tv BBC News at Ten BBC News July 5, 2024 10:10pm-11:01pm BST
10:10 pm
decision very clearly over the next few months which direction they want to take. �* , few months which direction they want to take. 3 w ~ few months which direction they want to take. �*, t, ~ r, to take. let's talk about the new government _ to take. let's talk about the new government. keir _ to take. let's talk about the new government. keir starmer - to take. let's talk about the newl government. keir starmer quickly appointed his cabinet. no great surprises in the cabinet appointments. there were people doing those roles in opposition. the cabinet will meet tomorrow, and the real work begins, doesn't it? it does, there will be a cabinet meeting tomorrow and following that, we get a clearer idea of the immediate priorities. they had for six first steps during the course of the election campaign, some can be delivered quickly, wanted to set up border security command as an alternative way of tackling illegal migration, an alternative to the rwanda scheme which is dead in the water was stopped in addition, there said other things that may take longer, so much as print training recruitment of thousands of new teachers, for example, and one
10:11 pm
priority area it would be the health service and the idea of getting 40,000 new appointments each week by getting staff to do overtime, something the new health secretary wes streeting is keen on, thinking a new. we will talk more about that tomorrow, but i want to in general what keir starmer did today to show he's hitting the ground running. last time he spoke, he spoke with president macron, and in addition, two interesting cause, one to volodymyr zelensky, making it clear there'll no change in you care policy because there is a change in government, and also mentioned he's looking forward to the nato summit next week, which is concentrated on ukraine, and that would be the first meeting up sir keir starmer on the world stage. he also talked to ursula von der leyen, the leader of the european you, and he spoke to corporations in the eu is on issues such as security and the claimant,
10:12 pm
and there has been a there will be no return to freedom of moment are the single market or the customs union month but we are seeing is sketching out of the other areas which he might look to move closer to the eu and where he thinks cooperation can be undertaken, and also he spoke to the leaders of the devolved administrations around the uk, so giving the impression he is hitting the ground running, or using his accession, rolling up his sleeves, and tomorrow's cabinet meeting will be a further example of that. if meeting will be a further example of that. , ., . , meeting will be a further example of that. , ., ., , ., h, that. if prove was ever needed about the brutal transfer _ that. if prove was ever needed about the brutal transfer of _ that. if prove was ever needed about the brutal transfer of power - that. if prove was ever needed about the brutal transfer of power in - that. if prove was ever needed about the brutal transfer of power in this i the brutal transfer of power in this country. we know rishi sunak now backin country. we know rishi sunak now back in his constituency in richmond in north yorkshire, he was here this morning bidding farewell to the country. he says he will stay on until either until succession is in place, but he is off. i wonder now,
10:13 pm
the blame game begins, the rebuild it for the conservative party, and they would have to work out what they would have to work out what they would have to work out what they would look like in opposition. they will, and i think again, that is whether they are going to try to rally some of their own members or try to win back some of those of going to reform or whether they would simply say that, actually, they would try to take keir starmer on on the grounds of competence. we will see. there's been warnings from different factions inside the country but i think, perhaps, as another example number the brutality you mentioned, after only about six orseven you mentioned, after only about six or seven weeks, if you remember, liz truss was rejected by her own site from number 10 downing street, and she has now been rejected by her own voters in what seems to be a super and solid and safe conservative seat. so she is notjust out of number ten, alta parliaments as well as, but she has certainly got her view that the party should be
10:14 pm
returning to policies of low tax and indeed no immigration, and that would be an argument that will be put by some of those who have survived the labour onslaught. 0thers survived the labour onslaught. others will say that the only way to defeat sir keir starmer is to say the party is changed and move back to the centre ground. we will see a list of that in due course. i don't think we will see descent over the future direction for the labour party at the moment but i think questions will be raised and following the cabinet meeting there will be questions about how ambitious they will be and how much change they will try to bring about. keir starmer has talked about a change in the political culture in this country, and i think out of the appointments he made might point to that as well. bringing expertise, the new prisons minister, and patrick vallance, who of course, helped steer the country through the
10:15 pm
pandemic, he gets a peerage as well and be a ministerfor science. so we are seeing some solid examples of the change that sir keir starmer was promising to stop whether that would be enough for his own rank and file it remains to be seen.— it remains to be seen. good to talk to ou, it remains to be seen. good to talk to you. iain — it remains to be seen. good to talk to you, iain watson _ it remains to be seen. good to talk to you, iain watson there - it remains to be seen. good to talk to you, iain watson there in - to you, iain watson there in westminster for us. a large gap between the share of total votes won by each party and the share of parliamentary seats won has prompted renewed calls for reform of the electoral system. reform uk has complained that it got four million votes — under the current first—past—the—post system — but only 4 mp5.
10:16 pm
the greens have also said they want to see a "fairer system". bbc verify has been looking at the disparity between the vote share and the share of seats in the 2024 general election and has found that it is the largest on record — as ben chu now explains. the result of this election has prompted complaints of unfairness because of the gap between the share of votes won by some of the parties and the share of seats won. is this justified? well, let's take a look. here are the vote shares of the party standing across england, scotland and wales. labour on 34%, the conservatives on 24%, reform on i4%, liberal democrats on 12% and the greens on 7%. but here are their shares of the 650 house of commons seats, and labour gets a much larger share of the seats than it does of the votes. almost twice the share. and look at some of the smaller parties. reform got i4% of the votes,
10:17 pm
but only i% of the seats. the greens, they got 7% of the votes, but only i% of the seats. now, bear in mind that this is how the uk's first past the post system works. it has a tendency to give disproportionate results relative to systems in some other countries. first past the post means the person with the largest number of votes in each constituency gets elected, and candidates from other parties get nothing for their votes in that area. but how disproportionate has this result been relative to previous elections? well, this shows the vote shares and the seat shares of the party that won the most seats in each election since 1997. and this is 2024 at the end. so how does this gap in 2024 between the vote share and the seat share compare historically? well, let's go all the way back to 1922, and this shows the 2024
10:18 pm
gap 30% points. so as you can see, it's bigger than every uk election going back 100 years. but does this show the system is unfair? well, it's important to note that political parties have to campaign within the voting system as it is, and labour points out, it put its campaigning resources into certain seats in order to maximise its chances of winning a large number of seats, rather than boosting its overall vote share. it's also vital to recognise voters might well vote differently if the voting system was more proportional. and, by the way, a plan to replace the current first past the post system with an alternative vote system, which advocates said would make results more proportional to the national share of votes cast, was rejected by the public pretty comprehensively in a 2011 referendum. so will there be an appetite for another national debate on the subject of electoral reform? let's see.
10:19 pm
ben chu and the bbc verify team. you can't have forgotten some of those stones from the liberal democrats on this election campaign. a feature of the election campaign were the headline—grabbing stunts from the liberal democrat leader sir ed davey — including falling off a paddle board and bungeejumping. well, it seems that the tactics worked. the lib dems now have 71 seats — 63 more than before — although their share of the vote only went up by 0.6%. as you can see from these pictures, sir ed was happy to celebrate the outcome. trust is a very precious commodity, it is hard one and sometimes you've lost it, you lose it. and you're left to work for a hard to win it back and i thank people
10:20 pm
for trusting us again. we will not let you down. we will honour your trust. sir ed davey there. the green party of england and wales added three mps — and will have four representatives in westminster. just under two million people voted green — giving them a 6.8% share of the total. among the new mps — party co—leader carla denyer, who took bristol central. everyone who voted green, wherever you are, you've helped strengthen the case and make it easier for us. the green mps who've been elected to push the incoming labour government to be bolder on environmental matters and on making this country a fairer place. earlier i spoke to the new green mp, sian berry, who has held the seat in brighton pavilion, which was previously held by her green party colleague caroline lucas.
10:21 pm
brighton take along brighton take a long and careful time over content, so my result was up time over content, so my result was up early, at that point i knew i was joining colleagues, which made it extra special to be not only elected to take on the legendary work of caroline lucas in the city, but also look forward to what i wanted to do. we have one across the country and we have one in places that no one was expecting. we have managed to unseat to conservatives in particular the rural areas, and that history, hard work, working from the grassroots, building up counsellors and achievements and working in communities and winning their trust to serve in parliament, i think i am really proud of my colleagues across the country for pulling together. we said we would bring more mps and we have done. and will be a strong group of opposition. pushing the new
10:22 pm
labour government to do what they promised in their manifesto, and holding them to account when we think they might be going wrong. a very important role to play, and am proud i have such great colleagues to do it with. talk proud i have such great colleagues to do it with-— proud i have such great colleagues to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not — to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not have. _ to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not have. 7% _ to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not have. 7% of _ to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not have. 7% of the - to do it with. talk to me about that rule do not have. 7% of the boat i rule do not have. 7% of the boat last time in 2019, securing 3%, and that gives you a mandate, as you said, to hold government to account. what are the key issues would press on? ~ . ., what are the key issues would press on? ~ ., ., ., what are the key issues would press on? . ., ., ., , ., , what are the key issues would press on? ~ ., ., ., , ., on? what we heard on the god is real concern about — on? what we heard on the god is real concern about the _ on? what we heard on the god is real concern about the future _ on? what we heard on the god is real concern about the future of— on? what we heard on the god is real concern about the future of the - on? what we heard on the god is real concern about the future of the nhs, | concern about the future of the nhs, not only the funding that labour have currently only promised a tiny amount of to bring it back up to the levels it was even onto the last labour government, it needs real serious investment, but also concern that the growing use of private health care within the nhs isn't within its ethos, isn't efficient and the public money shouldn't be going into private profits and that way for such a precious institution. enormous concern about sewage in my
10:23 pm
area, and on and the sea but bad infrastructure where it's been so into the streets as well, it's important to do something serious about the water companies very soon. and of course, i'm a green mp, and a green new deal, the in into investing, in not only energy, which labour have promised, but also the nicu homes, the damp, all of those other green measures that need voting around the country. the labour party need to up their game on this stop they need to be raised money, to borrow more than they serve but also borrow to invest in the country, investing the assets that make our country what it is, and that is really good investment. rachel reeves, are the moments, is saying there is no money, but labour has been options when it comes to renew taxes on wealth, it was an enormous talking point during the election. they have elections to
10:24 pm
borrow —— options to borrow, invest, income streams that even the treasury will sign off, they need to be more ambitious and we would push them to do that. fine be more ambitious and we would push them to do that.— them to do that. one concern, it's eas to them to do that. one concern, it's easy to get _ them to do that. one concern, it's easy to get carried _ them to do that. one concern, it's easy to get carried away _ them to do that. one concern, it's easy to get carried away with - them to do that. one concern, it's easy to get carried away with all i easy to get carried away with all sorts of headlines how it was the disastrous night for the conservatives, and landmark win and landside and for labour. it doesn't really talk to the fact that turnout was pretty dismal. what does it say about the state of our politics when evenin about the state of our politics when even in such an important election like this, when there was a feeling that people were very agitated by theissues that people were very agitated by the issues on the campaign trail, that turnout was so low. does it speak to the fact that many voters simply don't feel that the politicians can deliver for them? i think there has been a very serious lack of inspiration and hope during the election campaign. in my constituency, the turnout was above 70%, and i think that's piece of the
10:25 pm
fact that we were running a very positive campaign, trying to bring some hope and new ideas into the election. people are veryjaded about politics of the moment. they see a lots of discussion about things that are basically within the westminster bubble, personalities clashing with each other, it really should be about big ideas, about making sure communities can thrive and decision—making it comes down to and decision—making it comes down to a lower level than squabbling within westminster. we want to relive that spirit in the country, we have over 800 green counsellors and admission across the country, and local councils try to do that, and want to bring more positivity into politics but also into what is actually going on with communities across the country. we are about hope and i think labour and to learn a bit from us, although they have one of
10:26 pm
electives seats, their boat share has not risen, and not gone up since the election. we have nearly 2 million votes, coming second so many constituencies and they do really need to listen to us.— constituencies and they do really need to listen to us. that's a new green mp — need to listen to us. that's a new green mp second _ need to listen to us. that's a new green mp second michael - need to listen to us. that's a new. green mp second michael speaking need to listen to us. that's a new- green mp second michael speaking to me earlier. let's turn to scotland now — where before the election, john swinney, who'd only had a few weeks in post as the leader of the snp, said that if his party took half of the 57 seats in scotland, that would be a mandate for a new independence referendum. but that didn't happen. the snp dropped from having 47 seats to just nine — with one scottish seat still to declare. mr swinney insists that the people of scotland do still want independence — but that at this election,
10:27 pm
they simply chose to vote for labour to be sure to be rid of a conservative government. i want to make it clear that i take full responsibility for the scottish national party campaign, and the outcome that has been achieved. that is what leadership is about. you plan a campaign and you take responsibility for it when it is completed, and i take full responsibility for that campaign. but i also, out of that campaign, commit to us to listen and to learn from the very obvious setback that we had last night. john swinney speaking earlier about that poor performance for the snp in the election. 0ur glasgow correspondent katie hunter has been giving me her assessment of the situation. labour won seat after seat after seat here in scotland. and if i can just give you a couple of figures to illustrate the size of their comeback here. they won 37 scottish seats at
10:28 pm
the last general election in 2019. they won just one single scottish seat. so that gives you an idea of the size of the turnaround for labour. but i think the biggest story here in scotland was the scale of the defeat for the snp. they won nine scottish seats. last general election they picked up 48 scottish seats. and don't forget, the snp have become a party accustomed to winning and winning big. so last night was a really disappointing evening for them and we're here in glasgow. before this election was called, all of this city seats were held by the snp. this morning, it's woken up and it's turned red. all of this city seats are now held by labour, and i think that's a story that played out in constituencies across scotland last night. and katie, does this mean for people who were pushing for independence for scotland, that that dream is now over?
10:29 pm
well, let's be clear, the polls repeatedly suggest that around 50% of people in scotland want independence. the snp's manifesto independence was page one, line one of that document, and john swinney, the snp leader, had said that if his party won a majority of seats at this general election, then that would give them grounds to have talks with the uk government about holding another referendum. now, clearly that hasn't happened. the snp have won just nine scottish seats, butjohn swinney has said that there will be soul searching after this. but the independence, the constitutional debate isn't going away in scotland. that the view there in scotland. well, the political landscape has changed across the uk. in northern ireland,
10:30 pm
sinn fein won the most seats for the first time ever in a general election. the nationalist party believes in a united ireland and doesn't take its seats at westminster, we'll hear what that might mean for the future of northern ireland from sarah girvin in a moment. but first let's head to wales — where the conservatives suffered a total wipe—out. in 2019, they managed to win 12 seats, making big gains in brexit—voting areas, particularly in the north east of the country. but last night, every inch of blue was erased from the map. labour won 27 of the 32 seats — with plaid cymru and the liberal democrats taking the rest. here's our welsh correspondent hywel griffith. a red letter day for monmouth. now back in labour's colours for the first time in almost 20 years, its people persuaded just about by their message. well, i don't want to go with the political thing of "we needed a change," but we needed a change.
10:31 pm
met up with family yesterday and they all had the same opinion. they may have voted conservative in the past, but yesterday the three of us as groups voted labour. no wonder the party wanted to come here to celebrate. even if success depends on how you frame things. its share of the vote in wales was actually down the number of labour voters, the lowest since 1935. there are lots of lessons for us in the result, and the scale of the victory does give us a special responsibility. but i found on the doorstep that as well as a real thirst for change, there's an honesty about the length of time it will take to put right the last 14 years. it is the end of an era for the conservatives here. former welsh secretaries all lost their seats in what was a total tory wipe—out. people were telling us what they felt about some of the antics and shenanigans that had gone on over the last five years in westminster, and that turned people off from voting conservative. so the tide has turned in wales,
10:32 pm
and notjust for the bigger parties. look beneath the surface and you'll also see a swell of support for reform in wales. not enough to claim any mps this time, but they will have an eye on the senedd elections just around the corner. plaid too says it's heading in the right direction after claiming four mps. we're looking forward already to the 2026 senedd election, when we are now clearly the strongest challengers to labour. plenty of work ahead, but for now the welsh map is mostly painted red. hywel griffith, bbc news. with just 18 seats up for grabs in northern ireland — every win and every loss matters. by holding its seven seats, nationalist sinn fein has become northern ireland's biggest party at westminster for the first time. it doesn't take its seats in the house of commons because it doesn't think westminster should make decisions for northern ireland. it wants a united ireland. i think the fact that we are now the largest party of local government, the largest party
10:33 pm
of the assembly and the largest party of westminster, speaks to the fact that i think that it's time for change. it's time for us to be able to take control of our own fortunes here at home. so i look forward to the journey that we have ahead in terms of having a constitutional change conversation. it was a bad night for the democratic unionist party, which suffered significant losses — none bigger than in north antrim, where ian paisley lost a constituency his family has held for more than 50 years. a political earthquake. dup leader gavin robinson held his seat but warned about votes being split between different unionist parties. i think in constituencies right across northern ireland you can see the consequences of divided unionism. i think you can see that there are constituencies within northern ireland for which there isn't the luxury in a first past the post election, to shop around. the alliance party, which doesn't identify as unionist or nationalist, took the seat held by the dup's former leader sirjeffrey donaldson since 1997.
10:34 pm
as the shock waves of this election settle, there is much to consider. but with sinn fein in the top spot and the dup bruised, calls for a conversation about an irish unity referendum are likely to grow louder. sarah girvin, bbc news. one feature of this election has been a rise in support for independent candidates — not aligned to any political party. jeremy corbyn — the former labour leader — stood as an independent and won in islington north. elsewhere, labour lost several former strongholds to independent candidates who campaigned on pro—gaza platforms. jonathan ashworth was the most senior labour mp to lose his seat — in leicester south. from there, anna foster reports. sole traders rarely win elections. in 2019, not a single independent candidate was voted into parliament. now there are six of them.
10:35 pm
and here in leicester south, one shakat adam, even unseated a labour big name. shadow paymaster generaljonathan ashworth should have been cushioned by a 22,000 majority. this is for the people of gaza. around 30% of the electorate here are muslim, and most of them were staunch labour supporters. but what they saw as the party's weak position on gaza meant that they withdrew that support in their thousands. how much change do you think he can manage on his own? well, we believe in him, which is why we voted for him. and we do believe that shakat adam is going to carry forward our message. and he's the people's person. pro—palestinian candidates toppled labour in dewsbury and batley, birmingham perry barr and blackburn. and the man who led labour into its last two general election campaigns... jeremy corbyn. ..won islington north
10:36 pm
as an independent. he was barred from standing for the party this time in a row over anti—semitism. they're looking for a government that, on the world stage will search for peace, not war, and not allow the terrible conditions to go on that are happening in gaza at the present time. even as labour celebrates victory, there are still those it needs to win over. anna foster, bbc news, leicester. so, as we've been hearing, the uk's new prime minister sir keir starmer has been making the final touches to his cabinet. the majority of the roles have been inherited by those who were part of the opposition front bench with rachel reeves confirmed as chancellor of the exchequer, yvette cooper as home secretary, david lammy as foreign secretary —— and angela rayner as david lammy as foreign secretary — and angela rayner as deputy prime minister. speaking outside the door of number ten earlier this afternoon vowed to build a �*government
10:37 pm
of service', and pledged to restore trust in politics. i was joined by our expert team of bbc correspondents — our health editor, huw pym, our education correspondent hazel shearing, our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford — and our business correspondent, vishala sri—pathma. i began by asking vishala what the business community is expecting from the new labour government. it's really interesting, ben, because she has really sort of carefully considered that tone and relationship, hasn't she, with the city, with with finance, which is clearly very important part with the city, with finance, which is clearly very important part of the economy. and she really wanted to make sure. and she said earlier in speeches on the campaign trail that the uk is viewed as this sort of safe haven for investors. so that's an interesting strategy, very different to her predecessor, john mcdonnell in the labour party. but in terms of policies, you know, she's going to face the same sort of fiscal constraints
10:38 pm
that the previous tory government had faced, and there might be some sort of let back in terms of the economy. and we're on the cusp of potentially a rate cut next month by the bank of england. and that might sort of ease up some room for, for some parts of the economy. but two policies that she has underlined or the labour government have underlined is planning in terms of housing planning. so house—builders stocks today, ben, were up interestingly on the news of labour coming to power. and that's because she has talked about changing planning laws to make it easier for house—builders to go ahead. so the construction industry is pleased about that. she's also talked about the green sector and investing more in sort of green technology and re—evaluating those policies. but she still faces a lot of challenges. she talked earlier today to our economics editor and talked about how the private sector needs to step in, and that would be an area where she'd be kind of looking to develop and and investing in and hopefully looking for money
10:39 pm
to come in that way. and, hugh, give us a sense of the challenge ahead for labour and, huw, give us a sense of the challenge ahead for labour when it comes to the nhs because we know the nhs one of those hot topics on the campaign trail. everyone has an opinion about what needs to change. he'll also inherit some very, angryjunior doctors and on the campaign trail, asked repeatedly about what the pay deal would be that he could offer to those doctors, but didn't really answer that question. now he will have to have some answers. well, that's right, ben. i mean, just in the last half hour, wes streeting arrived at the department of health and social care just along the road from the houses of parliament and outside. of parliament and outside he told us a group of us reporters that the nhs was possibly in its worst crisis ever since it was founded, and that quote, the nhs had saved his life and he intended to spend his life trying to save the nhs. he, of course, was treated
10:40 pm
for kidney cancer. now he went in, was applauded by officials and we're waiting to hear a bit later on what his first statement of intent is going to be. and yes, the junior doctors dispute in england will be absolutely at the top of his in—tray. he said before today that the first thing he did is pick up the phone to the british medical association. now, i spoke to the the bma earlier today about their stance and their view was, look, we are ready to start talks on pay as long as it's accepted that it's going to be over a few years. it's a multi—year package to restore what was wiped out by inflation. and i sense wes streeting will agree to that. he's talked in the past about a journey for pay, but that will have to be paid for somehow any deal that he does there. and of course the waiting list is a big priority. 7.5 million people in england, 7.5 million on the waiting list, i should say, 6.5 million people
10:41 pm
that is some with more than one appointment. how does he bring that down and get that back to the target at the end of the parliament, he's talked about creating 40,000 more appointments in hospitals, but that's just the start. what is his longer term strategy going to be at a time of real stress and pressure in the nhs? yeah, and that issue of having to come up with answers, huw, you know, wes streeting now in that role. um, but we've also heard from rachel reeves, of course, as chancellor saying there's not a lot of money and they've put a lot of faith in growing the economy to try and raise some of that money. they've talked about closing things like some tax loopholes, adding vat on things like school fees, but we know that the nhs is one of the biggest expenses of the uk government. well that's right. and the think tanks, the health think tanks and the institute for fiscal studies all said during the campaign that none of the parties, including labour, had really come clean about the scale of the challenges and what money might be needed, as well as the efficiency, savings and productivity that should be addressed. and you've got this demographic pressure of more older patients with multiple conditions,
10:42 pm
a growing population, more demand for new medicines that has to be dealt with, and that means the nhs budget will rise in real terms each year. now all that labour committed to, and similarly with the conservatives was a real terms increase, but it's going to need more thanjust inflation and a little bit more. there's been talk of 30 or £40 billion a year more in real terms annually by the end of this parliament. so how do they get there will be one of the big questions for this labour government. yes. and just while we're talking as well, just a line lisa nandy becomes the new culture secretary appointed by keir starmer to culture. she was in the shadow cabinet of course international development. so a change in role for her. let's talk to daniel sandford and daniel, yvette cooper taking up the job at the home office. what will she be facing right now? all of them getting to grips with their brief.
10:43 pm
they've had a bit of time to work out what their priorities will be. but what does she inherit today? |yeah, i've had a chance to talk to her a couple of times today. once overnight at her count in wakefield, and once just| as she came into the home office in the last hour or so. _ and she's talked - about two priorities. one is setting up her- new border force command, which is essentially a more beefed | up version of the tackling borderl security and, of course, focussed particularly . on the concerns about people - crossing the channel in small boats. she said she's going to want- to introduce some new legislation to give counter—terrorism powers ito people in the border securityl command, allowing them to use i counter—terrorism powers to carry out their investigations. she hasn't really wanted to talk about cancelling the contracts l for flights to rwanda, _ but she's talked about the rwanda plan being a gimmick and a con. so i think there's no doubt that that is going to be abandoned. | and that's certainly never been part of labour policy. - but the question is, _ what do you do if you haven't got
10:44 pm
a plan to send people to rwanda, that it probably will require - repealing the immigration, the illegal migration act, l and will probably require some other new legislation as well, _ and certainly probably quite a lot of money for accommodation - in the short term while you start - processing those people whose asylum claims haven't been processed. while we've been waiting for the rwanda plan - to come to fruition. the other thing that she's spoken strongly about, i i both in the early hours of this. morning and also this afternoon, is wanting to get more neighbourhood police back out on the beat. _ and that's part of labour's promise | to tackle anti—social behaviour out| in communities right across the country. i and you know, this is familiar| territory from when tony blair was prime minister, when he was very focussed on anti—social behaviour, - and the labour party feel that this is something - that is concerning people a lot at the moment, - |and they want to make sure that people see that the home office is taking that seriously, - and they're going to be focusing onjust having more visible policing. -
10:45 pm
and of course, neither. of those things are really big, big budget items. there is a risk that the hotel bill for people who've crossed - the channel in small boats will start soaring again. i so they got to watch out for that. and there is a small budget increase for getting more . neighbourhood policing out. but these are essentially things that can be done i by a different approach. administrative approach - and things that can be done by some new legislation. i think the slightly unanswered question today is how- quickly they can get new, - uh, legislation through which will give these counter—terrorism powers to the border security command - and get rid of those bits- of the illegal migration act, which essentially say that nobody | who crosses the channel in smallj boats can be processed by the asylum system. | of course, the other thing i which won't he being talked about much is the security briefings that yvette cooper will be having i as the incoming home secretary. |she'll be having meetings with veryj senior members of mi5 and starting
10:46 pm
to be told those things that aren't | discussed very much in the publicj domain about the current, most high level threats i against the security- of people here in the uk. and that is always a big part - of the home secretary's workload. we've touched on health. we touched on things like justice. we talked there about the relationship with business. what does it mean when it comes to schools, universities, education? we can talk to our education correspondent hazel shearing and hazel, that's the real challenge. of course, anyone with school aged children will know right now big questions about the state of our schools, the education system overall, the cost of things like university. um, there's a lot of work to do, isn't there? yes. and it looks like the new education secretary, bridget phillipson, is wasting no time. she's been at the department for education, arriving there in the past 20 minutes or so, saying that she wants to get to work delivering on the priorities of the british people. and the work starts now. so anyone who's been following her election campaign
10:47 pm
will have noticed the odd can of iron brew, which isjust as well because she'll need that sugar boost for the to do list she's got coming up. bridget phillipson has said before that her first priority will be childcare and early years. now she comes into this role a few months into what is a multi year roll—out of funded childcare hours. there are issues there like staffing and availability of places. so she will want to quite hastily set up meetings with schools about converting some of their classrooms into nurseries, which is one of labour's pledges from the manifesto. but more pressing than that in the coming weeks is actually it will be up to bridget phillipson to decide how much teachers in england are paid for the coming academic year, starting in september. now, if i look over my inbox from this morning, it's very clear that teaching unions want the government to focus on getting teachers into the profession, but also keeping them so workload improving.
10:48 pm
workload will be one element of that, but pay and increasing pay will be another. so if bridget phillipson's offer isn't popular with teachers in the coming weeks, then it could put her on a collision course with teaching unions, and we could potentially see further strikes in the autumn. of course, as we get up to the autumn as well. the other thing that we'll be looking at is universities becoming worried about the fall in potential fall in international student numbers and the potential further harm that that could do to their finances. now, bridget phillipson has said that she knows the government needs to stabilise the sector, but it's not yet clear how. so but it's not yet clear how. it looks there at what th| list so it looks there at what the to do list for the new prime minister as he begins, or comes to the end of his first day in the top job, and it's really struck me. we've been here all day and was interesting about the speed of change, and quite
10:49 pm
how brutal it can be come out with the old, and with the new. keir starmer wasting no time in appointing his top team. he is now sent them off to work. tomorrow the work really begins, the cabinet will meet for the first time to assess the state of the country and the challenge that lies ahead. a delayed bbc new at ten is coming up very shortly, but from a rather damp downing street, i will leave you with this view of the worlds media still gathering here a historic day in westminster.
10:50 pm
cheering crowds greeted him here in downing street, as he laid out the priority, of his new government. i invite you all to join this government of service in the mission of national renewal. the faces of keir starmer�*s top team, arriving to begin work. we'll take a look, at their immediate challenges. earlier rishi sunak was at buckingham palace, offering his resignation, and announcing he'll be stepping down, as conservative leader. ..m my — i have given thisjob my all. but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the united kingdom must change. what next for the tories? liz truss, is one of many high
10:51 pm
profile conservatives, to lose their seats. joy for the lib dems, with their best set of election results, in a century. and reform uk, led by nigel farage, win five seats, despite getting the third most votes overall. meanwhile in scotland, the snp vote, crumbled. patterns across the uk — i'll be analysing the figures and showing how they affected the overall result. 0n bbc london: and stay with us here on bbc news, for continuing coverage and analysis from our teams of correspondence in the uk and around the world.
10:52 pm
good evening from downing street, where keir starmer, the new prime minister, is spending his first night, after a landslide victory for labour, in the general election. it was a huge win for his party, taking more than 400 seats. rishi sunak has now stood down as leader of the conservatives, after his party, won just 121 seats. some of those losses went to the liberal democrats, who had their best set of results in a century, while reform uk picked up five seats, and the greens four, while the snp vote in scotland, collapsed. standing just behind me, before walking into no 10, keir starmer promised to show the country that politics can be a force for good,
10:53 pm
and said his mission would be "national renewal". he also told the country his programme of change begins immediately, and today began appointing his top team. we'll be hearing more about the new cabinet, and take a look at what lies ahead for the conservative party. but we begin tonight, with chris mason, our political editor, on a dramatic day, and night of political history. just look at our new prime minister's face, undisguised joy. in their new street to be greeted by flag—waving labour activists. it is 27 years since we have witnessed a moment like this. labour winning from opposition and assuming power. labour very good at losing elections, but this bucks the trend —
10:54 pm
they've won and won big. i have just returned from buckingham palace, where i accepted an invitation from his majesty the king, to form the next government of this great nation. cheering i want to thank the outgoing prime minister rishi sunak. his achievement, as the first british asian prime minister of our country, the extra effort that that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone. but now our country has voted decisively for change. whether you voted labour are not, in fact especially if you did not, i say to you, directly, my government will serve you. but hang on, he admitted...
10:55 pm
changing a country is not like flicking a switch. the world is now a more volatile place. this will take a while. but, have no doubt that the work of change begins immediately... and he promised... to restore service and respect to politics, to end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives, and unite our country. cheering jubilation, yes, but with terms and conditions, the slogan may have been "change" but he admits it will take time. keir starmer entering 10 downing street as prime minister for the very first time. and with that, the business of governing begins. arriving this afternoon to join the cabinet, the new deputy prime minister angela rayner, the first woman to be chancellor ever, rachel reeves, and the new foreign secretary,
10:56 pm
david lammy. all of this began to unfold at 10 o'clock last night. blimey, just take a look and take in those numbers. a nocturnal political earthquake. massive labour gains in england, scotland and wales, colossal conservative losses. just look at theirfaces. in norfolk, a former prime minister became a former mp. conservative party chairman richard holden had a nervous wait, winning byjust 20 votes. former cabinet minister jacob rees—mogg wasn't so lucky, and lost. thank you very much to everybody and good night. # sweet caroline...# lib dems leader ed davey could not resist a spot of dad dancing to mark his party's leap forward to 71 mp5. the scottish national party lost 38 seats, and is left with just nine.
10:57 pm
reform uk got more votes than the lib dems, but ended up with just five mps, one of them nigel farage. and the green party of england and wales won four seats. among their victors, co—leader carla denyer beating a former labour frontbencher in the process. bristol, you made history today. in westminster it is just over six weeks since i last got soaked in downing street when the election campaign began. here it comes. it is going to be a busy morning for the lectern. there was a touch of deja vu as well as rain there this morning, as rishi sunak left. to the country i would like to say first and foremost, i am sorry. i have given thisjob my all. but you have sent a clear signal, that the government of the united kingdom must change. and yours is the only judgment that matters. i have heard your anger,
10:58 pm
your disappointment, and i take responsibility for this loss. he offered these words about keir starmer. whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public spirited man, who i respect. these were his last public remarks in high office. this is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days. but i leave thisjob, honoured to have been your prime minister. this is the best country in the world, and it is thanks entirely to you, the british people, the true source of all of our achievements, our strengths and our greatness, thank you. in truth, he tried everything to revive conservative fortunes, but had failed, leading his party to catastrophic defeat. sir keir starmer, your majesty. and so leading to this moment.
10:59 pm
as keir starmer gets used to regal small talk, and the country gets used to its fourth prime minister in under two years. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. sir keir starmer set to work immediately appointing a new cabinet — the ministers who'll run government departments. angela rayner been confirmed as deputy prime minister and secretary of levelling up, housing and communities. rachel reeves, as expected, becomes the new chancellor of the exchequer — the first woman in uk history to hold the post. david lammy is the new foreign secretary. and yvette cooper has been appointed as the new home secretary. her husband ed balls, of course, was a minister when labour were last in power. chris is here. a few more appointments in the last
11:00 pm
few hours. what else has the new prime minister been up to. a couple of appointments _ prime minister been up to. a couple of appointments to _ prime minister been up to. a couple of appointments to ministerial - of appointments to ministerial positions, quite eye—catching. james timpson of the high street cobblers is a prisons minister. sir patrick vallance has been appointed as a science minister in the house of lords. the prime minister has also been doing the standard things a new prime minister does, which is a blitz of telephone calls to allies around the world. among them a conversation with president biden, talking about the relationship between washington and london and reflecting they will see each other next week at a nato summit in washington. also conversations with the taoiseach, the irish prime minister, simon harris, they will meet in a couple of weeks' time.
23 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on