What Keir Starmer revealed in his first Commons speech as PM

Keir Starmer has just made his first Commons speech as Prime Minister. Both he and Rishi Sunak spoke at the election of the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle this afternoon in what was, by tradition, a largely jovial occasion. He paid tribute to Hoyle’s work in the previous parliament, and also cracked a joke about Sir Edward Leigh, now the Father of the House, writing a book of quotations dating back to 3000 BC – ‘which might be said to cast some light on the Tory mind – after the last six weeks, I think it might be time for a new addition’. He was also careful to praise Diane Abbott, now the Mother of the House. This bit was rather awkward, and there were some sounds of disapproval from around the chamber, given Starmer had nearly booted Abbott out of the Labour party at the start of the campaign. She later gave her own speech where she pointedly didn’t talk about him at all.