Starmer announces resignation
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Thanks very much, Kate. Still to come this morning, what's the word from Cape Verde? An Irish woman on how World Cup excitement is lifting the island nation. Plus, optimisation culture is your fitness tracker, wrecking your buzz. And what makes a summer blockbuster? Crossy is here to tell us all. You can get in touch by WhatsApp on 0870 32 32 32, text 51551 or email todaydmc at rte.ie. But first, let's go back to that emotional announcement in the last half hour. by the UK's Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, that he is to stand down. I'm joined on the line by Oliver Wright, Policy Editor with The Times, and by Lucy Fisher, Whitehall Editor with The Financial Times. Thank you both very much indeed for joining us.
Oliver, it was quite emotional. Is he putting party before his own personal interests? Is it as simple as that?
think it's um accepting the inevitable he has done as much as he possibly could uh to fight this to fight on but i think it became really clear on friday that he had lost the support not only of a majority of his mps but also um of his cabinet and in such circumstances it really is impossible uh for a prime minister to go on i mean you know listeners will have Seen this story before, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, you know, when the party moves against the prime minister, really, you know, political gravity intervenes and they have no choice.
Yeah, Lucy, he did show some emotion there. We heard the clip on the news when he referred to his wife and his family. And he wasn't very good at doing that in general as prime minister, was he?
I think that's true. There was a sense he lacked a sort of human element and tended to be quite robotic in front of the cameras. And beyond the sort of the simple comment about his style, there was this sense he couldn't infuse the country with a message of hope and change in the same way that we've seen Andy Burnham do in Makerfield. So I think there will be hopes for his successor that there's an ability more to set out a vision and bring the country with him.
Yeah.
What prompted Keir Starmer's resignation announcement?
Oliver, you alluded to the succession of prime ministers you've had in Britain in recent years. You look at this a number of ways. I mean, we will have the seventh British prime minister in a decade. But if you look at it another way, you've had five prime ministers, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, in 10 years, an average term of two years each. If you look at the previous five, Cameron, Brown, Blair, Major, Thatcher, average term more than seven years each. Is Britain becoming ungovernable? accountable.
That's the question, isn't it? I think Britain is becoming increasingly hard to govern. Absolutely. You know, the succession of problems that have faced British prime ministers really sort of stemming back to the 2008 financial crash. Then you had Brexit. Then you had COVID and the Ukraine war. All of those have become sort of existential problems, one on top of the other, that have made it very hard for, you know, prime ministers to sort of do what voters want, because frankly, there isn't much money.
How did political dynamics lead to Starmer's decision?
Just by way of comparison, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Maloney, is coming up on four years in power. So no more jokes about, Lucy, no more jokes about Italian governments being shaky.
No, that's right.
What emotions did Starmer express during his resignation?
You know, I think it's the UK that's now become a byword for instability in Europe. And I agree with Ollie that, you know, the sluggish economic growth has been a factor, pretty much a level living standards, no growth there. Also, perhaps the frenetic pace and environment of social media that means that politicians are reach saturation point with the public quicker. And while Keir Starmer has only been prime minister for two years, we shouldn't forget that he led the Labour Party for four years before that. So six years in charge of Labour might also contribute to the public feeling they've had enough of him.
OK, it might contribute to Keir Starmer feeling he's had enough of the Labour Party as well. Oliver, what's the timeline now?
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:05
2
What prompted Keir Starmer's resignation announcement?
2:05–3:09
3
How did political dynamics lead to Starmer's decision?
3:09–3:23
4
What emotions did Starmer express during his resignation?
3:23–11:18
5
What does Starmer's resignation mean for the Labour Party?
11:18–12:00
6
How has the leadership landscape changed in the UK?
12:00–13:09
7
Is Britain becoming ungovernable with frequent leadership changes?
13:09–17:56