London: Keir Starmer wrapped up his final Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session in the lower house of the UK Parliament Wednesday with an emotional farewell and standing ovation from the government benches.
The 63-year-old Labour MP, who announced his resignation last month and has been serving as caretaker until the party leader is elected, said he was leaving Britain in a better place than he found it and expressed “wholehearted support” for his successor.
Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is on course to take charge as the new British prime minister next week after being endorsed by a resounding 349 Labour MPs in the leadership race.
“I’m proud to leave this country in a better shape than I found it; I am proud of everything that we have achieved,” Starmer told MPs in the House of Commons as he concluded PMQs with “goodbye.”
“Every Prime Minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me. This is the end of my political journey. In six years, we went from historic defeat in 2019 to historic victory in 2024,” he said.
During a largely good-natured final parliamentary clash across the despatch box, Starmer reflected upon his legacy as someone who had “picked up” the Labour Party from electoral oblivion to win a “landslide” general election in July 2024.
Alluding to the crucial England World Cup football semi-final fixture against Argentina later on Wednesday, he said: “For my successor and for the England team, I won’t give advice. I will simply give my wholehearted support.
“Just for the record, I don’t care what the score is tonight, as long as we win.”
Pressed by the Opposition Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, the outgoing PM said he would save any words of advice for private interactions with the incoming Labour leader.
“I will give my wholehearted support to my successor. I want this Labour government to be a success, I want our country to be a success. I shall give my support privately if asked for, not publicly when not asked for,” he said.
After an initial phase of popularity, Starmer was hit by some controversial decision-making and policy U-turns which intensified an internal rebellion within the Labour ranks as MPs demanded speedier action on the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
On June 22, he took to the steps of Downing Street to say that he accepted his party’s demands “with good grace” and would resign to “ensure an orderly handover of power.”
Burnham, who returned to the Parliament benches after contesting a by-election in Makerfield last month, emerged as the frontrunner for the top job ever and is all set to be elected as the new Labour leader unopposed after the nominations process formally closes Thursday.
On Monday, Starmer is expected to formally tender his resignation during an audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, followed by Burnham being invited by the monarch to form the new government.
