LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday headed to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to reset ties with the governments over there.
Starmer, after his party’s landslide victory in the elections, will hold meetings with Scottish First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh in an attempt to enhance cooperation.
“That begins today with an immediate reset of my government’s approach to working with the first and deputy first ministers,” he said. The PM added that meaningful cooperation will be key to delivering change across Britain.
Though all nations in the UK elect members to the House of Commons in London, they also have their own parliaments.
Labour Party defeated Swinney’s Scottish National Party for seats in Parliament. But the SNP, which has called for Scottish independence, still holds a majority at in the Scottish parliament.
Starmer’s visit to Scotland would build better working relations across the UK and is part of the PM’s broader mission to work toward serving people.
The Labour government inherited an unstable economy that left Britons struggling to pay bills after international economic woes. After his brief tour, he’ll return to England, where he plans to hold meetings with regional mayors.
“There’s no monopoly on good ideas,” he said “I’m not a tribal political.” Starmer also had separate calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A spokesperson said the prime minister talked about his priorities for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the return of captives and an increase in humanitarian aid.
He told Abbas that the recognition of a Palestinian state was an undeniable right of Palestinians and told Netanyahu to ensure a two-state solution.
On Tuesday, Starmer will fly to Washington for a NATO meeting. Meanwhile, his top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, reached Poland on Sunday after visiting Germany on Saturday.
