'I'm restless for change!' Starmer outlines packed first week after ALREADY scrapping Rwanda and Labour vow to nationalise rail 'asap'

'I'm restless for change!' Starmer outlines packed first week after ALREADY scrapping Rwanda and Labour vow to nationalise rail 'asap'

WATCH: New PM addresses the nation

GB NEWS
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 06/07/2024

- 13:15

Updated: 06/07/2024

- 13:58

The new Prime Minister addressed the country from Downing Street today

The Rwanda scheme is "dead and buried" Sir Keir Starmer confirmed today when outlining a packed dairy for his first week in charge, as the new PM declared: "I'm restless for change."

The new Prime Minister has already scrapped the Rwanda plan and his Transport Secretary has vowed to nationalise the railways as soon as possible.


Giving a press conference from Downing Street this morning, Starmer said Labour's landslide victory in the General Election gives his party "a clear mandate to govern in all four corners of the United Kingdom".

He said he had already set out to his Cabinet "exactly what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery, and the trust that the country has put in them".

Starmer

The Prime Minister said the election had been a "moment in history"

PA

The Prime Minister said the election had been a "moment in history".

Speaking about this morning's Cabinet meeting, he continued: "At that meeting, I had the opportunity to set out to my Cabinet precisely what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery and the trust that the country has put in them.

"And yesterday I met Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on standards, to discuss how we deliver in Government.

"At the Cabinet meeting, I also discussed mission delivery, how we would put into action the plans that we had set out in our manifesto."

He added: "Self-interest is yesterday’s politics. I want a politics in this country that works for you."

The Labour Party has already scrapped the Rwanda scheme, just one day after coming to office.

Starmer said the scheme has "always been dead and buried", adding: "I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent".

The Government is also planning to nationalise the railways "as soon as possible", Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told GB News this morning.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

Asked if he could offer one concrete promise to voters about delivery in the first 100 days, Starmer said “the thing that’s changed already is the mindset of the Government”.

The Prime Minister said: “It’s a mindset of service. Of country first, party second. That’s not a slogan, that is the test for all of our decisions.”

He said he is “restless for change”, adding: "I think and hope that what you’ve already seen demonstrates that.”

The PM said the appointments of Sir Patrick Vallance and business chief James Timpson should demonstrate the party’s commitment to change, saying: “It won’t surprise you to know… I’ve been talking to them for some time about the need for the change that we will put in place.”

He added: “We have been planning for months to hit the ground running."

You may like