Starmer’s first hours in office: calls with foreign leaders and a Cabinet meeting

Keir Starmer discusses trade deals, international relations, and domestic issues in first days as U.K. Prime Minister.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer spent his first few hours in office holding phone calls with U.K. allies and partners including a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning. On Friday, Mr Starmer spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenksyy , the leaders of Japan, Australia and other countries. The new Prime Minister presided over his first cabinet meeting on Saturday morning, after having promised to begin work immediately.

“Discussing the Free Trade Agreement, the Prime Minister said he stood ready to conclude a deal that worked for both sides,” Downing Street said about the call between Mr Modi and Mr Starmer on Saturday. A trade deal was the floor, not ceiling, of the bilateral relationship, Foreign Secretary David Lammy had said a during a June 25 speech on UK-India relations. The two countries have concluded 14 rounds of talks since 2022.

The U.K. readout of Saturday’s phone call described the India-UK relationship as “strong and respectful”. The Labour Party has been seeking to “reset” its relationship with Indian origin Britons, and specifically, the Modi government, walking back a resolution, passed during the 2019 Labour conference, criticizing the government’s abrogation of Article 370 (special status for Jammu & Kashmir). There is some data from recent U.K. elections (pre 2024) to suggest that Indian-origin Britons were drifting to the Conservative party, a move led by Hindu and Christians, rather than Muslims and Sikhs. Mr Starmer and his colleagues have been trying to win Indian-origin Britons back as part of larger changes in Labour and a distancing from former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s policies.

“Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the UK, the two sides agreed to continue to promote closed people to people ties,” New Delhi’s readout of the phone call said, adding that Mr Modi invited Mr Starmer to visit India soon.

On Saturday’s call, Mr Modi and Mr Starmer also spoke about deepening cooperation in defence and security, critical and emerging technologies and climate change, Downing Street said. The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Mr Lammy also spoke on the phone on Saturday to reaffirm ties between the two countries.

Speaking with the U.S. President, Mr Starmer reaffirmed the “special relationship” between their two countries and, according to Downing Street, they discussed “their aligned ambitions for greater economic growth”. Mr Starmer reiterated his commitment to working with the U.S. on a broad range of issues, including the Australia U.K U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership and “ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific”, as per Downing Street. The Rishi Sunak Conservative government had announced that the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group would visit the Indian Ocean in 2025 and do joint training exercising with Indian forces. This decision will be taken forward by the new Labour government, Mr Lammy had indicated during his June speech on U.K.-India relations.

Mr Starmer and Mr Biden also reiterated their support for Ukraine and their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement (the 1998 Northern Ireland peace settlement). Mr Starmer re-affirmed his support for this agreement with the Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris. The U.K. Ireland relationship had been tested under the Conservative governments of Rishi Sunak and his predecessors over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading relationship with the U.K. and, more recently, the movement of undocumented migrant from the U.K. to Ireland.