PM emphasises ‘service’ in first Commons speech
Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to colleagues past and present as he made his first appearance in the House of Commons since becoming prime minister. Sir Keir reiterated the commitment he made during the campaign to “replace the politics of performance with the politics of service”. He said: “Service is a precondition for hope and trust, and the need to restore trust should weigh heavily on every Member here, new and returning alike.” Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00I now call the Prime Minister, Sakhiya Starmer.
00:04Hear, hear!
00:08Mr Speaker-elect, on behalf of the whole House,
00:12may I be the first to congratulate you on your re-election.
00:16You preside over a new Parliament,
00:18the most diverse Parliament by race and gender this country has ever seen.
00:23Hear, hear!
00:24And I'm proud of the part that my party has played in that,
00:27and I'm proud of the part that every party has played in that,
00:31including in this intake,
00:33the largest cohort of LGBT plus MPs of any Parliament in the world.
00:39Hear, hear!
00:41And given all that diversity, Mr Speaker-elect,
00:43I hope you will not begrudge me for a slight departure from convention
00:48to also pay tribute to the new mother of the House,
00:51Diane Abbott,
00:52Hear, hear!
00:53who has done so much in her career over so many years
00:56to fight for a Parliament that truly represents modern Britain.
01:00We welcome her back to her place.
01:03Hear, hear!
01:04And now, as in any new Parliament,
01:06we have the opportunity and the responsibility
01:10to put an end to a politics that has too often seemed self-serving and self-obsessed,
01:16and to replace that politics of performance with the politics of service.
01:21Hear, hear!
01:22Because service is a precondition for hope and trust,
01:26and the need to restore trust should weigh heavily on every Member here,
01:31new and returning alike.
01:34We all have a duty to show that politics can be a force for good.
01:40So whatever our political differences,
01:43it's now time to turn the page,
01:45unite in a common endeavour of national renewal,
01:48and make this new Parliament a Parliament of service.
01:52Thank you.
01:53Hear, hear!