After a landslide victory last week, the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, visited Edinburgh, Scotland, on Sunday. He billed the trip as an “immediate reset” with the regional governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Meanwhile, two of his ministers are in Europe. Starmer is wasting no time trying to improve relations—at home and abroad.
Starmer predicts many discussions ahead to strengthen trading, research, and defense ties with the European Union. That includes improving the United Kingdom’s trade deal with the EU.
“I do think that we can get a much better deal than the botched deal that [former Prime Minister] Boris Johnson saddled the UK with,” Starmer says.
Starmer claims he has a “mandate to do politics differently.” He met with Scottish First Minister John Swinney in an effort to “turn disagreement into cooperation.”
“We will serve every single person in Scotland,” Starmer told a group of enthusiastic supporters. “Performance, self-interest: They’re the politics of the past. The politics of this Labour government of 2024 [are] about public service, restoring standards of making sure that we always, always have in our mind’s eye the people who elected us into government.”
The idea of leaders being held accountable is rooted in the Bible. Hebrews advises that leaders “are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” (13:17)
Each nation in the United Kingdom elects members to the House of Commons in London. But each also has its own regional parliament.
Starmer’s Labour Party trounced Swinney’s Scottish National Party (SNP) for seats in the UK Parliament. The SNP has pushed for Scottish independence. The party still holds a majority in the Scottish parliament.
The trip to build better working relations across the United Kingdom comes as Starmer’s government faces a mountain of problems. The economy has suffered. Citizens are irritable after years of fiscal austerity (strictness).
On Sunday morning, Starmer called both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He spoke with each leader about a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, the return of hostages to Israel, and an increase in humanitarian aid.
On Tuesday, Starmer will attend a NATO meeting in Washington, D.C.
At home, he wants to transfer power from the official government to local leaders. He says local officials know what’s best for their communities. To that end, Starmer declares he’ll engage with politicians regardless of their parties.
“There’s no monopoly on good ideas,” he says. “I’m not a tribal political.”
