Mon | Jul 8, 2024

Keir Starmer is officially the new UK prime minister

Published:Friday | July 5, 2024 | 10:54 AM
Britain's Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria wave to the crowds of supporters and media from the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. Labour leader Starmer won the general election on July 4, and was appointed Prime Minster by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, after the party won a landslide victory. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Labour leader Keir Starmer officially became prime minister of the United Kingdom on Friday after his party won a landslide victory in a national election.

Starmer received the blessing of King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony known as the "kissing of hands." A photo of the occasion served as the official announcement of Starmer's new title.

Earlier on Friday, Rishi Sunak offered his resignation as prime minister to the king.

Voters in the UK cast their ballots Thursday in a national election to choose the 650 lawmakers who will sit in Parliament for the next five years.

After more than a decade in power under five different prime ministers, Sunak's Conservatives suffered a major defeat.

- AP

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