Sir Keir Starmer has said Andy Burnham “should go on to win the next election” thanks to the work he has done while in Number 10. In his first sit-down interview since he announced he will quit as Prime Minister, Sir Keir listed what he thought were his achievements while in power and as leader of the Labour party.
Starmer’s Achievements and Endorsement
He pointed to efforts to tackle antisemitism in the party in opposition, the 2024 general election victory and said his Government had “stabilised the economy” over the last two years. Sir Keir told the BBC: “My successor will have a platform to build on, which means that Labour can go on and should go on to win the next election.”
“And that’s what I’m trying to make sure I’m able to do over the next few days to serve my country and to make sure that I bow out. It’s the end of my journey in politics. I’m very clear about that.”
No Personal Animosity with Burnham
Sir Keir said he “didn’t come into politics in order to be the Prime Minister”, and later added: “Did I want it to end at this point in this way? No, I didn’t. But I accept that with good grace.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the Prime Minister was asked if he liked Mr Burnham, his likely successor in No 10 as no other candidate has stood against him in the Labour leadership contest. “Yes, I do. We’ve always got on. He supports the wrong football club,” Sir Keir said.
“We get on, I’ve never had any personal animosity, and I wish he… if he is my successor, obviously there’s a little bit of process to go. But I want what comes next to succeed and I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make sure it does succeed.”
Support Behind the Scenes
In what appeared to be a criticism of public interventions by other senior Labour figures, Sir Keir added: “It’ll be given behind the scenes and I won’t be on camera or on the radio giving my version of what the Prime Minister should be doing because that’s my interpretation of supporting a Labour government.”
Sir Keir insisted he planned to stay on as an MP until the next election and sought to dispel rumours he had plans to stand as Nato’s next secretary general. Asked if he knew what would come next, he told the BBC: “I don’t know, is the honest answer to that.”
Warning on International Affairs
In earlier excerpts of the interview trailed by the BBC, Sir Keir warned Mr Burnham it will not be possible to spend less time focusing on international affairs. He told the broadcaster: “If you’re prime minister and you care what bills are going to be like in any household around the country, you have to care about finding a lasting solution to the situation in Ukraine, you have to care about what happens in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“It’s not sensible to think you can just separate these two things out.” Throughout his premiership, Sir Keir has faced accusations of spending too much time on the world stage instead of domestic affairs, with his opponents branding him “never here Keir”. Mr Burnham has largely focused on domestic issues as he sets out his stall to be the next prime minister.
Personal Decision to Resign
Sir Keir also said his decision to resign was “intensely personal”, and came after spending a weekend with his family at Chequers, the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire country estate available to all prime ministers.
Mr Burnham gave some indication of how he might govern in the realm of foreign policy as he took part in an “Ask Me Anything” on forum website Reddit on Friday evening. The Makerfield MP said he would “100%” give the same level of support to Ukraine as Sir Keir had, and suggested he wanted to continue with the outgoing Prime Minister’s efforts to broker a closer relationship with the EU. Elsewhere in the hour-long online question and answer session, Mr Burnham ruled out calling an early general election.
