FTI Consulting UK Public Affairs Snapshot – Labour’s Blueprint for Britain: What the Next 100 Days Could Bring Under Keir Starmer

The 2024 general election has cemented what many had been expecting for months. Keir Starmer triumphed as the Labour Party now command a majority of 174 MPs in the House of Commons, 412 seats in total, albeit with a strikingly modest vote share of 34%, and a turnout of just 60%. Reiterating the central message throughout his campaign, Starmer declared in his inaugural speech as Prime Minister that the “work of change begins immediately”.

Turning to the new opposition, this election was one to forget for former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, winning a total of 121 seats, a decrease of 251 from 2019. The result marks a new era in British politics, symbolised by the loss of several prominent Conservative MPs, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss and former leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt. The jostling for who will succeed Rishi Sunak as leader of the party has already begun.

Having taken a substantial number of votes from the Conservative Party since the 2019 election, the Liberal Democrats and Reform will regard this election as a victory. Ed Davey’s Lib Dems will take comfort in winning 72 seats and becoming the third-largest party in the House. Reform managed to get their frontline stars over the line, winning a total of five seats. There were also five newly elected independent MPs, four of whom were elected on a Pro-Palestine ticket, and the fifth being the maverick re-election of Jeremy Corbyn. Their elections certainly sent shockwaves to Labour, with former Shadow Minister Jonathan Ashworth losing his seat. It was also a night of victory for the Greens, who quadrupled their previous result with the party now having four MPs. 

Turning to the devolved nations, the SNP and the Welsh Conservatives will be holding their heads in defeat. The SNP have been reduced to just nine seats, and the Welsh Conservatives lost all of the 14 seats they previously held in Wales, with Labour coming out on top in both nations. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin were victorious after a disappointing night for the DUP. It means Sinn Féin is now the largest party across Northern Ireland’s councils, assembly and at Westminster.

What comes next

Whilst the election may have concluded, Starmer must now put his money where his mouth is. After a gruelling 6-week campaign, now the real work begins.

But it won’t be from a standing start. With Labour having dominated the polls for well over a year, preparations for Government have been in the works for long before Sunak took to a rainy Downing Street to announce the General Election. Spearheaded by Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant turned Chief of Staff to Keir Starmer, the Party has been preparing legislation, holding access talks with the civil service, and ironing out exactly what a Labour government will do in its first 100 days.

Work has already begun, with Starmer axing the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme on his first full day in the job – a clear attempt to differentiate between his government and its predecessor, mitigating accusations that a Labour government will be a Conservative sheep in wolf’s clothing. This policy will be replaced by a “border security command” sanctioned to “smash criminal gangs” – the first details of which have been published by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Signalling his commitment to “fixing” the NHS, Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the BMA junior doctors committee straight after his appointment on Friday, organising calls for this week with a view to bringing the ongoing strikes to an end. With the economic situation still challenging and strict fiscal rules in play, whilst talks have begun – a mutually agreeable solution will be hard to come by.

Planning reform has also been confirmed as an immediate priority, a low-cost intervention that will signal Labour’s “YIMBY” intentions to drive housebuilding and infrastructure across the UK. In Rachel Reeves’ first speech since being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, she outlined a number of immediate policy priorities Labour will focus on around planning reform. These include reforming the National Planning Policy Framework, including consulting on a growth-based approach to the planning system before the end of the month, restoring mandatory housing targets, ending the effective ban on new onshore wind and launching a new Growth Delivery Unit at the heart of the Treasury.

Despite the scale of domestic challenges, Starmer can’t stop for long. This week will find him in Washington DC for the NATO leaders’ summit, his debut on the international stage. Whilst Starmer is stateside, the 334 new MPs will begin learning the parliamentary ropes, and all MPs will be officially sworn in.

Ahead of the Summer recess, which is expected to be shortened given the new Government’s eagerness to get cracking on policy changes, the King’s Speech will be on July 17. This is likely to include an energy bill to establish Great British Energy and legislation on employment rights to bring about changes set out in Labour’s New Deal for Working People.

Given the Labour Party’s enormous mandate, it is tempting to draw comparisons with 1997. But whilst Starmer received a similar majority to Blair, 2024 feels different. Optimism is scarce, the economic situation still challenging, and trust in politics at an all-time low. Nevertheless, Labour seems determined to go where the Conservatives never dared – and hope that the change they offer is the one that the electorate voted for.