Keir Starmer vows to open windows of opportunity in UK

The Labour Party has won a landslide victory in the UK general election, sweeping hundreds of seats across the country and ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Sir Keir Starmer subsequently has been appointed Prime Minister, ending a tumultuous era which has seen five different Conservative leaders running the country.

The new Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer aged, 61 has been MP from the Parliamentary constituency-- Holborn and St Pancras since 2015. He studied law at Leeds and Oxford University. In 1987, he became a Barrister and developed a specialisation in human rights law. His work took him to the Caribbeans and Africa, where he defended prisoners facing death penalty. In 2008, he was named the Director of Public Prosecutions, the highest position of criminal prosecution in England and Wales. Following the Labour party's heavy defeat in the 2019 general election, Sir Keir Starmer stood for becoming leader of his Party-- a contest he won in April 2020.

Britain's House of Commons has 650 MPs (Members of Parliament). Each of their "seats" represent an individual constituency or area - somewhere in the country.

Labour this time has won 412 seats, while the Conservatives have slumped to just 121 and centrist Liberal Democrats have taken 71. Reform UK, a successor to the Brexit Party has picked up four seats, as has the left-wing Green Party.

Labour's surge was partly aided by the collapse of the Scottish National Party (SNP). This Party has been hit by a succession of controversies around its finances and fell to just seven seats.

However, it also needs to be noted that the 170-seat majority in the House of Commons for Labour is an enormous number, but still short of the majority of 179 won by the Labour Party under Tony Blair in the 1997 election.

The result marks a stunning reversal from the 2019 election when Labour, led by the veteran left-wing politician Jeremy Corbyn, suffered its worst electoral defeat in almost a century. In this context one can recall that the Conservatives' won the 2019 election under Boris Johnson by a majority of 80 seats.

One also needs to remember that if a party holds a majority, it does not need to rely on other parties to pass laws. The bigger the majority, the easier it is. That is what will happen this time with the Labour Party's massive majority.

Within this matrix of change four Bangladesh-origin British citizens have won in the UK polls. They are-- Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, Rushanara Ali, Dr. Rupa Huq, and Apsana Begum.

Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, (daughter of Sheikh Rehana and the granddaughter of Bangabandhu) a Labour MP, was re- elected from the Hampstead and Highgate constituency with 23,432 votes. Her nearest rival from the Conservative Party received only 8,462 votes. Rushanara Ali from the Labour Party was also re-elected from the Bethnal Green constituency with a total of 15,896 votes. She defeated Ajmal Masroor, an Independent candidate, who received 14,207 votes. Labour Party candidate Dr. Rupa Huq was re-elected from Ealing Central and Acton with 22,340 votes. Apsana Begum got elected from Popular and Lime House seat bagging 18,335 votes.

The above figures indicate the support for their activities among the local community.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already sent her congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister. Her message has pointed out that "this unequivocal mandate clearly testifies to the trust and confidence of the British people in your leadership to take your country to newer heights of progress and prosperity and promote peace globally. My government looks forward to working closely with the Labour government under your able stewardship in further strengthening our long-standing political, economic, climate and strategic partnerships in the mutual interest of our two Commonwealth nations." This message clearly indicates how Bangladesh intends to cooperate with the United Kingdom in the coming years.

Keir Starmer appointed his new cabinet on July 5 and it met the next day.

Lucy Powell has been appointed Lord President of the Council and leader of the House of Commons. Baroness Smith of Basildon has been appointed Lord Privy Seal and leader of the House of Lords. Angela Rayner has been made Deputy Prime Minister, while Rachel Reeves has become the first female Chancellor.

The new cabinet includes some unexpected appointments. Rachel Reeves has been appointed as the UK's first female Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is also among a record 11 women in the team of 25. She will take control of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Other important appointments include-- David Lammy as the Foreign Secretary (who also served as a minister in the last Labour government), Yvette Cooper as the Home Secretary. Pat McFadden, will take over the Cabinet Office, and John Healey will be Defence Secretary. Other significant assignments include- Shabana Mahmood as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Bridget Phillipson as Secretary of State for Education, Liz Kendall as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Louise Haigh as Secretary of State for Transport, Ed Miliband as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lisa Nandy as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Powell as the Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, Baroness Smith as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, and Richard Hermer as the Attorney General.

It may also be noted that the first cabinet meeting focused on what Labour calls its "first steps" which include among other things  economic stability, cutting NHS waiting lists and tackling illegal immigration.

There have been, since the first meeting of the new Cabinet, appraisals from different sides about the various challenges that the new government will have to overcome. A former Bank of England economist, Reeves, has made some significant observations. He has been pointed out that the inheritance which the Labour party has received from the Conservatives is far from rosy, with living standards stagnant since 2010, public debt at almost 100 per cent of gross domestic product and taxes at their highest level since just after World War-II.

Sensitive to accusations from Conservatives that the previous Labour governments of Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown spent too much before the party left office in 2010, Reeves has made it very clear that all spending commitments must be fully funded. She also has referred to two "iron-clad" fiscal rules that a Labour government will not borrow for day-to-day spending, and that debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of any forecast. However, she has not ruled out borrowing to invest, and she has also spoken about her vision, which she calls "securonomics" - that takes inspiration from the policies of US President Joe Biden. That could see increased investment to shape strategically important markets, echoing the "modern supply-side economics" policies advocated by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Reeves has also drawn attention to the possibility of making political capital from the unfunded spending commitments of former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss that sparked turmoil in the UK bond market, and created Labour in contrast as the party of both business and prudence. She has also said that Labour would give the Office for Budget Responsibility additional powers.

Interestingly, the new UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has already also been asked about the success of pro-Palestinian candidates, who won several seats after appealing to voters angry over Labour's stance on the war in Gaza. He said the party "recognises the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza. All of us want to see an immediate ceasefire, and I will do all I can diplomatically to support Joe Biden in bringing about that ceasefire. We also want the hostages out and we want unfettered aid to get into Gaza and in the end, we must work towards that two-state solution and have a clear path to progress." It needs to be noted here that five candidates who campaigned on pro-Palestinian platforms won seats. Ben Jamal, from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has observed that this was "a shot across the bows of the incoming Labour government".

The world has carefully followed the new Prime Minister Starmer's comment after taking office. He said "we will rebuild Britain… brick by brick, we will rebuild the infrastructure of opportunity".

The world is waiting to see what happens in the near future and then afterwards. Such a wait has been reflected in the dimensions of messages sent by world leaders to the new Prime Minister.

French President Emmanuel Macron has noted that "we will continue the work begun with the UK for our bilateral cooperation- for peace and security in Europe, for the climate and regarding AI."

Brazilian President Lula da Silva has messaged that he "salutes" the new Prime Minister from the Labour Party and that Brazil "will continue to strengthen the diplomatic ties between our two countries regarding sustainable development and democracy".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has sent a message saying, "I look forward to working with you in a constructive partnership to address common challenges and strengthen European security". The current NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg has also observed that Prime Minister Starmer has always been a "a strong supporter of the Transatlantic Alliance".

The observations made by the EU and NATO have their own dimensions.

Similarly, there has been a very positive comment from Ukrainian President V. Zelenskiy. He has said that "Ukraine and the United Kingdom have been and will continue to be reliable allies through thick and thin.

David Lammy's whirlwind first trip as Foreign Secretary, organised at a very short notice, has been about creating the perception of a new, vigorous administration, brimming with goodwill towards some of the UK's most important partners. After an evening spent with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, Mr Lammy went to Poland and met Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsky. After a couple of hours of talks, he went to Sweden to meet one of NATO's newest members, Sweden. These visits were undertaken clearly to show that Britain believes in playing an important role in sustaining Kyiv's war effort. With the new Defence Secretary John Healey also on the ground in Odessa, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government has stressed that the UK's commitment to Ukraine will remain strong.

We all need to wait and see how the scenario evolves.

Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance.
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