# Keir Starmer tries to lead the UK **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 6, 2024, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805 "2024-07-06T06:46:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/1 "2024-07-06T06:46:52Z")
Following on from Elendil\_s\_Heir’s post on Starmer’s cabinet appointments in the UK General Election thread, perhaps we should start a new thread on the new government (administration, for our US readers). No surprises in the first announcements of cabinet appointments - basically, people get the front-bench jobs they’ve been shadowing, except where they’ve had to cover an unexpected loss (Culture, and Business). Interestingly, there are two early announcements of outside appointments as junior minister: - one for prisons (given the immediate capacity crisis, not surprising), the businessman best known for offering jobs to ex-offenders and a longterm interest in prison reform - one for science and technology, the Chief Scientific Adviser during the pandemic. > **[Starmer ministry](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starmer_ministry)** > > The Starmer ministry began on 5 July when Keir Starmer was invited by King Charles III to form a government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 5 July 2024, after the general election on 4 July. > Starmer's new government is being formed 5–7 July, with the new Cabinet first meeting on 6 July and the new Parliament being called to meet on 9 July. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/2 "2024-07-06T07:38:59Z")
Given that everything else about _Yes, (Prime) Minister_ has proven accurate (most recently Sunak’s national service plan being hated by military brass), the civil service must be fuming about people with interest and competence in their ministries! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/3 "2024-07-06T08:44:18Z")
Given Rory Stewart’s frustrations as prisons minister (I was given his memoir for Christmas, so I sort of had to read it, and he goes into that period in some detail), I wouldn’t be at all surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/4 "2024-07-06T09:26:22Z")
Is a Secretary of State for Levelling Up kind of an opposite to a Secretary of State for Trickling Down? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/5 "2024-07-06T10:17:43Z")
Sort of. But when Boris Johnson originated the notion, and judging by the funding actually disbursed for it, it might as well have been the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/6 "2024-07-06T12:06:52Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Interestingly, there are two early announcements of outside appointments as junior minister: > > - one for prisons (given the immediate capacity crisis, not surprising), the businessman best known for offering jobs to ex-offenders and a longterm interest in prison reform > - one for science and technology, the Chief Scientific Adviser during the pandemic. To be clear, an “outside appointment” means an appointment from outside the membership of Parliament? A good sign, at any rate, that he’s giving jobs to people who seem to be well-qualified for them, rather than just patronage. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/7 "2024-07-06T12:15:16Z")
Yes. But they won’t be outside Parliament for long; they’ll be given life peerages, and a seat in the House of Lords so that they can attend, and be answerable to, Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/8 "2024-07-06T14:19:47Z")
According to wikipedia, the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, is opposed to teaching GLB issues in schools, and also believes that biological sex is immutable. > Mahmood was criticised by activists within her own party in March 2019 over comments she made regarding the teaching of LGBTQ+ content within schools.[[46]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabana_Mahmood#cite_note-46) > In a 2024 interview, with Genevieve Holl-Allen at _[The Daily Telegraph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraph)_, Mahmood said that she was concerned with the treatment of [gender critical activists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-critical_feminism), saying that “many women have had to go to court, usually in employment tribunals, in order to clarify … their right to say that biological sex is real and is immutable – a position that I also agree with” and that women “shouldn’t be in the position of losing their jobs” for espousing those views.[[47]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabana_Mahmood#cite_note-47)[[48]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabana_Mahmood#cite_note-48) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/9 "2024-07-06T20:37:33Z")
Is it that difficult for someone in the UK to make it clear when a view is personally held and is not being characterized as being the position of His Majesty’s government? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/10 "2024-07-06T21:42:39Z")
Where do you think the policies of HM Government come from? The Lord Chancellor is one of the four great officers of state. She will be sitting at the Cabinet table and giving her opinions on justice issues that come before the Cabinet. She will presumably base her opinions on her beliefs and values. Once Cabinet reaches a policy position , she will support it. But she will be one of the key players in forming that policy position. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/11 "2024-07-07T02:05:19Z")
Starmer just better hope he has a good Principal Private Secretary. _It’s my job to see that the chips stay up!_ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/12 "2024-07-07T02:46:59Z")
Whoops, it’s Chancellor of the Exchequer who is great officer, not Lord Chancellor. My mistake. Apologies. But the basic point stands: Lord Chancellor and Secretary for Justice is a very influential position. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/13 "2024-07-07T03:35:57Z")
Starmer has appointed Rachel Reeves as Chancellor of the Exchequer, the first woman in the more than 7 centuries that the office has been in existence. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/14 "2024-07-07T21:24:04Z")
The last Labour govt tried to abolish the Lord Chancellor, but found it too complicated. They ended up combining the post (which used to be the Head of the Judiciary and carried a seat on the Woolsack in the Lords, and sometimes was judging cases too) with Justice (itself a new ministry). Previously the Lord Chancellor was invariably a lawyer and usually a prominent one. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/15 "2024-07-07T21:36:55Z")
Re Keir Starmer trying to lead the UK: He must realize that Brexit is an economic failure. Can his government do anything about that? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/16 "2024-07-07T21:40:26Z")
I remember reading something that the EU said that if Britain ever decided to undo Brexit, there’s no way they’d be allowed to maintain their own currency as they did prior to Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/17 "2024-07-07T21:42:37Z")
They threw away a lot of special concessions that the EU gave them, going back to the statu quo ante is practically impossible. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/18 "2024-07-07T22:18:05Z")
They could rejoin the single market or the customs union without rejoining the EU proper. This would be strictly worse than being in the EU, because they would have to obey the rules without being part of the decision-making process that sets the rules, but it would help with the Irish border issues. Allegedly KS has ruled this out, though. [Keir Starmer rules out UK rejoining EU single market in his lifetime](https://www.ft.com/content/6c12b7cc-d4bd-496d-be86-2584131b4d2f) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/19 "2024-07-08T00:46:29Z")
A BBC profile: [Who is new prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer? - BBC Newsround](https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c51yvy429djo) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805/20 "2024-07-08T02:11:18Z")
Call for a revote on joining the EU. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keir-starmer-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1003805.md?page=2)