As far as I can remember, the last time Cabinet met on a Saturday was during Brexit, and before that during the Falklands War.
In other words, it’s rare.
This was about approaching, and appearing to approach, the business of government with momentum and energy.
Standing in Downing Street, watching and talking to Ministers (as we are used to calling them), had the atmosphere of the first day of school.
Gentle smiles, time spent chatting with the security guards, and excitement as he clutched the Red Minister’s documents.
The novelty would no doubt wear off for them and the heavy lifting of governing would begin, but this time, at least, they recognized the importance of this moment.
It is 14 years since Labour ministers have walked around Downing Street.
And it has been 27 years since they last ousted the Conservatives from power.
Hours later, Sir Keir Starmer appeared comfortable and relaxed in his role as Prime Minister at his first press conference.
We were escorted to the State Dining Room in the heart of No. 10, rather than to one of the specially designed rooms at No. 9, built by the previous administration and which has been the subject of much controversy, particularly over partying during the pandemic.
These things don’t happen by chance, and who knows if this government will put the new rooms on camera in the future, but it was a visual marker of change.
Sir Keir insisted the Government would face the challenges it faces with “raw honesty”.
He and other ministers have already said England’s prisons and National Health Service (NHS) are “dysfunctional”.
Let’s see how much patience they have in continuing to blame their predecessors.
What we see next, and what was predicted beforehand, is a barrage of activity and travel by the Prime Minister.
Once a general election is won, it turns out the roadshow of meet-and-greets and greets and dashing smiles doesn’t end with a visit to the polling station.
Sir Keir is due to visit Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff in the coming days and meet English mayors on Tuesday.
He will then fly to Washington DC for the NATO defence alliance’s annual summit.
For the prime minister, it’s a chance to meet world leaders and take to the stage exclusively reserved for presidents and prime ministers.
The following week (i.e. within the next two weeks) the King’s Speech (the opening of Parliament) will take place, when the government will announce any new laws it plans to enact.
And the next day, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host around 50 European leaders at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire for a meeting of the European Political Community, a relatively new organisation separate from the European Union.
Despite the overwhelming support for “change” that it proposed, low voter turnout and a lower vote share than any single-party government in the postwar period mean the current government may have little time to demonstrate that it can do so, if at all.
I am determined not to waste my time.
