GovWire

Thank you all for coming. Yesterday the work of change began

And as the dust settles on Thursdays result, what is becoming clear for, I think, all to see is the mood of the nation, of the country

What is expected of us and the mandate that we have to deliver change

Its a mandate not just to govern, although it is certainly that, but its a mandate that has put trust in us to change the country and to deliver

And its a mandate to do politics differently

And that change started yesterday as well

I have, as youll have seen, appointed a Cabinet

That was done yesterday afternoon and completed

Some went to the Privy Council this morning to receive their seals, which was a moment in history

We followed that with the first Cabinet meeting of the Labour government of 2024

At that Cabinet meeting, I had the opportunity to set out precisely what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery and the trust that the country has put in them

And yesterday I met Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on standards, to discuss how we deliver in government

At the Cabinet meeting, I also discussed mission delivery

How we would put into action the plans that we have set out in our manifesto

And that we will have mission delivery boards to drive through the change that we need, and that I will be chairing those boards to make sure that its clear to everyone that they are my priority in government

We also talked about preparations for the Kings speech

And I reminded the entire Cabinet, that we will be judged on actions, not on words

And this afternoon, I will continue to make a number of frontbench appointments

We clearly on Thursday got a mandate, from all four nations for the first time in 20 plus years

We have a majority in England, in Scotland and in Wales

And that is a clear mandate to govern for all four corners of the United Kingdom

And therefore, I shall set off tomorrow to be in all four nations

I shall go first to Scotland

I shall then go to Northern Ireland

Then to Wales, and then back to England

Where I will meet the First Ministers, not just to discuss the issues and challenges of the day. Of course, we will do that

But also to establish a way of working across the United Kingdom that will be different and better to the way of working that weve had in recent years, and to recognise the contributions of all four nations

On Thursday, we also got a mandate on economic growth - the number one mission of the Labour government

And so we discussed at Cabinet and have started the work on driving growth

And to make sure that growth is everywhere across the whole country so that people are better off everywhere, wherever they live

The principle I operate to is those with skin in the game know whats best for their communities, and that does require us to be bold about pushing power and resource out of Whitehall

And therefore, when I return from the four nations, I shall hold a meeting of the Metro mayors to discuss with them their part in delivering the growth that we need across the United Kingdom

That will be on Tuesday

That will include non-Labour Metro mayors

Theres no monopoly on good ideas

And Im not a tribal politician

And the principle I operate to, whether its mayors or other elected representatives, is that where regional leaders want to deliver for their area

Then, regardless of the colour of their rosette, my door is open and my government will work with them

Later on Tuesday, I shall set off to Washington for the NATO summit

Ive already had a number of international calls, as you will know, and as you would have expected, to establish the relations across with other countries to have really important discussions about Ukraine and other pressing issues

And Washington will be an opportunity for me to have further discussions with some of the leaders Ive already spoken to and some that Im due to speak to

It is, of course, an important summit on NATO

It is for me to be absolutely clear that the first duty of my government is security and defense, to make clear our unshakable support of NATO

And of course, to reiterate, as I did to President Zelenskyy yesterday, the support that we will have in this country and with our allies towards Ukraine

So this will be a politics and a government that is about delivery, is about service

Self-interest is yesterdays politics

I want a politics and a country that works for you

Thank you very much.