Emily Atkinson
Live page editor

Past and future collided today as Parliament returned for the first time since the general election.

There was a new Labour government and a new Conservative opposition, sitting on the opposite benches to those we have grown accustomed to seeing them populate.

The result was a vision of Parliament unlike any we have had for 14 years, which MPs old and new gathered to create in a ceremony steeped in centuries-old tradition.

In historic terms, it was quite a day - and you can watch how it all unfolded here:

Adam Durbin
Live reporter

It's been a busy day in Westminster, which kicked off with PrimeMinisterKeir Starmer meeting with England's metro mayors - who welcomedplansto drop the "levelling up" phraseused to describe efforts toreduce regional inequality.

Over in the House of Commons,Starmer was sworn in alongsidemany other MPs, in a process set to last a few days.

In his firstspeech to MPs as PM, Starmer saidhe wouldreplace “performance” politics with that of “service", while Toryleader Rishi Sunak said the pair could"argue vigorously"but still"respect each other".

But that wasn't all for the Parliamentary pomp and ceremony, asour new representatives also went through the process ofdragging Sir Lindsay Hoyle to theSpeaker's chair once again - after unanimously electing him, of course.

Once he’d affirmed his allegiance to the Crown, thePM set offto the Nato summit in Washingtonfor his first international trip.

Starmer has also appointed several new ministers, including anunconventional move to pickfive who are in the 2024 Labour intake.

Plus, New Health SecretaryWes Streeting met with junior doctorsover their long-running pay dispute. Representatives from the British Medical Association described thetalks as "positive" andsaid no further strikes are planned.

Over in Tory circles,Bob Blackman has been appointed chairmanof the 1922 Committee of Backbench MPs - who will oversee the election of Sunak's replacement as leader of the opposition.

What happened to immigration under Tony Blair?published at 19:51 BST 9 July 2024

19:51 BST 9 July 2024

By Anthony Reuben

Chris Mason
Political editor

Hello from the prime minister’s plane.

The Labour advisers have a wide-eyed look, stepping asthey just have done onto this plane for the first time.

Fair enough; I’ve seen other new teams around a new primeminister do a trip like this for the first time and it’s a real right ofpassage of the highest office — after all only prime ministers get to go toheads of government international summits — it’s a reminder of what any newprime minister has just achieved.

There are plenty of officials on this trip — just imaginethe briefing and prep they have to do for a new prime minister fresh — or notfresh — off the campaign trail, who then has to absorb the UK’s existingpositions on a million and one foreign policy issues, and decide what theapproach of the new government will be.

We get to Washington in the middle of the night UK time,late at night on the east coast of America.

Hugh Pym
Health editor

It was a start and the talksdid not end in acrimony.

Junior doctor representatives from the British MedicalAssociation left the meeting earlier today with the new Health Secretary Wes Streeting sayingit had been “positive” and that they would meet again next week.

BMA sourceslater indicated that there was a more sympathetic hearing for their demand fora multi-year pay deal than from the previous government.

The union wants whatit calls “pay restoration” – which is getting back in real terms, afterallowing for inflation, to where they were in 2008.

No figures were talkedabout today, but part of the discussion focussed on the barriers that had blockedprogress before. Streeting said later that both sides wanted to negotiateand find a way through.

He said junior doctors were the future of thehealth service. But he will have to find the money for any multi-yeardeal and convince the Treasury that it is a reasonable way forward.

Otherhealth unions will be watching closely and will approach him soon with theirown pay demands.

Image source,PA Media

Image source,PA Media

We're pivoting away from the diplomatic relations and cabinet appointments for a moment to bring you an update from Health Secretary Wes Streeting's talks with junior doctors' representatives earlier today.

Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairman of the British Medical Association's Junior Doctors' Committee, says the group has no plans for further strikes for now, and that talks will resume next week.

"It was a positive meeting, we were pleased to be able to meet the Secretary of State and his team so quickly after the general election.

"It signifies the urgency that they're placing on resolving this dispute which has already lasted 20 months," says Trivedi.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Itis highly unusual to make a new MP a minister instantly. But that is what SirKeir Starmer has just done, five times over, before he made his way across the Atlantic.

• Georgia Gould is a parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office
• Alistair Carns is minister for veterans
• Miatta Fahnbulleh is an energy minister
• Sarah Sackman is solicitor general
• Kirsty McNeill at the Scotland Office

Eachhas an impressive career before politics and, evidently, the new prime minister’sview is that he wants to draw on their service instantly.

Theyjoin some MPs who were elected last week having previously served in theCommons in years past – Douglas Alexander, Heidi Alexander, and Emma Reynolds –in the government.

Appointmentsare not yet complete, but it’s clear that quite a few of the shadow frontbenchStarmer had in place last week are not going into government.

Theywill be aggravated to have been lapped by people who have not served any timein parliament.

Thatis a party management problem for the new prime minister. But given the scaleof his majority, it is a calculated risk he clearly believes he can take.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Sticking with London's special relationship with Washington, it is understood that the outgoing national security advisor,Sir Tim Barrow, has been told he will not be the next UK ambassador to the US.

He had been nominated for the role by Rishi Sunak.

But the i newspaper has now reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff,Sue Gray, has informed Barrow his appointment will not go ahead.

The BBC had previously reported the appointment had been frozen.

Whitehall sources said no decision had been made over who would take up the role.

The current ambassador,Dame Karen Pierce, is expected to step down in the New Year.

It is likely No 10 will wait until after the US election in November before deciding who to send to Washington.

Barrow is a veteran diplomat who has previously served as head of mission in both Moscow and Brussels.

Image source,Getty Images

Just before Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer boarded a plane bound for Washington to attend Nato's 75th summit, he spoke to reporters about a topic that will be top of the bill for the next few days – Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The summit is an opportunity for allies to strengthen their resolve and to send a message to President Vladimir Putin that the attack yesterday, in which a children's hospital was fatally hit, was "appalling", he said.

"The message is even more important now than it was before," Starmer said.

Asked further about his election promise of increasing defence spending, Starmer said a strategic review would be carried out and that he is committed to spending 2.5% of GDP "within our fiscal rules".

Image source,UK POOL

Image source,PA Media

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has just boarded a plane alongside his wife, Victoria, to Washington for the Nato summit.

This is his first international trip since becoming Britain's prime minister, and will also mark the first time that he's held face-to-face talks with US President Joe Biden.

Starmer to head to US as Nato summit beckonspublished at 18:22 BST 9 July 2024

18:22 BST 9 July 2024

Chris Mason
Political editor

I am heading to the airport to report on the new prime minister’s first foreign trip in the job.

Starmer is flying to Washington for the annual meeting of the Nato defence alliance.

There are some things as prime minister you can choose when to schedule. And there are some things, like international summits, which you can’t.

The fog of campaign trail exhaustion probably not yet properly slept off (if this reporter’s experience is anything to go by), how about crossing the Atlantic twice in 72 hours and a spot of jet lag on the side?

Starmer has met some of his fellow leaders whose countries are Nato members before, including President Emmanuel Macron of France and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

But he has never met President Biden before nor, for instance, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

This summit means within his first week in the job he will have met the leaders of most of the UK’s most important allies – vital, as other governments grapple with how the new UK government might operate and what its priorities might be.

Joe Pike
Political Investigations Correspondent

Tory MP Mark Francois is furious he couldn’t vote in theelection of the new chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee.

"The 1922competency levels have reached a new low, which is not saying something. Thiswas bent!”, he shouted on leaving the voting room in parliament.

Similar to MPs EdwardLeigh and Jeremy Hunt, he turned up too late to vote.

Voting for the 1922 Committee chairman ended at 17:30 BST - even though MPs were told by whips voting was happening between 17:00-18:00.

I'm told the error stems from the whips having sent an incorrect message.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, reporting from Downing Street

Bob Blackman is now chairman of the 1922 Committee.

He beat Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown by 61 votes to 37. He will now play a big role shaping the Conservative leadership election.

Image source,UK Parliament

Image source,PA Media

The Tories are in the process of selecting a new chair of the influential 1922 Committee, with voting currently underway.

The 1922 Committee, also known as "the 22", is a group of backbench Conservative MPs that meets weekly when the Commons is sitting.

Its chair, usually a senior MP, is elected by Committee members and holds considerable influence within the party.

Part of the committee’s job is to hire and fire. If Tory MPs want to a force a vote of no confidence and choose a new chief, 15% of MPs have to send a letter to the chair of the committee.

Sir Graham Brady previously chaired the committee, but he announced he would not seek re-election ahead of the 2024 general election.

Image source,UK Parliament

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard says the party should take its time in choosing its new leader.

Speaking to the BBC's Iain Watson, Pritchard says: "It's now time for the Conservative Party to reflect and then after a period of time to start to rebuild, but I wouldn't rush into that and I'm glad that Rishi has stayed on as leader of the party so that we have as much as possible a smooth transition.

"That transition to the new leader should, in my view, very much be a methodical process, a thoughtful process, and also very much include the membership of the party in the country at large."

He says it's up to the 1922 Committee once elected to take soundings on the length of the leadership election but that "the key thing though is to take our time and get it right rather than rush and get it wrong".

Joe Pike
Political investigations correspondent

Votingis under way to elect the new chairman of the Conservatives' backbench 1922committee.

MPsSir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bob Blackman have made their pitches tocolleagues in a hustings.

Thenew chairman will play a key role - alongside the party board - in setting thetimetable for the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak as leader.

Butnot all Tory MPs are excited about today's contest: "It just doesn'treally matter", one tells me.

Emily Atkinson
Live page editor

The process of swearing in MPs new and old to the House of Commons is in motion.

There's still a way to go, though - it's expected to take around three days to get all 650 members sworn in.

As gripping as that sounds, duty calls our attention to other political news, which we'll get you up to date on shortly.

Coming up:

• The1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs is meeting to decide who sits on its executive
• Keir Starmer heads to the Nato summitin Washington DC for the first international visit of his premiership

Image source,PA Media

Our coverage over the last few hours has been focused on the latest from the House of Commons, where Labour MPs took their seats on the benches for the first time in 14 years.

Missed it? Fear not – here's a look at what's been happening:

• In his first speech in the Commonsas PM, Keir Starmer welcomed all the new MPs and said he would replace performance politics with "politics of service"

• Rishi Sunakwished Starmer well, as he gave his first speech in Parliament as leader of the opposition. "We can argue vigorously," he said, "but still respect each other"
• Sir Lindsay Hoyle was re-elected as Speaker of the House to a resounding cheer. He thanked the House and promised to "preserve and cherish" its traditions
• The process ofswearing in is now under way. It will take several days as there are hundreds of MPs who will go through the process
• And away from the Commons, Lisa Nandy said that the"era of culture wars is over" in her first speech as culture secretary
• Starmer will shortly begin his journey Washington for the Nato summit – his first international trip as prime minister
• Elsewhere, Conservative backbench MPs are voting to elect anew chair of the 1922 committee

We'll be bringing you updates throughout.