New PM Starmer promises to deliver for Scotland as he begins tour of UK nations

“This team here, the whole of the Labour Party in government and myself, delivering for Scotland.”

He added: “We govern humbly, saying thank you to every single person in Scotland who put their trust and faith in the Labour Party to bring about the change that they need.

“To those people who didn’t vote Labour, I want to directly address you too because we will serve the entirety of Scotland, we’ll serve every single person in Scotland because that change matters to everyone and that is how we go forward.”

Ahead of his trip, Starmer said he wants to “turn disagreement into cooperation” with the Scottish National Party (SNP) administration in Scotland.

Starmer, who held talks with Scottish First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh later on Sunday, said: “Our UK government will place Scotland back at the beating heart of everything we do.

“To the people of Scotland, my message is simple and clear: You are at the heart of how we unleash prosperity across the country. We will rebuild a strong Scotland at the forefront of our decade of national renewal.

“My offer to the Scottish government is the same. We can turn disagreement into cooperation and, through meaningful cooperation and a genuine seat at the table, deliver change for a generation.”

Also on Sunday, Starmer called on all sides to exercise “caution” on the border between Israel and Lebanon, in his first telephone conversation since he was elected with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Starmer told his counterpart the “situation on the northern border of Israel was very concerning, and it was crucial all parties acted with caution”, a spokesman for his 10 Downing Street office said.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement on Sunday fired another 20 rockets at northern Israel, leaving one person injured there, the latest cross-border attacks launched in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Hezbollah has traded near daily fire with the Israeli army across Lebanon’s southern border since its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel last year, triggering the war in Gaza.

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Discussing the conflict, the prime minister reiterated his condolences for the mass loss of life during the October 7 attacks, the spokesman said.

“He then set out the clear and urgent need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an immediate increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching civilians.”

In his conversation with Netanyahu, Starmer added that it was also “important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution were in place, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority had the financial means to operate effectively”.

Efforts towards a truce are continuing with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators hoping to halt the worst-ever Gaza war, which has caused mass civilian casualties and devastated the coastal territory.

The spokesman said the prime minister also spoke by phone to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Starmer told Abbas that his “long-standing policy on recognition to contribute to a peace process had not changed, and it was the undeniable right of Palestinians”.

John Healey, appointed defence minister on Friday by Starmer, was visiting the port city, a frequent target of Russian missile and drone strikes, on his first international trip.

“There may have been a change in government, but the UK is united for Ukraine,” Healey said, according to a statement published by Britain’s defence ministry.

Healey pledged a new package of help including artillery guns, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, demining vehicles, small military boats, missiles and other equipment, the defence ministry said.

In Odesa, he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

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Zelensky posted footage showing Healey laying flowers at a memorial to mark Ukraine’s Navy Day.

He said he had briefed Healey and Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans – who also took up the post last week – on the situation on the battlefield.

In the capital Kyiv over the weekend, the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp pledged to begin sending F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine “without delay”.

Britain’s Healey also said a major UK aid package announced in April would be delivered “in full to Ukraine within the next 100 days”.

Kyiv has regularly complained about the late arrival of Western military supplies, which are vital to its outmanned and outgunned forces fighting off the Russian invasion.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse