Prime Minister and Lady Starmer set off for Nato summit

Thank you for following the Telegraph’s live politics coverage. My colleague Jack Maidment will be back on Wednesday morning to take you through all of the latest developments. Here are today’s key moments:

• Sir Tony Blair warned Labour that “people want controls” on immigration
• Angela Rayner confirmed that the Tories’ “levelling up” slogan will be dropped and removed from Whitehall
• Sir Keir Starmer hailed the “most diverse Parliament by race and gender this country has ever seen” as he spoke in the Commons for the first time as Prime Minister
• Sir Lindsay Hoyle was re-elected as Speaker of the Commons
• Nigel Farage used his maiden speech in Parliament to attack John Bercow as a “little man” who “besmirched” Parliament
• He appointed five brand new MPs as ministers less than a week after they were first elected before later flying to the United States for Nato’s 75th anniversary summit
• Striking junior doctors hailed a “positive” first meeting with Wes Streeting
• Kemi Badenoch laid into Rishi Sunak over the Tories’ election disaster at the first meeting of the new Tory shadow cabinet
• Suella Braverman described her rival Robert Jenrick as a Remainer on the “Left of the party” as the pair jostled ahead of the Conservative leadership race
• Jonathan Gullis, the former deputy Tory chairman, and Lord Houchen, the Tory mayor of the Tees Valley, both spoke out against Mrs Braverman’s leadership ambitions
• Bob Blackman was appointed as Sir Graham Brady’s successor as Chairman of the 1922 Committee.
• But the election was mired in chaos after a number of Tories were incorrectly told that voting closed at 6pm, with Mark Francois demanding a re-run

Mark Francois has said the election of the 1922 Committee’s chairman must be re-done after some MPs were unable to vote.

The former junior defence minister was one of a number of Conservatives who were incorrectly told that the election would be open from 5pm until 6pm, when in reality it was only until 5.30pm.

“If they want this to be legitimate they have to re-do it,” Mr Francois told GB News.

“If this was a general election and there was a problem like this, where, say, you had a parliamentary by-election and there’d been a problem over when the polls closed, you’d re-run it.

“Not in my name, right? We cannot have a committee that can set the rules for a leadership election chaired by a man who was elected in an election that had a major irregularity in it. We just can’t do it. It’s not credible.”

MPs should be banned from using mobile phones in the House of Commons chamber, two outgoing deputy speakers have said.

Dame Eleanor Laing, in the role from 2013 until 2024, told Times Radio: “We now allow people to bring in phones and iPads, et cetera, and I think 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, et cetera.

“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. I think that’s something we do have to look at.”

Nigel Evans, who lost his seat at the election, added: “I agree with Eleanor. People are obsessed with their mobile phones. It’s ridiculous.

“They should be focusing on the debate and taking part in a parliamentary debate.”

The Conservatives must not ape Reform UK in an attempt to recover from the election defeat, James Cleverly has warned.

The shadow home secretary wrote in The Times: “There is strength in unity, and the Conservative Party has always been at its best when it embraces being a broad church.

“We lost voters to the Left and the Right, and we won’t win them all back if we narrow our offer.”

He added: “To be an effective opposition we need to be a credible opposition. We need to act as players, not as commentators.

“We should not spend the next five years just pointing at problems or shouting at Labour from the sidelines.”

Labour has appointed a “climate expert” to run a vaccine-style taskforce which will aim to deliver cheaper green energy by 2030.

Chris Stark, the former head of the UK’s climate watchdog, will lead the “mission control centre” on clean energy.

“Tackling the climate crisis and accelerating the transition to clean power is the country’s biggest challenge, and its greatest opportunity,” Mr Stark said.

“By taking action now, we can put the UK at the forefront of the global race to net zero.”

Mr Stark was head of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) for six years until January.

Sir Tony Blair has been accused of hypocrisy after urging Sir Keir Starmer to bring in immigration controls.

The former prime minister said on Tuesday that the public wanted controls on immigration, warning: “If you don’t have rules you get prejudices.”

It followed his call on Sunday for the new Labour Government to consider introducing digital ID cards to help control immigration.

However, Sir Tony came under fire from senior Tory MPs, who claimed his demand for controls sat uneasily with his tenure in power, when net migration increased fivefold from 48,000 to 273,000 between 1997 and 2007.

Read the full story from Charles Hymas, Dominic Penna and Jack Maidment here.

The Conservatives need to “get our act together”, James Cleverly has said.

The shadow home secretary warned the party not to indulge in “bitter infighting and finger pointing” and called for a “sensible post-mortem on what went wrong” in the election campaign.

“We should not spend the next five years just pointing at problems or shouting at Labour from the sidelines,” he wrote in The Times.

Mr Cleverly added: “We must get our act together. We need to unite in order to deliver. It will take humility and hard work, to recover our reputation for competence and integrity, to rebuild trust in our party, and unite behind a broad platform that will give people a reason to vote Conservative again.

“We must do this, for the sake of our party and country, so we can put ourselves in the best possible position to win the next general election and once again deliver for the British people.”

Mark Francois has blamed Rishi Sunak for the Conservatives’ heavy general election defeat, saying the ex-Prime Minister “led the party to disaster”.

Asked on Sky News if he blamed Mr Sunak for the loss, Mr 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 added: “This was a mad decision taken by six people in the bunker and we’ve seen the result. Ultimately the buck stops with Rishi, he led the party to disaster.”

Bob Blackman has said he will ensure Tory members have the final say in who becomes the next party leader.

The new chairman of the 1922 Committee told TalkRadio: “Absolutely. One of the things I’ve said, and I’ve said it openly to colleagues and I’ve said it openly to the party board yesterday, that if I’m elected chairman – and now I have been – I’m absolutely determined to make sure that party members get the final say over the election of the party leader.

“We cannot have a position whereby it is dictated to by MPs. Our members are our most precious commodity who support us as MPs and it’s absolutely right that they should have the say.”

Jonathan Ashworth has been named the new director of an influential moderate Labour think-tank after losing his seat at the election.

The former shadow cabinet minister was ousted by a pro-Gaza independent in Leicester South and will now succeed Josh Simons, the new Labour MP for Makerfield, as director of Labour Together.

“Over the last decade, Labour Together has played a vital role in advancing progressive politics and helping Labour to return to power,” Mr Ashworth said.

“With Labour now in government, Labour Together will continue to generate the bold ideas needed for Labour to transform Britain for the better and win a second term. I can’t wait to get started.”

Sir Keir Starmer and his wife have set off to the United States for his first international visit as Prime Minister.

Sir Keir and Lady Starmer held hands as they boarded a jet taking them to Washington DC for Nato’s 75th anniversary summit.

The Prime Minister will meet Joe Biden and other Western leaders in person for the first time since winning the election.

Speaking to broadcasters before the flight, Sir Keir said Labour’s strategic defence review would “come first” before an announcement on when the proportion of GDP spent on defence will reach the promised level of 2.5 per cent.

“I am committed to that 2.5 per cent within our fiscal rules,” he said. “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 send a very, very clear message to Putin that we will stand against Russian aggression wherever it is in the world.”

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed five brand new MPs as ministers less than a week after they were first elected.

Georgia Gould, MP for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale, was made parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, while Alistair Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, has been appointed veterans’ minister.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, the MP for Peckham, is the new parliamentary under-secretary in the department for energy security and net zero, and Sarah Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, is the new solicitor-general.

Kirsty McNeill, a former adviser to Gordon Brown and the new MP for Midlothian, is parliamentary under-secretary in the Scotland Office.

Elsewhere, Jess Phillips, formerly a shadow Home Office minister, is now the parliamentary under-secretary in the Home Office.

Conservative MPs have been left furious after the election of the new chairman of the 1922 Committee was mired in chaos.

Bob Blackman won the contest to succeed Sir Graham Brady, who stood down as an MP at the election, as chairman of the influential Tory backbench committee by 61 votes to Sir Geoffrey Clinton Brown’s 37.

But a number of Tory MPs missed the vote after being incorrectly told that it closed at 6pm – not 5.30pm as was actually the case.

Mark Francois, a former defence minister, stormed out of the meeting after missing the vote, shouting that the contest was “bent”.

After being announced as the winner, Mr Blackman said: “I am delighted that we can start rebuilding our parliamentary party so we can go fighting into the next general election as a party of government.”

Mr Blackman has been MP for Harrow East since 2010 and served as executive secretary of the 1922 Committee since 2012.

A Conservative MP has shouted, “This election was bent” as he stormed out of the 1922 Committee after missing the vote on its next chairman, writes Dominic Penna.

Mark Francois, who appeared furious, said MPs had been told in an email they could vote between 5pm and 6pm – when it was actually between 5pm and 5.30pm.

“I think the 1922 Committee’s level of competence has reached a new low,” he said. “This was bent.”

The Telegraph understands two separate texts were sent, one by the whips, saying voting was between 5pm and 6pm, and another by the presiding officer, saying voting closed at 5.30pm.

Jeremy Hunt has missed the vote for the new chairman of the 1922 Commitee, reports Dominic Penna.

The shadow chancellor opened the door to room 14 on committee corridor only to reappear seconds later and exclaim: “Oh, I missed the vote!”

The NHS “begging bowl culture” must end and the health service must instead focus on making the country money by getting people back to work, the new Health Secretary has declared.

Wes Streeting said it was time to “rethink” the role of the NHS as he vowed to tackle the worklessness crisis and deliver growth to the economy.

In his first public appearance since being appointed Health and Social Care Secretary, Mr Streeting said the NHS and Treasury would work in “lockstep” to reduce the almost three million people on long-term sick leave and boost the economy.

He pledged his new department would “no longer be a public services department”, but would become “an economic growth department”, a day after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, outlined her plans to grow Britain’s economy.

“It’s a rethinking of the role of the department,” he told the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain conference on Tuesday. “It means ending the begging bowl culture, where the only interaction the Treasury has with the Department of Health is ‘We need more money for X, Y and Z’.

Read the full story from Health Correspondent Michael Searles here.

The leaders of striking junior doctors have hailed a “positive” first meeting with Wes Streeting.

The new Health Secretary has vowed to end the strikes that have crippled the NHS since they first started in 2022.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, the co-chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors’ committee, said: “The meeting today was positive and we’ve already agreed to meet again next week with the Secretary of State to further discuss how we can progress.”

Dr Robert Laurenson, the other co-chairman, said: “This was a positive first step, but that’s all it was the first step. There’s much more meat that needs to be added to the bones before we’re going to be able to come out with any sort of agreement.

“Now it’s just down to the Government to be able to come up with a credible offer through the series of negotiations that we’re about to go into.”

A former Conservative minister has said the Conservatives need a longer leadership contest to have a “long, hard look in the mirror”, reports Dominic Penna.

Asked if he wanted a long contest, George Freeman said: “Yep, I think we should take a long hard look in the mirror.”

The former junior science minister remarked on how “empty” the Commons is of Conservatives compared to when he was a new MP in 2010.

Asked who he was backing to become the new 1922 Committee chairman, he joked: “I’m certainly not going to tell you.”

The “era of culture wars” is over, Lisa Nandy has declared.

The new Culture Secretary told civil servants at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on Tuesday that Britain had become more divided in the last few years.

“In recent years we’ve found multiple ways to divide ourselves from one another,” she said. “And lost that sense of a self-confident, outward looking country which values its own people in every part of the UK.

“Changing that is the mission of this department. The era of culture wars is over.”

A Northern Irish MP has claimed his “true allegiance” is not to the King but to the “people of Ireland” as he was sworn in.

Colum Eastwood, the MP for Foyle and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), chose to make a solemn affirmation rather than swear on oath on the Bible.

“I’ll read out this empty formula in order to represent my constituents but it’s under protest,” he said.

“I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.

“My true allegiance is to the people of Derry and the people of Ireland.”

The Telegraph understands that only two candidates have put themselves forward to be the new chairman of the 1922 Committee, reports Amy Gibbons.

An MP attending this afternoon’s hustings said Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bob Blackman were the only MPs to throw their hats into the ring. The deadline for submissions was 3pm today and the result is expected by 7pm.

The MP said the message from both contenders had been “basically the same” – to “rebuild” and “reunite”.

At the hustings, which are currently underway in Parliament, the candidates are separately taking questions from MPs.

Tory backbenchers will then vote on who they want to be committee chairman, before electing a new executive as well.

Sir Keir Starmer hailed the “most diverse Parliament by race and gender this country has ever seen” as he spoke in the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister earlier today.

“Mr Speaker-elect you preside over a new Parliament, the most diverse Parliament by race and gender this country has ever seen,” he said.

“And I’m proud of the part that my party has played, proud of the part that every party has played in that.

“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 Conservatives will be “in opposition for generations to come” if Suella Braverman becomes the next party leader, Lord Houchen has said.

The Tees Valley Mayor told Times Radio: “I also think if the Conservative Party decides to go down the route of somebody like Suella Braverman, then we can absolutely see ourselves in opposition for generations to come.

“The road of redemption for the Conservative party can be as long or as short as we wish to make it. And the idea that we should be more rightwing – that is not the Conservative party that I recognise, and I absolutely wouldn’t support that. She, before the leadership contest has even started, has shot herself in the foot.”

He added: “Suella Braverman could make her case if she wants to put herself forward for leadership. I think she’ll fail. I think it’s not something that the Conservative Party will entertain.”

A Labour MP has announced a bid to become a Deputy Speaker of the Commons.

Sharon Hodgson, the MP for Washington and Gateshead South, said that, if elected, she would “take my duties in the chair extremely seriously, with unquestionable impartiality”.

There are three Deputy Speakers, all of whom are elected following the swearing-in of the Speaker.

The previous Deputy Speakers have all not returned to the Commons. Dame Eleanor Laing and Dame Rosie Winterton stood down at the election, while Tory Nigel Evans lost his seat to Labour.

Angela Rayner was filmed earlier today that she has lost track of what day of the week it is following Labour’s landslide election victory.

She made the remarks in conversation with Lord Houchen, the Tory mayor of the Tees Valley, at a Downing Street function attended by England’s metro mayors.

Lindsay Hoyle has now been formally sworn in as Speaker, making the oath of allegiance.

He was followed by Sir Edward Leigh, the father of the House, and Diane Abbott, the mother of the House.

Sir Keir Starmer followed suit, choosing to make an affirmation rather than swearing on the Bible. Angela Rayner, his deputy, swore on the Bible.

Colum Eastwood, the leader of Northern Ireland’s Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), joked that new MPs should not fall out with the Speaker.

It came after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, sat behind Mr Eastwood, elicited groans when he described Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s predecessor John Bercow as a “little man”.

The SDLP leader said: “I want to take this opportunity also to welcome all the new members, even the ones that I profoundly disagree with. 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 be it not to fall out with him.”

The European Union’s “control” of 300 “areas of law” in Northern Ireland must be brought to an end, a new loyalist MP has declared.

Jim Allister, the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), told the Commons that “Northern Ireland’s place within this United Kingdom must be restored”.

“We must end the partitioning of our kingdom by a foreign border, and we must end a situation where 300 areas of law in Northern Ireland are not controlled by this House, not controlled by Stormont, but controlled by a foreign Parliament, that is an appalling constitutional affront,” he said.

Mr Allister defeated the DUP’s Ian Paisley Jr in North Antrim on July 4, making him the first person not from the Paisley family to represent the seat since 1970, when Ian Paisley was first elected.

Tim Sigsworth here, taking over from my colleague Jack Maidment for the rest of the day.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has welcomed new members to the Commons.

He said: “I wish to begin by welcoming all new members to the chamber, in particular those members from Scottish constituencies.

“There’s probably a few more new members from Scottish constituencies than I would like to have seen, but I do look forward to working constructively with you to deliver in the best interests of the people that we are all so fortunate to represent.”

Referring to disagreements with speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle over the SNP’s opposition day debate on Gaza during the last Parliament, Mr Flynn said: “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.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomed Sir Lindsay Hoyle and told the Commons his party would hold the Government to account.

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.”

On his general election campaign stunts, Sir Ed said: “Mr Speaker-elect has always been a real champion for the security and safety of all members and all our staff as well as looking after our health and welfare. We are grateful to you for doing that.

“Sir, just yesterday, you asked after my health following my active campaign and the House may be interested to know that after I reassured you about my health you expressed real enthusiasm about bungee jumping.”

Labour’s Diane Abbott described the work of an MP as a “great job”, as she welcomed the new members to Parliament and celebrated the increased number of women in the House.

Speaking for the first time as Mother of the House, the longest serving female MP, she told the Commons: “I would also like to congratulate the 304 new members of Parliament, who entered Parliament after this election and say to them, it is a great job and you will never regret coming here.

“I would also like to congratulate the officers of the House who have organised such a meticulous and careful induction, I remember when I was a new MP, they just gave you a bunch of keys and told you to get on with it.”

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 to work to have an equal and diverse House.

“We are going into very tumultuous times, and historically, this House has played a role in these events both nationally and internationally. And I’m sure it will be the same going forward, and we will be presided over in the excellent way of the speaker elect.”

Ms Abbott congratulated Sir Lindsay Hoyle on being re-elected as Speaker, adding: “He has never failed to serve with grace and expertise and fairness.”

Nigel Farage said Reform UK are the “new kids on the block” in the House of Commons as he used his first speech to criticise the former speaker John Bercow. 

The Reform leader said: “We can’t judge you from working in this place but we can judge you from the way the outside world sees you. 

“I don’t just mean the United Kingdom, I mean the world, because Prime Minister’s Questions time is global box office politics and 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.

“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.” 

Rishi Sunak repeated his apology to defeated Tory candidates. 

The outgoing Tory leader told the House of Commons: “It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds so now we will take up the crucial role of His Majesty’s Official Opposition, professional, effectively and humbly.

“Restoring trust begins by remembering that being here is an opportunity to do what those we serve expect of us.” 

Rishi Sunak congratulated Sir Keir Starmer on Labour’s general election victory as he delivered his first comments a Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. 

Mr Sunak said: “Can I start by congratulating the Prime Minister on his election victory and as he takes on his formidable task he and his family deserve the good wishes of all of us in this House.

“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 may 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.” 

Sir Keir Starmer urged all MPs to “unite in a common endeavour of national renewal” as he spoke in the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister. 

He told MPs: “Now, as in any new Parliament, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to put an end to a politics that has too foften 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 is now time to turn the page, unite in a common endeavour of national renewal and make this new Parliament a Parliament of service.” 

Sir Keir Starmer is now speaking in the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister in the House of Commons. 

The Labour leader started by congratulating Sir Lindsay Hoyle on being appointed Commons Speaker. 

He then paid tribute to Labour MP Diane Abbott. 

He said: “Mr Speaker-elect you preside over a new Parliament, the most diverse Parliament by race and gender this country has 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. 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.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been re-elected as Commons Speaker after a unanimous vote by MPs. 

Sir Lindsay is now being playfully “dragged” to the Speaker’s chair by two MPs, as is tradition. 

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has confirmed he will put himself forward to be Commons Speaker again. 

The Labour MP told the chamber: “There is so much more still to do.”

He told MPs he would seek to be their “champion”. 

Nigel Farage has managed to find a seat in the House of Commons. 

The Reform UK leader is sat on the back row of the opposition benches, in between the Tories and the Lib Dems. 

He was also sat close to a number of pro-Palestine independent MPs. 

Sir Edward Leigh, who as the longest serving MP is the Father of the House, is now leading the delegation of MPs back from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. 

He will then preside over proceedings as MPs elect a Speaker. 

A handful of MPs made the short walk to the House of Lords, as is tradition, to hear the King’s invitation to reopen Parliament. 

The King’s message was read out and MPs were told that their first order of business will be to elect a Speaker. 

Reform MPs struggled to get a seat in the House of Commons when Parliament returned to work earlier this afternoon for the first time since the general election.

The Commons was crowded for the formal reopening at 3pm and some Reform MPs had to stand at the bar in the Commons as proceedings got underway.

But Nigel Farage did manage to find a seat as he perched on the back row of the opposition benches in between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Farage was sitting two seats away from a pair of newly-elected pro-Gaza independents.

The first order of business for the new-look chamber was to elect a Speaker, with Sir Lindsay Hoyle returned to the role following a unanimous vote.

Labour MPs are all sat on the government benches while the Tory opposition are sat directly opposite. Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, is sat on the frontbench in the space normally occupied by the third largest party. 

It looks like Nigel Farage and his fellow Reform MPs will be in the chamber when proceedings get underway in the House of Commons this afternoon but they may not be able to get a seat: 

The House of Commons will return for the first time since the general election just after 2.30pm this afternoon as MPs are asked to elect a Speaker. 

All eyes will be on where Nigel Farage and his four Reform colleagues choose to sit. 

Labour will be on the government benches and the Tories should be directly opposite but there has been some speculation Reform could try to sit on the frontbench traditionally occupied by the third largest party which today would be the Lib Dems. 

We don’t have long to wait to find out. 

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said he wanted to see the “conservative family” reunited when asked if he would like to see Reform’s five MPs become a part of the Conservative Party. 

He told ITV: “I would like to reunite the conservative family, whether that means that they are formally part of the Conservative Party, or you have some arrangement as we did with the Liberal Unionists, I don’t know. 

“But that depends on us having the right policies.”

The former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party said the Tories must have a new leader in place before the Labour government delivers its first Budget. 

Jonathan Gullis, who lost his seat at the general election, tweeted: “I believe we must have our new leader and their team in place before Labour’s first budget. We do not want our Party Conference to be televised showing disunity. 

“We have important local elections to contest next May and we need to be ready!”

The Budget is normally held in the autumn. Tory conference is scheduled to take place at the end of September.  

Lord Frost used his speech at the Popular Conservatism event in Westminster today to call for an interim leader of the Conservative Party to avoid a rush to find Rishi Sunak’s replacement. 

Telegraph readers have been weighing in on the idea in the comments section of today’s live blog: 

The Conservatives and Reform UK are caught up in a “family feud” and the Right must be brought back together, a Tory MP has urged.

Andrew Rosindell warned his party cannot win a general election “if our vote is cut in half” and urged conservative politicians to “coalesce” around a single electoral force.

The Tories now have just 121 MPs after an election in which their prospects were dealt a major blow by the rise of Reform, which outflanked them on the Right on migration and tax.

You can read the full story here.

The Health Secretary said he is “optimistic” ahead of talks with junior doctors aimed at ending their long-running dispute over pay.

Wes Streeting said the talks mark an “important reset moment” in relations between the Government and junior doctors in England.

Medics from the British Medical Association (BMA) are due to meet Department of Health and Social Care officials on this afternoon to start discussions with a view to ending strikes which have been causing widespread disruption across the health service.

Speaking at the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain Conference 2024, Mr Streeting said: “I’m seeing the junior doctors this afternoon, they are coming into the Department of Health. I know they’re coming in not just from my diary, but from the army of cameras and journalists currently stationed outside the department.”

Asked if he was optimistic about the talks, he said: “Optimistic? Yes.”

Britain will not get any refund on the £270 million paid to Rwanda for the Conservatives’ asylum scheme, Kigali has said after the new Labour government scrapped the programme.

Dr Doris Uwicyeza Picard, from the Rwandan ministry of justice, said the country had upheld its side of the deal to help the British Government deal with what was a “UK problem”.

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.”

You can read the full story here. 

Conservative Party members must not be stripped of their role in choosing the Tory leader, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said. 

There has been speculation that Tory members could lose their vote, with MPs being given sole responsibility for choosing the leader instead. 

But Sir Jacob warned against such a move as he told a Popular Conservatism event: “If any of you belong to Conservative associations, bear in mind that rule can only be changed if Conservative association chairmen agree to it. 

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

“Democracy must never be rolled back and 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.”

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Tories now “have no power”. 

The former business secretary who lost his seat said this was illustrated by Rishi Sunak’s shadow cabinet appointments yesterday. He said the reshuffle “doesn’t matter”. 

“We must not assume that we just come back automatically,” he added as he addressed a Popular Conservatism event in Westminster. 

The Conservative Party has been too “weak” and “squeamish” on tackling immigration and voters no longer trust the Tories on the issue of border control, according to Suella Braverman. 

The former home secretary told a PopCon summit in Westminster: “We need to restore credibility on the core Conservative policies that unite all of us when it comes to being members of this great party. 

“We need credibility on immigration. No longer have we been trusted to control and lower immigration because we have been weak, we have been squeamish and we have failed to tackle this very pressing concern amongst the British people.” 

Mrs Braverman said the Tories should pledge to quit the European Convention on Human Rights and to scrap the Human Rights Act. 

Suella Braverman said the Reform UK “phenomenon” was all the fault of the Tories. 

The former home secretary said Reform posed an “existential threat” to the Conservative Party. 

She told a PopCon event: “The level of catastrophe was aggravated by the fact that Reform emerged on the political landscape as a phenomenon. To my mind the Reform phenomenon was entirely predictable and avoidable and all our own fault. 

“It’s no good denigrating Reform voters, it’s no good smearing the Reform party...” 

Suella Braverman claimed Rishi Sunak’s programme in government could have been “quite happily” adopted by the new Labour administration. 

Mrs Braverman accused the former prime minister of focusing on “farcical gimmicks”. 

She told the PopCon summit: “What we mostly did after 2022 when Rishi Sunak was prime minister was to roll out a programme that our new Labour Government today could quite happily adopt and probably will. 

“On migration, on taxation, on the size of the state, on issues to do with politically correct nonsense in the public sector and indeed the corporate private sector.

“There were farcical gimmicks like proposed smoking bans applied to people depending on what year you were born. There was more and more regulation that we were passing on businesses, on housing and development.” 

Suella Braverman described the general election as a “battle royale” and said she was thankful to have been re-elected. 

Addressing a PopCon event in Westminster via videolink from Washington DC, the former home secretary said: “These are dark days for us, we have just had a devastating result, we have lost a lot of good MPs, a lot of good Conservatives...”

Making the Conservative Party “recognisably conservative” is the only way to win back voters, Lord Frost has argued. 

He called for a Tory “return to mainstream conservatism” and said the party must turn away from trying to be “all things to all men”. 

The former Brexit minister said: “We are perilously close to taking some bad decisions which could end up wrecking this party for good.” 

Lord Frost said the Conservative Party should have an interim leader to provide enough time for a proper leadership contest. 

The Tory peer told a Popular Conservatism event: “The first thing is to get serious. What does that mean? It means not immediately descending into the mudslinging of a rushed leadership election. 

“I can’t see why we shouldn’t have an interim leader and time to debate things properly.”  

Lord Frost said the architects of the Tories’ general election defeat needed to “get off the stage as soon as possible”. 

He told a PopCon summit in Westminster: “Those who decided upon the political strategy that got us here, those who stuck to it in the face of clear evidence 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.” 

Lord Frost said the Conservative Party is in a “moment of calamity” after being crushed at the general election. 

The Tory former Brexit minister told the PopCon summit in Westminster: “We meet today at a moment of calamity for the Conservative Party. As others have said, we have just had our worst result for over 100 years. 

“We lost over half of our 2019 votes and two-thirds of our seats. And worse, we have to sit and watch while Laboiuruse the levers of government that we failed to use.

“And I am afraid we have to accept the painful reality that for the time being nobody out there is that much interested in what we think.” 

The House of Commons will convene for the first time since the general election this afternoon with one main task: to elect a Speaker. 

The Commons will sit from 2.30pm and MPs will be asked who they want to preside over the chamber. 

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the incumbent, is expected to indicate that he wants to continue in the role. It is not yet clear if there will be a challenger but it feels unlikely. 

The long process of swearing in MPs will then start after the Speaker is chosen.

The Green Party has complained to the BBC after claiming the broadcaster did not cover any of its victory declarations at the general election.

Four Green candidates were successful last Thursday, with co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay winning in Bristol Central and Waveney Valley.

The party also held Brighton Pavilion, formerly represented by Caroline Lucas, while gaining North Herefordshire from the Conservatives.

But none of the party’s victories were broadcast live by the BBC, Nate Higgins, the Greens’ democracy and citizen engagement spokesman, said, prompting him to launch a formal complaint.

You can read the full story here. 

Suella Braverman has described her rival Robert Jenrick as a “centrist Rishi supporter” and a Remainer on the “Left of the party”, as the pair jostled ahead of the Conservative leadership race.

The former home secretary set out her stall in a speech in Washington last night, in which she called for the Conservatives to provide a “credible” offer to Reform UK voters and abandon “liberal conservatism” under Rishi Sunak.

No candidates have yet announced they are running for the leadership, but Mrs Braverman, Mr Jenrick and several other Tory MPs are expected to compete for Mr Sunak’s job when he stands down later this year.

You can read the full story here. 

David Starkey, the prominent historian, suggested Sir Keir Starmer is like a “junior Gordon Brown”. 

Addressing this morning’s Popular Conservatism event in Westminster, Mr Starkey said: “It is vital to recognise Starmer is not very clever, he is a little bit like a junior Gordon Brown and like Gordon Brown he is very thin-skinned.

“Humour, wit, cleverness, fleetness of foot, needling, will get that man.” 

Sir Keir Starmer has just welcomed Labour’s 37 Scottish MPs to Downing Street. 

The Prime Minister met the party’s Scottish contingent in the street to pose for photographs before leading them inside.

The director of the Popular Conservatism group said the Conservative Party was “in danger of replicating the centralised, detached, arrogant and unresponsive practices and structures that have become endemic in the state itself”.  

Mark Littlewood said: “The man in Whitehall knows best is mirrored by the man in CCHQ knows best.”

Mr Littlewood also said that Reform’s rise and performance at the general election had effectively been the “fault” of the Conservative Party after it “vacated” political territory which Nigel Farage moved into. 

Mark Littlewood, the director of the Popular Conservatism group, said the general election had been “brutal” for the Conservative Party. 

Addressing the PopCon event in Westminster this morning, Mr Littlewood said that “looking back now we could all feel it on the doorstep”. 

Mr Littlewood said dozens of Tory candidates were “swept away” at the election and many good constituency MPs had been “blown away in the hurricane”. 

He said there “could be a very long march back to power” for the Tories. 

My colleague Dominic Penna is at the Popular Conservatism event in Westminster this morning and he reports that there are a couple of hundred people there: 

While the back nine rows of the hall have been sealed off, there is no shortage of enthusiasm as attendees chat away ahead of speeches from Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lord Frost and Suella Braverman.

Mrs Braverman, the former home secretary, is in the United States but will be appearing via video link.

The Popular Conservatism group is holding a post-general election event in Westminster this morning. 

The event is called “Beginning the Rebuild” and speakers are expected to include Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Suella Braverman. 

The event should be getting underway imminently and I will guide you through the key contributions. 

Lord Ben Houchen, the sole Tory regional mayor who attended this morning’s meeting in No 10, said he also had a 15-minute private meeting with Sir Keir Starmer.

The Tees Valley mayor told the BBC: “He was very keen to impress upon me that he wanted to put the country first, he wanted to work with me irrespective of party politics to get things done, to deliver on his growth agenda.

“I was also very clear with him, I have always said I would work with anybody if it is going to help me deliver for the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

Lord Houchen added he hoped the relationship with the Labour Government could become a “constructive” one, with Sir Keir “true to his word” on plans to deliver on growth.

Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, said her department’s new motto is “move fast and fix things”.

Ms Haigh declared she wanted to “change the way our country runs” as she met civil servants in the Department for Transport (DfT) for the first time in her new role.

The Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley said: “It will take all our effort but the new motto of our department, our purpose, is simple: move fast and fix things.

“Our department is so clearly central to achieving the missions for Government that the Prime Minister has committed us to.”

Sir Tony Blair said the gains from successfully adopting artificial intelligence and other associated technologies would be of a “very significant magnitude”. 

He told an event at the Tony Blair Institute this morning: “Nothing else can come close in terms of turbo charging growth and restoring public finances.” 

Sadiq Khan said Sir Keir Starmer discussed “other parts of the country where there could be mayors” during a meeting with regional leaders at No 10 this morning.

Mr Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, said: “What I want other parts of the country who have not got a mayor to know is that having a mayor can be a real game changer.”

He added: “We heard this morning, the Prime Minister talking about other parts of the country where there could be mayors. That brings with it not just additional powers, but also additional resources as well.”

Sir Tony Blair argued the development of artificial intelligence and associated technologies will be the one true “game changer” in the coming years when it comes to boosting economic growth. 

He said the UK must harness the 21st Century “technological revolution”. 

The former prime minister said that “there is no doubt this is an era of transformation” and the main risks would come from “not being too bold, but too timid”. 

Sir Tony Blair is delivering a speech at an event hosted by his think tank this morning. 

Speaking at the Tony Blair Institute: Future of Britain event, the former prime minister said “I don’t think there has ever been a better time to govern”, nor has there ever been a “surer basis and reason for hope”. 

He said the world is about to undergo a huge change and the UK’s success will be based on “how we use that change to change our country”. 

Angela Rayner has confirmed the Labour Government is dropping the Tories’ “levelling up” slogan and removing it from Whitehall.  

Jim McMahon, the communities minister, firmly suggested the move was on the cards earlier this morning (see the post below at 07.55). 

Ms Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has now confirmed her department will no longer have “levelling up” in its name. 

Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, has welcomed the Government’s plans to create a “council for regions and nations”.

Speaking after a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer in No 10 this morning, Mr Burnham told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “That is honestly music to my ears. People may remember some interactions I had with previous governments. It was always struggling to get heard and struggling to get our perspective in the North understood in Whitehall.

“To have a council of the regions and nations meeting regularly just means we can be sure that the voice of Greater Manchester, of the North of England is heard at the heart of Whitehall on an ongoing basis.

“It’s a big change to the way this country is run and it’s a very welcome change… As I look back to ’97, when Labour came into government last time, this is such a step forward from there to have an infrastructure across all of the parts of England to deliver the homes and better infrastructure that people need.”

Reform UK’s five MPs have arrived at Parliament. 

They paused by the St Stephens Entrance for photographs, but made no statement.

One photographer shouted “have fun”, to which party chairman Richard Tice replied: “We will.”

Andrew Griffith, the shadow science minister, said it is likely to take “months” before the Conservatives choose a new leader.

When asked how long it will take to find a replacement for Rishi Sunak, Mr Griffith told Sky News: “I don’t know. Probably months, not years. But equally I don’t think we’re going into a conclave this afternoon and waiting for white smoke to emerge.

“I think we’ve got the ability to take that time. It’s also really important to me that we involve the membership of the Conservative Party properly.

“With only 121 Conservative Members of Parliament, most party members are not represented at the moment by their own Member of Parliament and so it’s important that we have a very inclusive process that does speak to all of the membership.”

Sir Tony Blair said people should not “deny” biology and he believed the Labour Government “will be in the correct position” on transgender issues. 

The former prime minister was asked about JK Rowling’s criticism of Anneliese Dodds, the newly appointed minister for women and equalities. 

Ms Rowling, Martina Navratilova and other feminist campaigners attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Ms Dodds after she said in the past that there are many definitions of a woman.

Sir Tony told the BBC this morning: “Personally I think the Labour Party will be in the correct position on this and Keir Starmer has made that pretty clear so I don’t…”

It was suggested to the former Labour premier that he would have been comfortable embracing Ms Rowling politically and he replied: “I have always had a high regard for JK Rowling and I think that this is absolutely, it is important just to distinguish between trying to treat people fairly when they have a genuine feeling that they are a person who feels that even that biologically they are one sex that they really want to be another, we should absolutely be sensitive to that and treat people fairly. 

“But we shouldn’t end up in a situation where we deny the biology. I don’t understand how that really helps people that are suffering from what is otherwise a condition that is extremely difficult for them.”

Sir Tony Blair has warned Sir Keir Starmer that “people want controls” on immigration. 

The former prime minister was asked about a recent warning he made about the threat posed by Reform UK to the Labour Party. 

Sir Tony told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I think it is very clear that on immigration I think there is a centre ground that can hold which is where people understand there are enormous benefits to immigration, and by the way a lot of what we are talking about, these great AI innovations, look at the people leading them, many of them are immigrants into this country. 

“But at the same time I think people want controls. So this is the balance that you need to strike because as I say, if you don’t have rules you get prejudices.” 

Asked if he was convinced by Labour’s immigration plan, Sir Tony said: “I think what they are doing on border control and so on, if they can make it effective, will make a huge difference.” 

Any country that does not embrace artificial intelligence and other new technologies as a key part of the future of public services will be “left behind”, Sir Tony Blair warned this morning. 

The former prime minister told the BBC: “Just as any company that doesn’t embrace this revolution is likely to get left behind, any country that does not embrace it will also be left behind.”   

Sir Tony Blair argued that harnessing artificial intelligence could be the key to delivering long-term strong economic growth in the UK. 

He said he believed Britain was in “third place for AI globally”. 

The former prime minister said that “we have enormous strengths but we have got to build those strengths” and that will require a modern industrial policy.

Sir Tony Blair said the new Labour Government had made a “fabulous start”. 

The former prime minister told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he felt the “country is now moving again and that is a great thing”.

Andrew Griffith, the shadow science minister, said he is optimistic the Conservatives can find a way back to government.

When asked if his party could be back in power in five years, Mr Griffith told Times Radio: “This Government’s victory is a victory but it was elected with one of the lowest vote shares in history.

“There were lots of dynamics as to how that happened. 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 Keir Starmer said the timing of today’s meeting with the nation’s elected mayors was a “real statement of intent”. 

The Prime Minister is holding talks with devolved leaders in No 10 this morning and he told them he is a “great believer in devolution”. 

Opening the meeting after pledging to loosen Whitehall’s control over big cities and regions, the Prime Minister told the mayors present: “Having this meeting four days after I was invited by the King to form a government is a real statement of intent.”

Sir Keir added: “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.

“We will do regular meetings, probably around the country, because I think it’d be good to do it in different areas.”

The “levelling up” slogan will be stripped out of government departments and ministerial job titles, Jim McMahon has indicated.

The communities minister was asked by BBC Breakfast this morning if the slogan - widely used in Whitehall when the Tories were in power - would remain a part of his job title.

He replied: “No, it was firmly Tippexed out of the department yesterday, so we are now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

“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.”

After adding that it was also important to ensure local government was included in the department’s title, he said: “It is a reshaping of the department. It is a refocus, but frankly it is also just grown up politics.”

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said it is a “political myth” that the Conservative Party only wins general elections from the political centre ground.

The former business secretary said the last 50 years had shown the Conservative Party “does well when it is Conservative”.

He told GB News: “Now some people keep on saying that the Conservatives will only win from the centre, but this is not true. In fact, it’s balderdash. It is a political myth. 

“Even Edward Heath in 1970 won on a Right-wing manifesto. Remember Selsdon Man? He then abandoned it. He U-turned and that led to his loss in the 1974 election. 

“Margaret Thatcher in 1979, 1983 and 1987 won big majorities supporting free enterprise, a home-owning democracy and strong defence. She also cut taxes enormously, and she kept on winning.

“John Major lost in 1997 on a soggy manifesto, and David Cameron could not win in 2010 in spite of the failures of the Brown-Blair years when he was talking all that nonsense about sharing the proceeds of growth, while Boris Johnson could win in 2019 on a properly Conservative manifesto.

“The Conservative Party does well when it is Conservative and delivers on its promises.”

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said voters at the general election had blown the Conservative Party a “large raspberry”. 

Sir Jacob, who lost his seat, told GB News: “We failed to show ourselves to be on the side of the people who had historically voted for us. 

“We did not appear to be Conservative and they duly blew us a large raspberry.”

Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, said the Labour Government will be an “assertive partner” to get new onshore wind farms built in England after a ban was lifted yesterday. 

Mr Kyle said Labour had a “very particular power” to get things done after its landslide general election victory. 

He told Sky News: “There are some local authorities who want to build things, but they’ve been prevented from doing so, including onshore wind farms. Some local authorities have wanted to do it, but it is the central government that’s been the block to it. 

“What we’re saying is, not only are we going to lift the block, we will be an assertive partner on your behalf to try and get these things done, because we have just won an election and this was in our manifesto.”

He added: “We want local authorities to use the power they have. But there is a very particular power that comes with a Westminster government that has just won a decisive victory on a manifesto that promises these kinds of changes.”

Mayors have begun arriving in Downing Street this morning before a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was among those to walk into No 10 before the roundtable after the Prime Minister and his deputy pledged to loosen Whitehall’s “tight grip” over big cities and regions.

Before entering No 10, Mr Khan told the media in Downing Street: “I’m looking forward to meeting the new Prime Minister.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram also walked into No 10.

Labour could be in power for four parliamentary terms if the Conservative Party fails to reunite the political Right, a Tory MP has warned. 

Andrew Rosindell said the Tories cannot win a general election “if our vote is cut in half” and the Right needed to “coalesce” around a single electoral force. 

He told GB News: “It’s simple mathematics. We can’t win an election if our vote is cut in half. So if you have two right of centre parties, one Conservative, one Reform, and let’s face it, we agree on most things. There are some issues where we may disagree, but generally speaking, both are right of centre parties.

“So the mathematics of this is simple. Our electoral system you need the right of centre parties to coalesce. 

“How’s that going to happen? How are we going to achieve it with all the characters and personalities involved? I do not know. What I do know is that unless we do that, the likelihood is that you’re going to have a second and a third and even a fourth term of a Labour government.”

A Tory MP said the Conservative Party and Reform UK are like a “family feud” and the family needs to be reunited. 

Andrew Rosindell said Reform was “essentially a breakaway from the Conservative Party”.  

He told GB News: “I think we need in this country a proper right of centre party, a Conservative Party that upholds the traditional values of this country.”

He added: “Reform is essentially a breakaway from the Conservative Party. The vast majority of people in Reform are the kind of people that I could sit with and agree on, about 90 per cent of things, and most of them are ex-Conservative members. So this is a family feud. That’s how I see it. 

“We need to bring the family back together again, because the real enemy of this country is socialism.”