Larry the Cat stands outside 10 Downing Street, after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered a speech calling for a general election, in London, Britain, May 22, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
London: On a night of sweeping change across British politics, one thing at the heart of the government remained the same on Friday morning: Larry the Downing Street cat.
The white and tabby cat, who bears the official title Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, was seen padding around the famous high gloss black door to Number 10 - the office he will now share with his sixth prime minister.
Larry has been resident in the seat of British power since 2011 when, under then-prime minister David Cameron, he was adopted from the nearby Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
An unorthodox barometer on the state of British politics, he then served under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak during a tumultuous period of Conservative-led governments.
On Friday, his latest housemate, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, took up office having won a landslide electoral victory.
While Larry is clearly going nowhere, he might soon have some company: Starmer already has a cat named JoJo who is expected to join him when he takes up residence in the street.
Unperturbed by that prospect, Larry soon decided to ditch the unseasonably wet and windy weather by letting himself in to Number 10 in his customary manner - waiting by the door until a friendly policeman opened it for him.