Keir Starmer, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer, became the prime minister of Britain on Friday after the Labour Party won the general election, ousting Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The Labour Party won a dominant position in British politics, securing its majority by adding 210 seats. It now commands 410 seats in the 650-seat parliament. The Conservatives, by comparison, lost 250 lawmakers.
“Across our country, people will be waking up to the news that a weight has been lifted, a burden finally removed from the shoulders of this nation,” Starmer said on Friday, adding that the country now has an opportunity to “get its future back” after 14 years of Conservative rule.
“I don’t promise you it will be easy. Changing a country is not like flipping a switch,” he said. “We will have to get moving immediately.”
Starmer was first elected to lead Labour in 2020, after the party suffered its worst general election defeat in 85 years. Since then, he has sought to bring the party toward the political center on many issues to broaden its voter appeal. He has upset the more progressive wing of his party by walking away from several of the party’s policy pledges, including an increase in income tax, an end to university tuition fees, and the nationalization of the majority of Britain’s public services.
He has also committed to supporting Britain’s military and has prioritized rooting out antisemitism from the party and repairing its relationship with British Jews. In 2020, he suspended former leader Jeremy Corbyn from the party after Corbyn deflected blame for the party’s handling of antisemitism allegations under his leadership.
Starmer, the son of a toolmaker and a nurse, was first elected to the British Parliament in 2015. Before that, he served as the head of public prosecutions for the British government’s Crown Prosecution Service. In 2014, he was knighted for his services to criminal justice.
Sunak, meanwhile, said Friday he would step down as Conservative Party leader after the party’s loss.
“To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry,” Sunak said in a speech outside Downing Street signaling the end of his 14-month tenure.
“I have given this job 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, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss,” he added.