Keir Starmer touched upon a number of difficult topics in his first press conference as prime minister, answering questions on prisons, NHS understaffing and the economy.
The 20-minute session also gave way to a few lighthearted moments from a politician who has long been accused of lacking pizzazz.
He has not yet unpacked or found his way around No 10
“I’ve got a basic understanding of the rooms I’ve used so far here, and that’s good, but there are plenty of hidden places I’ve yet to discover,” Starmer said. “We are not unpacked quite yet, but we will be soon and we’ll be moving in soon. But there’s a bit of work to do before then.”
On his new title of ‘prime minister’
“I am getting used to it,” Starmer said, in response to a question from Channel 4. “I am very happy to be called Keir or prime minister.”
While he repeated at least twice that he was “happy to be called Keir”, he acknowledged the importance for those in civil service to address him by his new title.
“For them, it is important to refer to the office holder as ‘prime minister’ because they’re serving the office,” he said. “I recognised this when I was director of public prosecutions. It is actually important to them to use the title because it reinforces in them what they are doing by way of public service and I respect that and understand that.”
On the 10pm exit poll that all but sealed a Labour victory
“I was pleased to see that exit poll,” he said.
“I didn’t believe it until, like everybody else, I stayed up to watch every single result come in. It was only as the final results came through that I was confident we got to where we needed to be to do the work that we need to do.”
On his new cabinet
Starmer said he was proud that his cabinet will have the highest number of state-educated and female ministers in history.
“I’m really proud of the fact that my cabinet reflects the aspiration that I believe lies at the heart of our country,” he said. “That aspiration that so many people have, wherever they started from, to make a journey in life for themselves, for their families, their communities and ultimately for their country.”
Though Starmer had to catch himself referring to the “shadow cabinet”, he quickly corrected to say that at the cabinet meeting, he had told ministers: “I’m proud of the fact that we have people around the cabinet table who didn’t have the easiest of starts in life.
“To see them sitting in the cabinet this morning was a proud moment for me and this changed Labour party and a reinforcement of my belief in that aspiration, which is a value I use to help me make decisions,” he said.
