Victoria Craig

Good morning from the Financial Times.

Today is Monday, June 22nd, and this is your FT News briefing.

Keir Starmer may soon be out at number 10, and we'll have the latest on crunch talks between the U.S.

and Iran.

Plus, less communication from the Fed chair could lead to more volatility on Wall Street.

I'm Victoria Craig, and here's the news you need to start your day.

Keir Starmer's days as Britain's prime minister may be numbered.

His allies told the FT he is on the brink of resigning, a move that could come as early as today.

Colleagues say they expect Starmer to announce a, quote, orderly transition plan after he spent the weekend agonizing over the decision.

I'm joined now by Lucy Fisher, our Whitehall editor and Political Fix podcast host.

Hi, Lucy.

Hi, Beth.

All right.

So the context here, I think, is really important because this decision comes after a critical by-election in the north of England where Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a seismic victory on Thursday for an open parliament seat.

And that has now set off a chain reaction in number 10.

So just bring us up to speed here.

What is the very latest?

This is so interesting, Lucy, because before that by-election in Makerfield, Starmer insisted that he would stand in a leadership contest if it came to that.

What has changed over the past few days?

It's a really good question.