Starmer praises Abbott in Parliament as Sunak speaks for first time as leader of opposition - live

Sir Keir Starmer has praised Diane Abbott in his first speech in the Commons as prime minister.

Addressing the new mother of the House, he said she “has done so much in her many years to fight for a parliament that truly represents modern Britain”.

Ms Abbott later told the Commons: “I would also like to congratulate the 304 new members of Parliament, who entered Parliament after this election and say to them, it is a great job and you will never regret coming here.”

In his first speech as Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak described being an MP as the “greatest honour, privilege and responsibility” and added: “One of the great aspects of our system is no matter how high you rise, you still have that constituency which keeps you grounded.”

It comes as the Labour government has ditched the phrase “levelling up” as Sir Keir met with England’s metro mayors this morning.

Secretary of state Angela Rayner said Labour will govern in the nation’s interest, without gimmicks and slogans.

“A government of public service means fixing the fundamentals to deliver for the British people,” she said.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has taken his oath as the reelected Speaker of the House before the new government.

He will be followed by the Father of the House and the Mother of the House, then members of the Cabinet and members of the Shadow Cabinet.

Junior doctors hailed a “positive meeting” with Wes Streeting on Tueday, describing it as a “first step” towards ending their long-running dispute over pay.

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairmen of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Junior Doctors’ Committee said there are no plans for further strike action “at the moment”, with further negotiations expected next week.

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