We’ll be honest, there’s a lot of work to do at Cavendish today pulling together briefings on the hundreds of new MPs going to Westminster next week.
We’ve been preparing clients for this new Parliament since Labour crossed the milestone of 100 consecutive poll leads – picking out the talented candidates among Labour’s ranks, writing up their interests and mapping their backgrounds. We have always said that whatever the result, there would be a huge swathe of new MPs to engage with. On this we were right, over 250 new parliamentarians will head to Westminster next week.
I’ll hold my hands up and say there’s a couple of bios we’re just now writing after Labour’s seismic victory because, despite the polls, we just didn’t believe it would be this big. After a decade working in Labour’s engine rooms across the UK as exit polls disappointed, the left destroyed and the Scottish electorate punished the Labour Party – it didn’t seem conceivable to me that the same party could deliver a historic swing, bigger than Blair’s in 1997.
But swing they did. Speaking this morning, surrounded by campaigners holding the UK flags, the soon-to-be Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said that what made this possible was his guiding principle of country first, party second. A changed Labour Party, he said, that will take the responsibility of their great mandate to deliver national renewal.
He is right to say that with a great mandate comes great responsibility. He, and the Labour Whips office have a huge task on their hands managing the PLP of this size. While the majority should ensure Labour gets its agenda through the Commons fairly smoothly, headlines will be more difficult as rebels know they can vote against the Whip without jeopardising their Government’s plans. Caucuses have potential to form within the Parliamentary Labour Party, with the aim to challenge on certain issues. The left-wing group of MPs, the Socialist Campaign Group, will be small but happy to be a thorn in the side of Starmer. We know that there is some policy divergence between Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer on issues such as the two-child benefit cap – will Sarwar’s 37 Scottish MPs push the Government on this – or other issues – ahead of the 2026 election to secure victory at Holyrood?
Starmer was managing expectations this morning – after roaring applause and cheers over their victory and the change to come, he said that the country can look forward with hope “pale at first but getting stronger through the day”. Labour knows there isn’t the economic platform to change the UK overnight, but it begins today.
For more information on what’s been said, visit our General Election Hub.
