How long will Keir Starmer’s honeymoon last? The Prime Minister is basking in election glory after leading his party to a landslide victory. This morning, he chaired his first cabinet – after appointing his team on Friday afternoon. Starmer used the first meeting to tell his new ministers what he expected from them, making clear that he expects high standards in terms of delivery and behaviour. He also repeated past comments that his will be a mission-led government – with mission delivery boards that he will personally chair.
Starmer’s team are keen to keep up a sense of momentum so the Prime Minister will use the next few days to visit all four nations in the United Kingdom, meet with the metro mayors (including Tory mayor Ben Houchen) to discuss regional growth and then jet to Washington on Tuesday for Nato. He is also expected to make further front bench appointments this afternoon, with former Tory MP Nick Boles tipped for a role advising on planning rules.
To update voters so far on his work, Starmer held a press conference complete with Q&A. He used his initial speech to talk of the mandate he had been given by the public – even his vote share is unusually small for the size of majority. During the election campaign, Starmer was repeatedly accused of holding back information over his plans from the public for fear of a voter backlash. Today he suggested that is going to have to make ‘tough decisions’ and ‘make them early’. He said he would do so with ‘a raw honesty’ – the implication being that this was missing under the Tories.
However, he said this was not a ‘prelude’ to announcing a tax rise that was not in the manifesto. Instead, the comments are likely to refer to the public sector. Starmer’s most important mission is – as he says repeatedly – growth. But he faces two immediate challenges elsewhere. First, prisons. There is a clear prisoner place shortage at the moment. As I first reported, Starmer’s Chief of Staff Sue Gray has prisons at the top of her government risk register (since described by the FT as ‘Sue’s sh– list’).
Starmer’s team know that a leader is rarely more powerful than after a big win
The new Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood attacked the Tories for opting to release many prisoners early to deal with the problem. Labour has committed to building new prisons – but this will take time. In the Q&A, Starmer was asked about his decision to appoint James Timpson – the businessman who has been active in prisoner reform – as his new prisons minister. Timpson previously said only a third of people in prison should be there.
Starmer said his government would have to be clear about ‘the way we use prisons’ as there is an issue on reoffending, where too many people are locked back up after being released. This suggests a potential conversation on the the wisdom of jail time for first time offenders or low level crime. Starmer said prisons were an area where other parts of the system were not working at present. Either way, there is tricky immediate decision for Starmer’s government on the current overcrowding and how they choose to deal with that. Worries over overcrowding were one of the reasons Sunak opted for an election sooner rather than later.
Then there’s the NHS. Last night, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told civil servants in his new department that the NHS is ‘broken’. Asked about these comments, Starmer said his government would have to take tough decisions early – but not on tax. As Isabel writes here, reforming the NHS will not be easy and will likely mean tricky conversations with the unions asking for more pay, discussions with NHS England about prioritisation and a mature conversation on social care.
Starmer’s team know that a leader is rarely more powerful than after a big win. It means there is an incentive to take some tricky decisions now – while his stock is high and his party are obedient.
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