Well done, Keir.For now we're with you but beware the goodwill won't last for ever

THE first thing we need to do is congratulate Keir Starmer for his momentous win. It was large, it was collective, and — in the end — it was probably what we all needed.

- Dylan Jones

The Starmer revolution has reached its second major inflection point, and no one can deny that this is an extraordinary achievement. To not only detoxify a political party but win a general election so convincingly in five years is little short of remarkable. Some might say his opposition made it easier, but it is still extraordinary.

It is an important moment for the country, and an important moment for London. While the anticipation was nothing compared to Tony Blair’s first win in 1997, this is a landslide of such brutal significance that it can’t fail to change the country. What for such a long time felt like a national distaste for the Conservatives has, overnight, and with some force, turned into a ringing endorsement of Starmer’s Labour Party.

He did it. He really did it. And so the mood of the country is different today.

There has been such a desperation about the Conservatives recently, a petulant refusal to understand that even the centre ground was moving away from them, an arrogance that belied reality.

Starmer — capable, efficient — and Rachel Reeves — smart, pragmatic — will be a formidable team. The new chancellor has also been embraced by the City. One head of an international bank based in London said to me last week: “They’re going to be fine.” But they’re not going to be given much time, and they definitely don’t have much money. Which is a problem, as we expect change. Immediate change. We certainly want to see some in London. Let’s hope this first-time Labour government can work effectively with our three-time Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan.

In the same way that voters did not believe the Conservatives could deliver nine out of 10 of their top manifesto pledges, so they doubted Labour would ever achieve many of theirs. Unfortunately for the Tories, it didn’t matter.