UK’s new PM Starmer announces cabinet

Keir Starmer announced members of his cabinet after officially becoming the prime minister of the U.K. on Friday.

Starmer received the blessing of King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony known as the “kissing of hands.” A photo of the occasion served as the official announcement of Starmer’s new title.

Earlier on Friday, Rishi Sunak offered his resignation as prime minister to the king.

Voters in the U.K. cast their ballots Thursday in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.

After more than a decade in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak’s Conservatives suffered a major defeat.

David Lammy has been appointed the foreign secretary, while Yvette Cooper is the home secretary looking after key issues including immigration and policing.

John Healey was named the defense secretary.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, has been appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – the most senior minister in the Cabinet after the prime minister.

Rachel Reeves has been appointed Treasury chief in Britain’s new Labour government, the first woman to hold the job.

Reeves was put in charge of the country’s finances on Friday by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. She gets a job and title, Chancellor of the Exchequer, that dates to the 16th century.

The former Bank of England economist faces the daunting task of delivering Labour’s promise to get the economy growing and invest in public services while working with a large national debt.

Starmer is appointing his Cabinet on Friday after winning a landslide election victory.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has been appointed as Britain’s deputy prime minister.

Rayner was the first senior politician to be appointed by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he began the work of appointing his Cabinet.

Rayner, who has served as Starmer’s deputy party leader since 2020, will also take the role of the Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Rayner has often spoken about her tough background growing up in a deprived public housing block and leaving school early as a young mother.

She started her career as a trade union official before embarking on a career as a lawmaker.