The immediate challenges for Labour and why the election win isn't all good news for Sir Keir Starmer

The Labour leader won big, with the Tories losing 250 seats, on a night that has already seen Rishi Sunak confirm his resignation as Tory leader.

In his first speech outside Downing Street, Sir Keir vowed to kick start a period of "national renewal". But despite the number of seats, the night was not a total success. Labour won in places it never had before, as well as taking 37 seats in Scotland, but the vote share is shallow, with the lowest turnout for 20 years.

It also lost seats to both the Greens and independents, with Labour’s stance on Gaza seeing a clear decline in its support among Muslim voters.

Winning these back will be crucial for Sir Keir to be at least a two-term leader, not least with Reform coming second in so many seats.

In the short term, there are far more pressing goals. On July 11, the water companies regulator will decide whether people’s bills can be doubled. They argue its required to stop sewage spills, but they’ve also spent the previous decade paying out huge bonuses instead of investing. Siding with the energy companies will immediately damage Labour’s reputation.

Just six days later, it’s the Kings Speech, which will set out the government’s legislative programme and priorities. While not a budget, this will be the earliest indication of how much of Labour’s manifesto promises will become a reality. The party has promised to bolster workers rights, strengthen the Office for Budgetary Responsibility, nationalise the railways, establish GB Energy, reform the planning system to build more houses, and boost the NHS. Failing to do so would be a disaster, despite Sir Keir’s vast majority.

The size of the Labour party could be part of the problem. While no Labour MP will want to side against the new government, there will be enough of them to feel comfortable calling out their party if they don’t think it’s being bold enough.

Then there are the junior doctors’ strikes, with calls for a 35 per cent pay rise requested in England. Sir Keir has repeatedly vowed to “get in the room” and negotiate, criticising the Tories for failing to reach an agreement. It is vital Labour agree a deal, but this is easier said than done, with Sir Keir ruling out meeting the present demand.

It is then almost September, where the party’s first conference in government since 2009 will take place, which Labour hopes to use to laud its achievements. This will no longer be a space to simply criticise the Conservatives. Labour has three months to deliver something to celebrate. Winning was a start, but it is not the end.

Sir Keir has won in part due to the total disillusion with the Tories and a collapse in the SNP vote. His campaign has been enough, but not inspired. With his Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to hold her first budget early in the autumn, this is where the real work begins. The party must show it can deliver the change Britain needs, within the financial straitjacket it has set itself.