country.”

Sunak said it was a “privilege to be in this House”

HANDOUT/UK PARLIAMENT/AFP

Sunak also congratulated Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his re-election as Speaker and said he had brought the House of Commons together at times of difficulty.

“That was clear when we lost our colleague Sir David Amess and I know your guidance and support for members then was greatly appreciated,” Sunak told him.

Amess was murdered at his constituency surgery in October 2021 by a knifeman who was also convicted of preparing acts of terrorism.

Referring to the election result, Sunak added: “It is a privilege to be in this House, our democracy is powerful and, as we have witnessed, it can be definitive. But I know that this House will, true to its best traditions, hold the executive to account and I know that Mr Speaker-elect will facilitate that.”

Rishi Sunak used his first speech as leader of the opposition to congratulate Sir Keir Starmer on his landslide election win.

He added: “In our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other, and whatever disputes we have in this parliament.

“I know that everyone in this House will not lose sight of the fact that we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honourably believe in.”

The prime minister also used his speech to vow he would change the political culture in Britain which he said, as he did during the election campaign, was not focused enough on serving the people.

He said: “We have the opportunity and the responsibility to put an end to a politics that has too often seemed self-serving and self-obsessed, and to replace that politics of performance with the politics of service.

“Because service is a precondition for hope and trust, and the need to restore trust should weigh heavily on every member here, new and returning alike. We all have a duty to show that politics can be a force for good.

“So whatever our political differences, it’s now time to turn the page, unite in a common endeavour of national renewal and make this parliament a parliament of service.”

Starmer also praised Dianne Abbott in his first address in the Commons as prime minister

HANDOUT PARLIAMENT

Sir Keir Starmer also congratulated the new Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh and Diane Abbott who is now Mother of the House.

He said the Speaker presided over the most diverse parliament by race and gender the country had ever seen.

“And I’m proud of the part that my party has played, proud of the part that every party has played in that,” he continued. “Including, in this intake, the largest cohort of LGBT+ MPs of any parliament in the world.

“And given all that diversity, Mr Speaker-elect, I hope you will not begrudge me for a slight departure from convention to also pay tribute to the new Mother of the House, Diane Abbott who has done so much in her career over so many years to fight for a parliament that truly represents modern Britain. We welcome her back to her place.”

The Labour Party’s decision to “scrap levelling up will be a disaster” for towns, the Conservative Party has claimed.

A Tory party spokesman argued the levelling up agenda had been “transformative for towns across the country”.

The party called on the Labour Party to rule out “clawing back £1 billion of Conservative funding from local communities for Labour politicians to spend in Westminster”.

Sir Keir Starmer has stood up to speak as prime minister in the Commons for the first time.

He began by congratulating Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his re-election.

Starmer went on to pay tribute to the “wonderful support” Hoyle provided to the former Tory MP Craig Mackinlay and his “inspiring battle to overcome his injuries from sepsis”.

He said that support was “characteristic of your profound care for the interests and welfare of all members, especially backbenchers”.

“Positive”, “optimistic”, “good faith”: these are not words that have been used much in the junior doctors’ dispute before (Chris Smyth writes).

British Medical Association leaders left the Department of Health suggesting “that we will be able to reach a resolution” after Wes Streeting said their meeting would be “an important reset moment”.

The first and most important change is that Labour are not the Conservatives. A new team of ministers is able to come in, sympathise with doctors’ grievances and years of pay erosion, and blaming it firmly on the last lot. On this, there is some immediate common ground, and after 18 months of acrimony, a change in atmosphere is not trivial.

But the harder question is how far Streeting is willing to move towards doctors’ demands for full pay restoration, and whether any signal in that direction will allow doctors to settle for far less than they have been willing to accept so far.

Weeks of painstaking negotiation lie ahead. But, perhaps for the first time, there is a sense on both sides that a deal is there to be done.

Hoyle has served as Speaker since 2019

HANNAH MCKAY/PA WIRE

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been re-elected as Speaker in the Commons.

After the vote he was dragged to the chair, as is tradition.

The process to elect a Speaker is under way.

Sir Edward Leigh, Father of the House, led a small delegation of MPs, including Diane Abbott, Mother of the House, to the House of Lords before the election of the Speaker back in the Commons.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle is expected to be re-elected before the process of swearing in MPs begins.

Parliament is sitting for the first time since the general election.

Labour MPs have taken their seats on the government benches for the first time in 14 years, while the Conservatives have swapped over to the opposition benches.

The House of Commons is crowded, with many MPs forced to stand.

A number of children have been brought ashore in Dover as migrants continued to cross the Channel on Tuesday.

On Monday, 65 people made the journey in one boat after a six-day pause in activity, making it the first crossing since Labour’s election victory.

The total number of migrants to arrive after crossing the Channel increased to 13,639 for this year so far, which has already had a record number for the first six months of a calendar year.

Nigel Farage, centre, with the other four Reform MPs: Lee Anderson, Richard Tice, Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock

TWITTER/X

Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, has said that challenging the Labour government on legislation would be “almost fruitless” due to their large majority but he promised to hold them to account.

Farage told Sky News that his party’s five MPs were “united”. “The Conservatives are officially the opposition, but they are so divided,” he said.

He added that he was “loving” being in parliament and compared today to the first day of school.

The BMA said it “bodes well” that the health secretary was interested in learning what went wrong in previous negotiations.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairman of the junior doctors committee, said they discussed some of the “road blocks” that had prevented progress in their meeting with Wes Streeting.

Dr Rob Laurenson, the other co-chairman, added that Streeting was “very interested in learning what went wrong”. “He was listening and I hope that they learn,” he added.

BMA representatives spoke about pay restoration with Wes Streeting and a multi-year pay restoration deal was “not excluded” from today’s talks.

Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chairman of the junior doctors committee, said they were “happy to talk about a timeline”.

Vivek Trivedi, the other co-chairman, added: “Our claim has never changed, how we get there is what we hope to be discussing.”

The BMA has no plans to call for strike action in the junior doctors dispute, the co-chairmen of the junior doctors committee said after a “positive” meeting with Wes Streeting.

Dr Rob Laurenson, one of the chairmen, said they were pleased to meet Streeting so soon after the election.“It signifies the urgency they are placing on resolving this dispute which of course we share,” he said.

They have agreed to meet again with Wes Streeting next week to “further discuss how we can progress”.

Laurenson added that there was no certainty about how quickly things are going to be resolved or what needs to happen for them to resolve.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, the other co-chairman, repeated that they hadn’t expected a resolution to the dispute today.

The right of politics must be brought back together as Reform and the Conservatives are caught up in a “family feud”, a Tory MP has claimed.

Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, said the Conservatives could not win a general election if their vote was “cut in half” and urged MPs to “coalesce” around a single electoral force.

Rosindell wrote on Twitter/X: “The vast majority of people in Reform are people I could work with. They are saying what Conservative voters are thinking. This divide is a family feud. That’s how I see it.”

Sir Keir Starmer has celebrated the “aspiration that runs through our party”.

Speaking to the new parliamentary Labour Party yesterday, the prime minister highlighted the fact that Angela Rayner, who is in charge of housing, was brought up in a council house, his education secretary was state-educated, and his health secretary, Wes Streeting, had relied on the NHS for his cancer treatment.

In a video of his speech shared today, Starmer said: “You are going to deliver the change this country needs. Let’s go out and write the next chapter.”

Junior doctors protested in the days before the election for the 11th time

ALAMY

The BMA is seeking “full pay restoration” for junior doctors to 2008 levels, which would be the equivalent of a 35 per cent pay increase. This could be spread over a number of years, the union has said.

Talks with the Conservative government broke down after ministers offered a 3 per cent bump to the 8.8 per cent rise that junior doctors received last summer.

Junior doctors went on strike for five days in the build-up to the general election, from June 27 until July 2. It was the 11th time they walked out since the dispute began in March.

Junior doctors from the British Medical Association have arrived for a meeting with Wes Streeting to start discussions aimed at ending strikes.

Junior doctors in England say their pay has been cut by more than a quarter over the past 15 years and have called for a 35 per cent increase. Streeting has already said that Labour cannot afford to meet that demand.

The BMA’s junior doctors’ committee has said that Labour comments about pay rises being a “journey and not an event” align with their pay restoration goals.

Dan Norris will continue to serve as West of England metro mayor as he takes up the position as Labour MP.

Norris beat Jacob Rees-Mogg in North East Somerset & Hanham at the general election but has been a metro mayor since 2021.

He was also previously an MP from 1997 until 2010 and held a junior ministerial position.

He told ITV News that he would do both jobs at least until May. “That will allow me to work out how I can do both jobs and whether that’s possible in the longer term,” he said, adding that there is precedent as many MPs are ministers.

Sir Keir Starmer’s net popularity has risen by eight points in the past week, according to a poll conducted by YouGov.

The new prime minister could soon have a positive net favourability rating, with only marginally more Britons having a negative view of Starmer (47 per cent) than a positive one (44 per cent).

Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dems leader, is the only party leader who is seen favourably by more people (34 per cent) than those who see him unfavourably (29 per cent). However, it is not all good news for Davey, as 37 per cent still do not have an opinion of him.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said he trusted party members to make the best decision about the next Tory leader

LUCY YOUNG FOR THE TIMES

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has argued that Conservative Party members must not be stripped of their vote in the upcoming leadership contest.

Speculation has swirled around Westminster that a decision could be made by the 1922 Committee to bypass party members and only have MPs choose the next leader.

Rees-Mogg told a Popular Conservatism event that “democracy must never be rolled back”.

He added: “Do you want me to tell you how hanging, drawing and quartering takes place because that is what you should do to your association chairman if he or she even thinks of voting to take away your vote.”

In a reference to MPs choosing Rishi Sunak as leader, he said: “The idea that the MPs are so wise and know better than our members, well, look who they gave us and look who the members gave us. I am with the members every time.”

Britain will not be given a refund on the £270 million paid to Rwanda for the Conservative Party’s asylum scheme, a spokesman for the Rwandan government has said.

The Labour Party immediately scrapped the scheme upon coming into government but Rwanda has said the money paid for the scheme was a “UK problem”.

Dr Doris Uwicyeza from the Rwandan ministry of justice said the country had upheld its side of the deal to help the British government.

She told the BBC World Service: “We are under no obligation to provide any refund. We will remain in constant discussions. However, it is understood that there is no obligation on either side to request or receive a refund.”

Wes Streeting arriving at No 10 with Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary

THOMAS KRYCH/ZUMA PRESS /ALAMY

Labour’s reform agenda focuses on three “big shifts” that are essential for the health care system to thrive, Wes Streeting has said.

He described the changes as a shift of patients out of hospitals into the community, a shift from a focus on treating to preventing illness, and a shift from an analogue system to one that is benefiting and driving life sciences and the medtech revolution.

Streeting added: “We did it before in terms of saving the NHS and I am more confident than ever that we can do it again.”

Wes Streeting said his previous position that Labour cannot afford junior doctors’ 35 per cent pay demand has not changed.

The health secretary said he was “optimistic” about his meeting with junior doctors this afternoon and said it was an “important reset moment” in their relationship with their government.

Streeting said Labour has been “blunt” on the 35 per cent because the party wants to be honest and show them “the respect they are due”.

He added that there were a range of issues beyond pay about how junior doctors are treated by their employer that he is “genuinely angry about”.

The principle of the NHS being free at the point of use is “worth fighting for”, the health secretary has said.

Wes Streeting said: “Free at point of use is about fairness and equity and defending a system that means when you fall ill you don’t have to worry about the bill.”

He added that a two-tier system was opening up where those who can afford it are paying to go private.

How right-wing is the new Conservative Party? The Times’s data editor Tom Calver has crunched the numbers:

Wes Streeting has said the anxiety the public feel about whether the health service will survive is a “legitimate concern” but he is “optimistic about the future of the NHS”.

He said the NHS faces “existential” challenges including a growing ageing population, rising preventable chronic disease and rising cost pressures. Long-term challenges must be addressed through the right reform decisions, he added.

Streeting said there is an “obvious mutual interest” when asked about privatisation and the NHS.

He said “the sky is the limit in terms of what this country can deliver for patients” if the “sharpest, brightest minds in life sciences and medtech” are married with the NHS model.

He added that it was “not a reductive interest where private healthcare wants to accumulate profit” nor merely about the private role in reducing the elective backlog.

Wes Streeting said the health department is “no longer simply a public services department” but an “economic growth department”.

He told a Tony Blair Institute Future of Britain event: “The health of the nation and the health of the economy are inexplicably linked.”

A Labour government recognises that getting people back to health and work “is a big contribution to growth”, he said.

The health secretary said he plans to “marry” the health and social care system with life sciences and medtech and end the “begging bowl culture” of asking the Treasury for money.

“The starting point has to be we will help you achieve your mission for growth by making sure we are with you,” he said.

Suella Braverman has criticised the Conservative Party’s record in office, arguing the party allowed immigration to “spiral out of control” and supported “farcical gimmicks” like the proposed smoking bans.

Speaking over Zoom to the Popcon event, the former home secretary started by acknowledging the scale of the party’s defeat. She said Conservatives had “lost across all types of demographics”.

Criticising the party’s missed opportunities while in government, she said: “We were going to use our Brexit freedoms to stop the waves of illegal migrants landing on our shores; we were going to cut taxes; we were going to lower overall illegal migration; we were going to stop the lunatic woke virus making its way through the British state.”

Braverman said the “harsh reality” was that the party had done “none of that” but she claimed the party had tried to pretend it had done so during the general election campaign.

She admitted the party had presided over “nonsense” such as “letting criminals out early” and had failed to provide solutions to the housing crisis.

“We talked big, we produced policy paper after policy paper, but when it came down to it we did nothing of significance on house building,” she added.

She also accused the party of not wanting to talk about immigration even when “immigration spiralled out of control”.

Wes Streeting has said government is about “negotiating trade-offs” and making the right choices with a “view to the next decade”.

Speaking at a Tony Blair Institute Future of Britain event, the health secretary drew a dividing line with Sunak’s “short-termist” government.

He said the health department has had “a lot of instability” and the churn of Tory ministers “breeds instability and indecision”.

Instead, he said: “Government is about negotiating trade-offs and making the right choices and making choices with a view to the next decade.”

The Times’s political editor Steven Swinford has told Times Radio that most people on the right are naming Robert Jenrick as their “standard bearer”.

Swinford said the party was “about to embrace a very bloody and potentially violent leadership campaign” and predicted “a turbulent few months for them or longer”.

He said the name people kept bringing up as potential new Tory leader was Priti Patel, the former home secretary who many saw as a “potential unity candidate”.

Lord Frost told a Popular Conservatism event in Westminster that those responsible for the Tories’ election loss needed to leave and an interim leader should be put in place while the leadership contest progresses.

He said: “Those who decided upon the political strategy that got us here, those who stuck to it in the face of clear evidence that it was failing, and those who then slandered and tried to kneecap their opponents in the party, they need to get off the stage as soon as possible and let the rest of us move on.”

Frost added that the party should not “immediately descend into the mud-slinging of a rushed leadership election”.

Lord Frost has said that by 2027 there can be “a single party of the right again with no competitor to its right”.

The former Brexit negotiator told a Popular Conservatism event that the Conservative Party must “get serious” about its ideas.

He rejected that this represented a shift to the “narrow right”, instead saying it was a “return to mainstream conservatism”.

Frost said the party could co-operate with Reform but added that there might be no need to do so.

Sadiq Khan led the mayors onto an electric TfL bus

MARCIN NOWAK/LNP

Mayors from across England have boarded a London bus together after meeting the prime minister.

Labour mayors, including Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, were driven in a red TfL electric bus from Downing Street to the Palestra building in Southwark for a follow-up meeting.

All those who attended this morning’s meeting at No 10 were present apart from Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley.

The Green Party has submitted a complaint to the BBC after it failed to broadcast the party’s election wins during its coverage of the general election results.

The BBC showed winning declarations from Reform candidates but the declaration of Carla Denyer, the Green Party co-leader, was not broadcast.

Nate Higgins, a Green Party councillor, has submitted an official complaint to the BBC, claiming there was “no justification” for ignoring the party’s victories.

“Inexplicably, neither the declaration in Bristol Central [Carla Denyer] or Waveney Valley [Adrian Ramsay] were broadcast, despite both being stunning gains for the Green Party’s co-leaders,” he said.

Today 411 Labour MPs will take their seats on the green benches, 231 of them for the very first time.

There are more fresh faces in the House of Commons than in any new parliament in more than 50 years, and they now make up more than a third of the country’s representatives. In some ways, it’s the most diverse parliament Westminster has ever seen.

But who are these politicians? Read the full story to find out more

Sajid Javid has welcomed the renaming of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to remove reference to “levelling up”.

Javid was secretary of state for the department when it last held the title including “local government”.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has been embroiled in a 20-month dispute with the government and Streeting is set to hold talks with its junior doctors committee for negotiations today.

This will be the first time Streeting meets the committee’s co-chairmen Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi in person.

Yesterday Streeting met Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, and frontline professionals.

It is understood that the BMA is asking for a deal which would restore junior doctors’ salaries to the level of 2008.

Jeremy Corbyn has set out another dividing line with Labour by saying the country cannot rely on the private sector to tackle the housing crisis.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced plans to build millions of homes by relaxing planning restrictions and restoring house building targets.

Suella Braverman spoke at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington DC

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

The Conservative MP Andrew Griffith has criticised Suella Braverman’s comments about the Tories, saying the time for debate was not in the immediate aftermath of a general election result.

During a speech in Washington DC at the National Conservatism Conference, Braverman attacked “liberal Conservatives” and said the decision to fly the Pride flag in her department was a “monstrous thing”.

Griffith defended the Conservative Party’s record, referencing the commissioning of the Cass Review and the decision to change the practices of the NHS prescribing puberty blockers.

He told ITV News that when feelings were “still raw and running high” was not the time for a debate but to rebuild the party’s reputation.

Suella Braverman has said Robert Jenrick was “from the left of the party” as potential Tory leadership hopefuls begin to jostle.

Over the weekend Danny Kruger, who was the organiser of Braverman’s 2022 leadership campaign, was reported to have switched his support to Jenrick.

Braverman told The Telegraph: “[Jenrick] voted for Remain in the Brexit referendum. He was a big, kind of centrist, Rishi supporter.”

But she praised Jenrick for speaking out in favour of leaving the ECHR. He resigned from his post as immigration minister in December over the Rwanda bill not going far enough.

Seven Conservative MPs are said to be considering running for the party leadership.

Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Ben Houchen and Steve Rotheram during the first meeting with regional mayors

IAN VOGLER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sir Keir Starmer was “very fresh” and “energetic”, Ben Houchen, the mayor of Tees Valley, has said after a meeting with the prime minister and other regional mayors.

Speaking to LBC, Houchen acknowledged that after 14 years the Conservative Party had become consumed by a “lot of internal fighting”.

He said: “Keir Starmer was very fresh, he was energetic, he was keen to get on with things.”

Houchen said he wanted Starmer to succeed because then “the country succeeds”, adding that he had offered the Labour leader an “olive branch”.

The five Reform MPs have arrived at parliament for their first day in the Commons.

They include Nigel Farage, the party leader, Richard Tice, the party chairman, Lee Anderson, the former Tory MP, Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock, who unexpectedly edged the contest in South Basildon & East Thurrock by 98 votes.

Reform came second in 98 seats at the general election, with 4.1 million voters supporting the party.

Louise Haigh, the secretary of state for transport, arrives at Downing Street this morning

CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/REUTERS

The transport secretary has said the department’s new motto is “move fast and fix things”.

Louise Haigh said the Department for Transport will “focus relentlessly” on improving the performance of the railways and introducing “much-needed rail reform” as she met civil servants in the department for the first time.

Labour’s “ambitious plans”, which include bringing all services into public ownership as operators’ contracts expire, will be implemented “at pace”, she pledged.

Haigh said she was proud to be “obsessed with buses” and would “give local leaders the tools to deliver better bus services”.

Sir Tony Blair spoke at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change’s Future of Britain conference

YUI MOK/PA

Sir Tony Blair has told his Future of Britain conference that the “biggest risk is not being too bold but too timid” in the age of artificial intelligence (Ed Halford writes).

The former prime minister said the task for the UK was “to be the first nation to show the full opportunity of governing in the age of artificial intelligence”.

He added that the UK was already at an advantage as it had “some of the best universities” but warned that there was a danger of losing that position.

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, arrives at No 10

LUCY NORTH/PA

Sir Keir Starmer has started hosting his second cabinet meeting as prime minister.

Key figures, including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, Louise Haigh and Liz Kendall, were seen heading into No 10 clutching folders.

Liz Kendall, secretary of state for work and pensions

CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/REUTERS

The prime minister discussed creating mayoral posts in other parts of the country during a meeting with metro mayors, according to Sadiq Khan.

The mayor of London told the PA news agency: “This morning, the prime minister [was] talking about other parts of the country where there could be mayors. That brings with it not just additional powers, but also additional resources.”

Having a regional mayor could be “a real game changer”, he added.

Wes Streeting making his way to No 10 on Saturday, his first day as a cabinet minister

ALEX MCBRIDE/GETTY IMAGES

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will meet the British Medical Association today for talks designed to end a campaign of strikes that has lasted more than a year.

The doctors’ union is expected to begin the meeting by urging Streeting to acknowledge that doctors’ pay has fallen in real terms since 2008 and accept the principle of getting it back to those levels.

Streeting has not ruled out doing so, and is thought willing to discuss the principle of pay restoration, but this is only likely to happen as part of a wider agreement.

Read the full story

General Sir Patrick Sanders warned the prime minister that the UK’s armed forces were worn down

ANDREW MATTHEWS/PA

Former military chiefs have urged Sir Keir Starmer to increase defence spending.

General Sir Patrick Sanders, the former head of the army, said that Britain’s armed forces were only able to fight a small war for no longer than a month.

The prime minister will attend a Nato summit in Washington today, his first foreign trip since the general election, where he is expected to push for Ukraine to be put on an “irreversible” path to membership. He will also speak to President Biden at the White House.

Read the full story

Angela Rayner has confirmed that the words “levelling up” are to be removed from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, where she is secretary of state.

The deputy prime minister said there will be “no more gimmicks and slogans, but the hard yards of governing in the national interest”.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said the prime minister’s plan to create a council for regions and nations was “music to my ears”.

Speaking after a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, Burnham told BBC Breakfast that under the previous government mayors were “always struggling to get heard”.

He added: “It’s a big change to the way this country is run, and a very welcome, positive change.”

A minister has defended Labour’s decision to appoint two ministers for women and equalities instead of upgrading the role to a secretary of state as pledged.

Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will hold the brief alongside Anneliese Dodds, who will also serve as minister for international development.

Jim McMahon, the communities minister, told Times Radio: “It’s for everybody around the cabinet to make sure that women are firmly part of the political agenda.”

“Both Bridget and Annelise are absolutely outstanding and will do a good job. I’m absolutely proud of the cabinet that Labour has put together in government.”

The Conservatives shouldn’t rush the process of appointing a leader as the party seeks to “demonstrate competence” in opposition, the shadow science secretary has said.

Andrew Griffith told Times Radio: “I’m afraid one of the regrettable luxuries we have now is time in opposition. So I’m in the camp that thinks we shouldn’t rush this process.

“The one thing that we have to get right today is to start that process — painful though it will be for many of us, even more painful for the many talented colleagues who didn’t make it back — of being the official opposition and holding this government to account.”

He added: “I absolutely do believe that, in a very volatile world, if we earn trust, respect and demonstrate competence in opposition there is absolutely a way back to government in the future.”

Sir Tony Blair and Sir Keir Starmer during an opening event of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change’s Future of Britain Conference on Friday

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Sir Tony Blair has insisted the government must strike a balance on immigration before a speech at his Future of Britain Conference this morning.

The former prime minister said the country felt like it was “moving again” under the new Labour government.

Asked about his comments in The Sunday Times where he advised Sir Keir Starmer to control immigration, Blair told Today on BBC Radio 4: “I think there is a centre ground that can hold, which is where people understand there are enormous benefits to immigration.

“But at the same time, I think people want controls. So this is the balance that you need to strike. And I say if you don’t have rules, you get prejudices … the most important thing is that you create a system in which people have confidence that who comes into the country is a decision, and it doesn’t just happen.”

The chief inspector of prisons has said he was “absolutely shocked” by a snap inspection of Harmondsworth immigration removal centre in February, and accused James Cleverly, the former home secretary, of not responding to his report.

Charlie Taylor told Today on BBC Radio 4: “I was absolutely shocked walking into the place. The whole place smells of cannabis. And there were detainees openly walking around smoking joints.”

His 68-page report said: “Overall, the outcomes at Harmondsworth were the worst His Majesty’s inspector of prisons has found in its immigration removal centre inspections.”

Angela Rayner’s job title is still secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities

TAYFUN SALCI/ZUMA PRESS /ALAMY

Labour believes in action, not a slogan, to fix regional inequalities, a minister has said.

Asked by LBC whether Labour still believed in levelling up, the communities minister Jim McMahon said: “We certainly believe in addressing the regional inequalities that are holding our communities and our economy back.

“But we don’t believe a slogan fixes it, we believe action fixes it, we believe building 1.5 million new homes fixes it, we believe investment in the NHS does, investment in our schools system, investment in transport and skills does.”

When questioned why Angela Rayner’s job title was still secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, McMahon replied: “Maybe the tippex has been brought out before the keyboard.”

Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, has said that a meeting of mayors at Downing Street will help give regional leaders “further tools” to grow their economies.

She told the meeting with the prime minister: “As you know, mayors have a unique understanding of their region and how they can grow their economy — that’s what we’re good at, putting more money into people’s pockets.

“And we’re here to discuss with you how we can get further tools to do that more swiftly and to help you grow the whole economy because, of course, if our regions thrive, then the country thrives.”

Parliament returns today with Labour changing sides to the government frontbench at 2.30pm to elect a Speaker.

The process begins with Sarah Clarke, the black rod, summoning MPs to the House of Lords.

Sir Keir Starmer is also set to speak at the dispatch box as prime minister.

Swearing in then begins, led by the Speaker, the father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, followed by members of Starmer’s cabinet and the opposition’s shadow cabinet.

The 643 MPs must swear an oath before the state opening of parliament on July 17.

Prisons are at “absolute breaking point”, the chief inspector of prisons has said as he urged ministers to speed up reforms.

Charlie Taylor told Today on BBC Radio 4: “We know that the prisons are at absolute breaking point when it comes to overcrowding, and ministers are going to have to take decisions very quickly … We simply won’t have enough space for the number of people that we’re locking up.”

Taylor added: “It’s the effect on prisoners as well. So many prisoners are locked up for 22 hours a day in double cells that were originally designed for one person with nothing to do, drug taking is rife, and [there is] a complete lack of purposeful activity and a sense of helplessness in many of the jails that we visit.”

The mayors pose in front of No 10

VICTORIA JONES/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

The prime minister said holding a meeting with mayors four days after he formed a government was “a real statement of intent”.

Opening the meeting, Sir Keir Starmer told mayors: “I’m a great believer in devolution, I’m a great believer in the idea that those with skin in the game – those that know their communities – make much better decisions than people sitting in Westminster and Whitehall.”

He added that there would be regular meetings with mayors, probably held around the country, and that a council for regions and nations would be set up to discuss shared challenges and opportunities.

Starmer will chair cabinet after the meeting.

Angela Rayner had been appointed as the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities

REX

The slogan “levelling up”, which was introduced by the Conservatives in 2019, will be stripped out of government departments and ministerial job titles, a minister has suggested.

It was thought Labour might keep the slogan after Angela Rayner was appointed as the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities on Friday.

But Jim McMahon, the communities minister, told BBC Breakfast that the slogan was “firmly tippexed out of the department yesterday”.

The department is now called the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, he said.

“Why that is important for me is, levelling up was only ever a slogan, it wasn’t a thing that people felt in their communities,” McMahon added.

Sir Keir Starmer will appear as prime minister in the Commons for the first time for the formal process of re-electing Sir Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker before flying to Washington tonight for Nato’s 75th anniversary (Seren Hughes writes).

The summit will be Starmer’s debut on the world stage and provide his first face-to-face meeting with President Biden.

The prime minister has said he will show his “unshakeable” support for Nato at the summit, where the war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda.

Biden will host Starmer at the White House on Wednesday, where they are expected to discuss co-operation between the US and the UK on issues such as security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, technology and climate.

The House of Commons must elect, or re-elect, its Speaker after every general election, and this is the first thing it does on the first day it meets after an election.

The public should “watch for announcements” on increased defence spending, a minister has said, adding that the government would not make “wild” commitments on public finances (Max Kendix writes).

Asked about the timetable for increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, Jim McMahon, the housing minister, told Times Radio: “There won’t be any wild spending commitments, not fully funded, that haven’t been completely reviewed.

“Those reviews are taking place at the moment. And I would just say, watch for announcements as they come out. But I totally can assure you that it’s important and I think we can get started with that intent.”

Suella Braverman spoke at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington DC

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

Suella Braverman has hit out at “liberal Conservatives” after the party’s defeat at the election (Seren Hughes writes).

The former home secretary and Tory leadership hopeful blamed the Conservatives’ failure to keep their promises for the party’s defeat.

Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington DC, she said: “We won a great majority in 2019 promising to do what the people wanted.”

The party had planned to “stop waves of illegal migrants”, cut taxes and “stop the lunatic woke virus” but did none of it, she said.

She continued: “Our problem is us. Our problem is that the liberal Conservatives who trashed the Tory party think it was everyone’s fault but their own.

“My party governed as liberals and we were defeated as liberals. But seemingly, as ever, it is Conservatives who are to blame.”

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is among dozens of regional mayors arriving at No 10

CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/REUTERS

Mayors are arriving in Downing Street before a meeting with the prime minister (Seren Hughes writes).

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool City Region, were among those to walk into No 10 before this morning’s roundtable.

Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have pledged to loosen Whitehall’s “tight grip” on big cities and regions.

Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool City Region, and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, arrive at No 10 to meet the prime minister

CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/REUTERS

The government’s relationship with regional mayors is “absolutely outstanding”, the local government minister has said as a dozen metro mayors head to Downing Street this morning (Max Kendix writes).

The mayors, including Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, will meet Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner.

Jim McMahon, the housing secretary, told Times Radio: “My experience is that the working relationships are absolutely outstanding. In the end we are all public servants. We want to represent the people who put us into power and deliver the best outcome. And I do think that for millions of people in this country, they will have a Labour council, a Labour mayor and now a Labour government.

“But we’re also clear that where there is a party of a different colour in power, whether that’s a council or even a mayor, that we will work in the national interest together to get the best outcome for local people.”