UK election latest: Starmer sets out 'urgent need for ceasefire' in first call with Israeli PM (2024)

The youngest MP set to enter the Commons says he is "a little bit frustrated" when questions are asked about his life experience.

Sam Carling, 22, is the new representative of North West Cambridgeshire, having beaten veteran Conservative Shailesh Vara by a razor-thin 39-vote margin.

'Baby of the House'

He graduated from the University of Cambridge last year and has been a councillor at Cambridge City Council since 2022, according to his LinkedIn.

"I always get a little bit frustrated when people mention life experience because no one has yet been able to explain to me why being older makes you better at that job," he told BBC Breakfast.

"I have had experiences that lots of older MPs won't have had, and I have done quite a lot for my age as well," he said, pointing to his position in the council cabinet overseeing £17m of public money.

Mr Carling will be nicknamed "baby of the House" when he enters the Commons, taking over the tradition from fellow Labour MP Keir Mather.

The Father of the House will be Sir Edward Leigh, 73, who has served continuously since 1983.

Some had thought Jeremy Corbyn would gain the title - but he was sworn in 20 places behind Sir Edward in the queue that year.

Sir Edward held hisGainsborough seat on Thursday, albeit with a much reduced majority of 3,532 - 30 percentage points fewer than in 2019.

Mother of the House goes toDiane Abbott, 70, who was elected in 1987 as the first black woman to win a seat in the House of Commons.

She was re-elected with a huge mandate on Thursday - 59.5% of the vote and a majority of more than 15,000.

The prime minister has embarked on a tour of the UK today following his general election victory.

Sir Keir Starmer is kicking off the multi-stop trip in Edinburgh, where he'll meet the Scottish first minister, John Swinney.

We've just received these pictures from the Press Association of the PM leaving the rear entrance of Downing Street earlier today.

We're expecting an update from his Scotland trip in the next few hours.

It comes after Labour became the dominant party north of the border for the first time in more than a decade, as the SNP collapsed.

Lady Victoria Starmer has never done an interview - and according to the prime minister, that's not about to change.

As her husband prepares to lead the country after winning a historic landslide, not a huge amount is known about his wife, who likes to keep a low profile.

Despite not hearing from her, she has been visible; quietly by her husband's side when he held his Holborn and St Pancras seat in the historic vote, when he gave his victory speech, and when he took his first steps in Downing Street as prime minister.

In contrast to Rishi Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, who introduced him with a speech at the Tory conference and gave a sit-down on-camera interview to Grazia where she talked about chores and her favourite family activities, we don't often see or hear from Lady Victoria.

Here we take a closer look at what we know about the UK's new "First Lady".

By Alessandra Rizzo, assistant editor

An unknown book about a boy wizard, Harry Potter, rolled off the presses, its publishers expecting to sell just 500 copies. Paparazzi hungered for exclusive photos of Princess Diana. And everywhere, you heard the Spice Girls telling you to spice up your life.

The year was 1997, and it was the last time, until now, that Labour had seized power from the Tories, kicking a Conservative prime minister out of Downing Street.

Then as now, Labour won a landslide victory, ending more than a decade of Tory government - 18 years in 1997 and 14 years now.

But while it's tempting to draw parallels between Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, much has changed in Britain in the last 27 years.

Also on the media round today is Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who won a record number of seats for his party at this week's election.

Like Labour, analysts have noted how the party made the most of Britain's first past the post voting system, having ended up with 72 seats despite getting less votes nationally than Reform UK - who got five seats.

But the Lib Dems have previously made the case for changing to proportional representation, something Reform leader Nigel Farage has called for since the results were confirmed.

Lib Dems will 'make case' for proportional representation

Sir Ed was asked by the BBC if it was fair Reform got many more votes than the Lib Dems but ended up with far fewer seats.

He said: "The Liberal Democrats have long argued for fair votes and long argued for electoral reform and proportional representation.

"We want to improve our democracy, our politics is broken, and so we're going to continue to make that case."

He acknowledged "it might mean there'll be people who are elected who we don't agree with", but said there were already "many people in the Conservative Party who seem to share the values and ideas of Reform".

'That's democracy'

Put to him that a change in voting system would have seen Reform replace the Lib Dems as the third-largest party in parliament, Sir Ed said: "People will get voted in who you don't agree with, under first past the post people in Reform have got elected too and people in the Conservative Party who were very close to Reform have got elected.

"That's democracy, that's allowing the people to express their will."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has today spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

He told Mr Abbas that recognition of Palestine as part of the peace process was the "undeniable right of Palestinians".

And in a readout of the call with Mr Netanyahu, Downing Street said while Sir Keir vowed to continue the UK's "vital co-operation" with Israel against "malign threats".

He also "set out the clear and urgent need for a ceasefire" in Gaza, "the return of hostages and an immediate increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching civilians".

He added that it was "also important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution were in place, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority had the financial means to operate effectively".

The government has ruled out introducing digital ID cards after Sir Tony Blair called for his policy proposal to be revived.

The former Labour prime minister said the digital form of documentation could help control migration.

Business SecretaryJonathanReynolds initially told Sky News Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would look at "all sources of advice", but he was "not going to pre-empt things they may or may not want to do".

He has since told Times Radio: "We can rule that out, that's not something that's part of our plans."

Sources close to Ms Cooper told the Press Association that ID cards were not Labour policy and that has not changed.

From former immigration minister Robert Jenrick to the twice-sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, several senior Tories have this morning refused to rule out running for the party leadership.

It comes after Rishi Sunak announced he would step down as he left Number 10 on Friday morning.

But our political correspondent Darren McCaffrey said the recently ousted prime minister could still be leading the party for some time.

Battle for soul of Tory party

While some in the party want his replacement to be in place this summer, others think taking more time "to reflect" would serve its members and remaining MPs well.

"The big problem for the Conservative Party is when you look at those election results, they've been attacked from different sides," says Darren.

"The fight for the soul of the party is: where do you focus your fire?"

Those on the right think Reform "are the big problem", and leaving the contest for too long "will give an opportunity for Nigel Farage".

"Another section of the party, particularly when it looks at the Lib Dems, think that's the wrong thing to do and think it needs to be in the centre again and worry about traditional Conservative voters," Darren adds.

Will Tories play the long game?

The party has got used to rapid leadership contests since David Cameron stood down back in 2016, but the Tories took much longer to decide on their future when they lost to Labour for a third election running in 2005.

That year, they didn't settle on Cameron as their new leader until December and there are some who think playing "a much longer game" once again would be the best way forward.

Former armed forces minister James Heappey said there should be "no rush" and called on the party to take up to six months, warning against "knee-jerk decisions" that could "add years" to any recovery.

Removal men are busy on Downing Street this afternoon, with mattresses, sofas and pianos being carefully removed from ministerial residences.

Both Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak will be departing Number 11 and Number 10 respectively after the Tories were booted out of government on Thursday.

Its not exactly clear who Bishop's Move are assisting with their change of address - but it is all happening very quickly.

Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is in Belfast today, where he has been taking questions from the media for the first time in this role.

Oursenior Ireland correspondent David Blevins asks him how long the Westminster government can ignore demands for a referendum on unifying the island of Ireland.

It comes after Sinn Fein became Northern Ireland's biggest party at Westminster following the general election.

Mr Benn says there is a clear criterion - and this has not been met.

"The Belfast Good Friday Agreement was very carefully considered, debated, discussed, drafted and signed," Mr Benn says.

"And the condition - the criteria if you would like - for a border poll is very clear.

"It's when the secretary of state, whoever he or she is, comes to the view that in the event that a border poll was held, the people of Northern Ireland would vote for a united Ireland.

"There is no evidence that this condition has been met."

Analysis by David Blevins

The new Northern Ireland secretary set out his stall after a visit to St George's Market in Belfast.

From vinyl records to clothing freshly-printed with the city's distinct vernacular, it's a treasure trove of the old and new - much like Northern Ireland's political challenges, from the legacy of the conflict to post-Brexit trading.

Tourists tried on new hats as Hillary Benn swiftly adapted to his new role in Sir Keir Starmer's government.

Presented with a carrot painting by one trader, Northern Ireland's new vegetarian secretary of state will have to put the meat on the bones of proposals to address Brexit, legacy and a crisis in public services.