GENERAL ELECTION 2024: AFTER LABOUR LANDSLIDE, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Sir Keir Starmer will be the UK's new Labour prime minister after a Tory rout saw former premier Liz Truss and a dozen serving Cabinet members lose their seats.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he took responsibility for the electoral mauling inflicted on his party as it suffered its worst ever result.
It marks a spectacular turnaround since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an 80-seat Conservative majority and Labour suffered its worst result since 1935.
Here is a look at how the handover of power will unfold over the coming days – and what to expect from the first few months of a new Labour government:
TODAY
Sunak departs
Rishi Sunak is expected to step out and make a departing statement outside the famous black door of No 10 this morning.
He will then take a short car ride from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace for an audience with King Charles III, in which he will formally tender his resignation.
Starmer visits the King
Once he has left, it is Sir Keir's turn to see the King at the palace. He will be appointed as the country's next prime minister and asked to form an administration.
The Labour leader will then be driven down the Mall to Downing Street to address the nation for the first time as prime minister.
Starmer arrives at Downing Street
It is customary for the new prime minister to be greeted by the Cabinet Secretary and Principal Private Secretary - currently Simon Case and Elizabeth Perelman - at the door of No 10.
'And then the staff of No 10 are lined up in the corridor, that long corridor down to the Cabinet Room, and they will clap,' Lord Robin Butler, who oversaw the transition as cabinet secretary when Labour swept into power in 1997, said.
The new premier then typically heads into the Cabinet Room to receive security and intelligence briefings from civil servants.
Nuclear codes
Sir Keir will be handed the nuclear codes and write 'letters of last resort' to commanders of submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles with secret orders on what to do if the Government has been wiped out in a nuclear attack.
New Cabinet appointed
This intensive induction into his prime ministerial duties will have to be fitted alongside key political decisions, including appointing his Cabinet as he begins to form a government.
This is one of the most visible parts of a change of government, with ministers walking in and out of No 10 in front of the rolling cameras outside.
Westminster watchers do not expect major changes to Sir Keir's top team, with Rachel Reeves set to become the first ever female chancellor, Angela Rayner becoming deputy prime minister and David Lammy set to keep the Foreign Office brief.
Congratulations from global leaders
Sir Keir could also start receiving calls from international counterparts wishing him well in the new job.
Former Whitehall chief Lord Gus O'Donnell, who served Mr Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, said: 'There will be countless telephone calls from world leaders wanting to congratulate him on his achievement, all of which will potentially provide opportunities for constructive dialogue.
'The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will provide briefs to make sure none of these conversations are wasted.
'Meanwhile, the hapless private secretary will be wondering how to fit in calls from relatives in between, and how to screen out bogus 'friends'.'
Arrangements and appointments
Recalling Mr Blair's first hours in Downing Street, Lord Butler said that while the newcomer's parents had coffee on the terrace outside the Cabinet Room, 'we spent the afternoon making the appointments' and 'what seem like trivial' decisions such as 'who is going to have Dorneywood', referring to the grace-and-favour country residence typically assigned to the chancellor, 'and the order of seniority in the Cabinet'.
'There will be personal things' to sort out, the peer said, including moving-in arrangements and whether the prime minister will take the larger flat above No 11 usually inhabited by the chancellor, as Mr Blair did 'because the living accommodation was enough for a family'.
'They didn't ask to come in and see it beforehand, for the obvious reason that measuring the curtains looks rather presumptuous,' the former top mandarin said.
'We'd arranged a piano so the children could do their piano practice.'
New MPs arrive at Parliament
Meanwhile, new MPs are expected to arrive in Parliament from this morning, with House of Commons officials ready to assist them over the weekend and beyond.
They will be paired up with a 'buddy' who will brief them on their role and to help them navigate the estate, get advice on parliamentary procedure and etiquette, and meet HR and IT staff as they work to get their support teams established.
THIS WEEKEND
More appointments
Appointments of junior ministers are likely to continue over the coming hours and days, as will calls from world leaders and first ministers of the devolved nations.
'Then there are immediate diary questions - when's going to be the first Cabinet,' Lord Butler said.
Priorities and timings
Legislative priorities and the timing of any major policy announcements will also need to be worked out.
'The Government has got to show that it's taking charge immediately, and doing what's necessary,' he said.
Decisions such as allocating office space in No 10 - famously ill-suited to be a modern workplace with its maze-like layout - 'have got to be decided on the first weekend because they're necessary in order for people to start working'.
'Mission boards' created
Cross-departmental 'mission boards' are expected to be created to make progress on Labour's key pledges - economic growth, the NHS, crime and justice, clean energy and improving opportunity.
There are several policy changes Labour could make within days.
One is on Mr Sunak's stalled multimillion-pound Rwanda deportation scheme, which Labour has said it would axe on 'day one'.
Labour will instead launch a new border security command, appoint 'hundreds of new specialist investigators' and 'use counter-terror powers to smash criminal boat gangs' in a bid to curb Channel crossings.
Housing policy
Kickstarting homebuilding is a top priority for the party, with Sir Keir hinting about at least three announcements in the first few weeks.
This could include plans to restore top-down targets for housing delivery in every council area in England, to allow parts of the green belt to be developed, and to recruit hundreds more planning officers.
Other policy priorities
Wes Streeting, the incoming health secretary, has vowed to make his first call to junior doctors' leaders on the day after the election to try to end long-running strikes over pay in England.
The de facto ban on onshore wind farms could be reversed within weeks, and a year-long strategic defence review of the UK's military capabilities launched.
Labour has also said Sir Keir's first steps include restoring economic stability and cutting NHS waiting lists.
Other immediate issues the new government may have to confront include prisons, amid fears jails could run out of space within days, and public sector pay recommendations.
Sue Gray's involvement
Sir Keir's chief of staff Sue Gray, who spent years at the top of the Civil Service, will likely be involved in decisions about how the prime minister will work, how the centre of government will be set up and his diary for the first few days - some of which will have been agreed in access talks.
The Labour leader's expected attendance at the Nato leaders' summit the following week will also require briefings to be readied and decisions to be made about which officials should accompany him.
Lord O'Donnell, who served as Cabinet Secretary for six years, said: 'His briefing pack will be extensive: Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, the race for the US presidency, European defence spending. There is a lot to take in, and little time to prepare.'
TUESDAY, JULY 9
New Parliament
The new Parliament will be summoned to meet next Tuesday.
The first business will be to choose a Commons Speaker - with Sir Lindsay Hoyle set to be re-elected.
Congratulating the Speaker will be Sir Keir's first opportunity to speak at the despatch box as prime minister and he will likely offer some rhetoric on the future.
Swearing in
Swearing-in could begin on the same day or the next and will continue for several days.
MPs and peers will take the oath, with the Government going first, followed by some other established figures.
MPs are not allowed to speak in debates, vote or receive their salary until they make an oath or solemn affirmation of allegiance to the Crown.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10
Stepping onto the world stage
Just days after becoming prime minister, Sir Keir will be propelled onto the world stage, jetting to Washington DC for the Nato leaders' summit.
Issues will include what more support should be given to Ukraine, the Middle East and the US election in November.
Sir Keir may hold bilateral meetings with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17
King's Speech
The King will preside over the pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament, marking the formal start of the new parliamentary session at the Palace of Westminster.
A key component of the ceremony is the King's Speech, where he sets out the government's legislative programme for the coming session. The creation of Great British Energy and planning reform are expected to be at the forefront.
The speech is also expected to include legislation empowering the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish forecasts of any major tax and spending changes, after Liz Truss's ill-fated mini-budget came without projections from the fiscal watchdog.
Other new laws could be to strengthen workers' rights, crack down on antisocial behaviour through a crime and policing bill, gradually nationalise the railways, set up a new parliamentary ethics and integrity commission, and reform the planning system and the current mental health legislation.
Labour has also indicated it will resurrect some pieces of legislation Mr Sunak promised but failed to enact before he called the election, including plans for a smoking ban for under-15s and to end no-fault evictions.
No substantive parliamentary business can typically take place until after the speech is delivered. It is debated and voted on in the following days.
Lord Butler said: 'One of the biggest decisions which has to be taken, and is a collective decision, is the contents of the King's Speech. Because they certainly can't do all the legislation, all the things they promised in their first parliament.'
THURSDAY, JULY 18
Diplomacy abounds
The UK is hosting a gathering of the European Political Community, the body that brings all 27 EU member countries together with 20 others from outside the bloc.
Sir Keir will welcome around 50 heads of government to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, giving him an opportunity to set the tone for his Government's approach to the UK's relationship with the EU.
While Labour has ruled out rejoining the single market or customs union, the party is seeking a better trade relationship with the bloc.
Sir Keir is also aiming to deepen co-operation by signing a new UK-EU security pact.
AUGUST
Summer break and peerages
Before Mr Sunak called the election, July 23 was when summer recess was scheduled to start.
However, this would not leave enough time for the usual six sitting days to debate the King's Speech.
Sir Keir is expected to cut short the summer break so that it only covers August, with MPs sitting until July 31.
Labour could create a number of new peers to bolster the party's representation in the House of Lords and help push through its legislative programme.
SEPTEMBER
Conference season
The month will be dominated by party conferences, with Labour gathering in Liverpool from September 22 to 25 for its first conference while in power for many years.
The Liberal Democrats will meet in Brighton from September 14 to 17, and the Tories in Birmingham from September 29 to October 2.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Budget
Rachel Reeves's first key test as chancellor will be delivering her first budget, expected in September or October.
It comes as the party faces tough choices over the public finances. Official forecasts imply major spending cuts, but Labour is gambling on economic growth generating the tax receipts to avoid a return to austerity.
The autumn statement will include measures detailed in Labour's manifesto, such as higher taxes on non-doms, scrapping the VAT exemption on private school fees and extending the windfall tax on energy companies.
Labour has ruled out raising income tax, national insurance and VAT and aims to keep corporation tax capped at 25 per cent.
All eyes will be on whether Ms Reeves raises levies in other areas to avoid a spending squeeze on departments with unprotected budgets, which oversee services such as prisons, courts and councils, baked in by Mr Sunak's Government.
The next spending review to set departmental budgets is expected by the end of autumn.
Ms Reeves has also pledged to hold a global investment summit in the first 100 days of entering government 'to show that Britain is open for business'.
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