Labour leader Keir Starmer has announced his new cabinet and announced major policy steps. Angela Rayner has become Deputy Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves the UK’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer. Yvette Cooper has been appointed as the new Home Secretary, David Lammy as the Foreign Secretary and John Healey as the Defence Secretary. Starmer’s campaign slogan was “change” and there are 11 women in the cabinet.
Economic Statements from Rachel Reeves
New Finance Minister Rachel ReevesHe met with business people for the first time today and made important statements about the economy. Reeves stated that the UK economy was “in its worst period since the Second World War”. Reeves emphasized that he would increase infrastructure investment and make the difficult decisions necessary to fix the economy. He also announced that there would be no increase in social security rates and VAT, that they would maintain their housing construction targets and make changes to their energy policies.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s Statements on Ukraine
New Foreign Secretary David Lammy, made their first visits to Germany, Poland and Sweden, emphasizing support for Ukraine. Together with Defence Secretary John Healey, they promised to send more weapons to Ukraine. Lammy also announced that they wanted to develop relations with the EU and stated that they aimed for new security agreements.
UK-EU Relations and Keir Starmer’s Policies
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, said that they wanted to renew relations with the EU and that they could make a better deal than former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal. Starmer emphasized the importance of regional relations during his visits to Scotland and Northern Ireland and stated that they would work to strengthen relations with the EU.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Immigration Policies
UK’s new Home Secretary Yvette CooperHe announced that they will take tough measures against refugees trying to reach the country by crossing the English Channel by boat. He stated that they will establish a Border Security Command and fight against human trafficking gangs to reduce illegal crossings. He also said that they have cancelled the previous government’s Rwanda plan and will take radical measures to reduce crossings.
