It’s not over until the fat lady sings, but if the polls are even close to being right, it will take the political equivalent of an Earth-destroying asteroid to stop Sir Keir Starmer walking through the door at No. 10 on Friday.
The well-oiled machine of the British state has been purring towards this potentially seismic moment for more than a year: Sue Gray, who spent years at the top of the Civil Service before becoming Starmer’s chief of staff, has led the transition talks and has drawn up the grid for the first 100 days of a Labor government.
With the parliamentary recess approaching at the end of July, Starmer is expected to act quickly to cement his statist vision of the country’s future, led by the repeal of the Rwandan migrant scheme, French-style union laws and the VAT hit on schools private. fee.
When he returns from his visit to Buckingham Palace to ask the King’s permission to form a government, Starmer will make a short speech from Downing Street, before being greeted at the door of number 10 by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
After being applauded by staff as he enters the door, he will be ushered into the Cabinet Room to meet his most senior officials – it was at this point in 2019 that Boris Johnson began to spill the beans on what he had discussed with the Queen, until he was hastily reminded of sovereign discretion protocol.
Starmer, pictured today, is expected to move quickly to consolidate his statist vision for the country’s future, headlined by the repeal of the Rwandan immigrant scheme, French-style union laws and the scrapping of VAT on private school fees.
It is chilling that Starmer, whose predecessor Jeremy Corbyn promised never to use a nuclear deterrent, would later be ordered by a senior naval officer to write four identical handwritten “last resort letters” to the commanders of the Trident submarine.
Starmer’s first task will be to listen to a detailed personal security briefing (he will be given the option of asking his wife and two children to join in) which will cover topics such as a terrorist attack on Number 10. A source said: “The The new Prime Minister is literally informed that they have to leave immediately, without discussion or discussion, through a network of secret tunnels beneath Whitehall.
Chillingly, a senior naval commander will ask Starmer, whose predecessor Jeremy Corbyn promised never to use the nuclear deterrent, for four identical, handwritten ‘last resort letters’ to the commanders of the Trident submarine – orders to be carried out if the Government has been wiped out in a nuclear attack. An industrial-sized shredder will be introduced to destroy Rishi Sunak’s existing letters. David Cameron responded to this on his first day in 2010 by putting his hand to his forehead and exclaiming: ‘Oh my God, this is real!’
Starmer will also have to draw up a list of senior advisers he would like to accompany him in a nuclear bunker, a subject of jealous infighting in previous regimes.
At this point, the first calls will come from world leaders. A source said: ‘This is considered very important. The first conversation sets the tone for the new diplomatic relationship.
“There is a lot of thought put into what the first ‘request’ of each world leader will be, what they will demand in return and what the response will be.”
While all this is going on, Starmer will also be getting to know the shift staff, the Garden Room girls and the manager of the prime minister’s apartment (he will live “above the shop” with his family), who will collectively manage his daily life minute by minute.
A government source said: “The new prime minister soon realizes that these people will be taking care of almost every aspect of his daily affairs. “Then they realize that they are not just starting a new job, they are handing over their lives. It’s very detailed.
‘They ask what time the prime minister wants to wake up, if they want a phone call or a knock on the door, if they want breakfast in the apartment or something at their desk, if they want official documents brought to them or if they prefer to work on them in the main building. It’s all sorts of things.’
Starmer will then focus on appointing his cabinet. Although most of his senior cabinet members are expected to move straight into office, there is still room for surprises: shadow foreign secretary David Lammy will be especially nervous in the wake of a campaign rumors against him generated by his virtual absence from the electoral campaign.
Gray has been in close contact with shadow cabinet ministers during the campaign to test his readiness for government, and many of them were summoned to face-to-face meetings in his office at Labor Party headquarters in south London. and were questioned about their plans for the first 100 days. A central issue of discussion has been what measures to include in the King’s July 17 speech, which would set out Starmer’s legislative programme.
Gray began the process in September, shortly after taking office, when he ordered the Shadow Cabinet to be “fit” for his first weeks in office.
One aide said of the former Whitehall mandarin: “She holds the pen.” It’s been pretty smooth. He has generally told us to go ahead with our plans, but he has also suggested useful contacts to talk to about implementation and offered us his own ideas.’
Probably the most pressing issue is immigration. Labour has promised to scrap Sunak’s Rwandan migrant deportation plan “from day one” – with up to 60,000 migrants set to be deported to Rwanda, they will by definition be granted effective “amnesty” and placed into the asylum system.
Combined with a projected increase in small boat crossings, it could quickly end Starmer’s honeymoon. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who is due to start work on her new Border Security Command on day one, will begin a “national security sprint” to identify emerging threats to the UK.
Starmer will also have to draw up a list of top aides he would like to join him in a nuclear bunker, a topic of jealous infighting in previous regimes.
Other plans include laws to crack down on anti-social behaviour, improve preparedness for terrorist attacks and launch a review into violence against women.
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will begin by setting a date for the next Budget; she will also legislate in the King’s Speech to impose VAT on private school fees from 2025.
Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, has spearheaded the party’s plans to introduce new rights for workers through legislation, including ending zero-hours contracts and easing restrictions on union activity.
Wes Streeting, the likely Health Secretary, says he will reopen negotiations with the British Medical Association to try to end doctors’ strikes.
He says his focus for the first 100 days will be on Labour’s promise to add 40,000 extra NHS appointments a week, giving direction to NHS trusts, setting up surgical centres and forcing more NHS staff to work overtime at weekends and nights.
Starmer will make his first trip abroad as prime minister just four days after his appointment, attending a NATO alliance summit in Washington alongside Joe Biden and other world leaders. And on July 18, the Prime Minister will host top EU leaders at the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, in Oxfordshire.
Churchill wrote about his first day as Prime Minister in The Gathering Storm, saying: “As I went to bed about 3 o’clock in the morning, I was conscious of a profound sense of relief… I had at last the authority to give instructions on the whole scene.”
If the polls are correct, Starmer’s own “authority to give instructions” will be almost completely unfettered.