Favourite to replace Starmer as British PM sworn in to Parliament

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0:57Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service studios in central London. I'm Tim Franks. It was first said 100 years ago and it was said about bankruptcy. But it happens in two ways, gradually and then suddenly. And so it's just proved for the political career of Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The pressure had been building and building. As recently as Friday, he'd been insisting that he wasn't, in his words, going to walk away. Today, he did just that. At about 9.30 in the morning London time, the man who only two years ago had led the Labour Party to one of its relatively rare election victories and one with a huge parliamentary majority, said that his time in office was over.

1:44The question being asked now is not who was best placed to change the Labour Party, to take us into power and to begin the vital work of improving lives for millions of people. Those questions have been answered. The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question. And I accept that answer with good grace. Every decision I've taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision.

2:43Keir Starmer, as all departing political leaders do, tried to set out his achievements. He promised also to support his successor, of which we'll have much more in just a moment. But then, as he concluded, this man, who was so often accused of being colourless, being bland, he sounded deeply emotional. And when I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children who are my pride and my joy.

3:25Thank you very much. Applause in Downing Street from some of the Prime Minister's supporters, including Cabinet Ministers, who'd been there to offer at least some moral support, even if political support had long drifted away. As to why, how that happened, well, again, we'll pick over that in a moment with our political correspondent and a senior member of the Labour Party. But as for who may now take over, that seems a lot clearer. Indeed, it did as soon as the long-serving former mayor of Magister in the north of England won a by-election, a special election in American parliaments just last Thursday.

3:59an election which saw him become a member of Parliament once again, which in Britain's parliamentary democracy then would entitle that person to lead the Labour Party and lead the country. And that person was Andy Burnham, who, arriving by train in London from the north of England a few hours after Keir Starmer's resignation statement, spoke briefly to the BBC's Sam Harrison. I made my statement, obviously, praising the Prime Minister's dedication, service, and confirm that I will put myself forward in the process that will soon be underway. When Rishi Sunak did that and he became Prime Minister, you called for a general election.

4:39Would you be looking to do the same? I think you're jumping several hurdles ahead there. My priority today is to become spawning as the Mayor, as the MP for Makerfield. And it's been very kind of sad for me today to leave Greater Manchester. The people have been brilliant to me over the last few years. I've loved every minute of the role. I hope I leave Manchester in a better place, but thanks very much. Thank you. That was Andy Burnham as he strode along Euston Station, or the platform at Euston Station in London. He's not a cert for the Crown yet, but as good as. For today, though, his most pressing task was just to be sworn in as a new Member of Parliament.

5:27We now come to Andy Burnham, member for Makerfield.

5:34Speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, and the cheers were from a few hundred Labour MPs who were there for him. And then in Parliament's rumbustuous nature, there was some heckling, making sarcastic references to the death of a Roman dictator, to the coming Messiah. Andy Burnham jabbed back at all that before he was sworn in as an MP. One of those who says they're delighted at the prospect of Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister is Polly Billington, Labour MP for East Thanet in southeastern England. When did she decide that Keir Starmer's time was up? Well, it's been a long time coming for me. And I think one of the reasons why I've felt so frustrated is because I have the privilege as the Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party is to seeing Keir once a week after the notorious Prime Minister's questions, he gets to meet the Parliamentary Committee where we go through the issues that are being raised by MPs like myself, who were not in government but are on the government backbenches.

6:30So we raise the concerns of colleagues and we give advice. We try to warn against mistakes, propose mitigations when mistakes have been made, etc. And over a period of time, what I saw was that there was a consistent desire or claim that things would change, that things would be reset and so forth, but that what we were conveying was not getting through. I think it's important to understand that politics is a team sport. It's not just about the person who hangs around at the goal. It's about everybody else too. And those of us who have been doing politics for a long time in various different guises, we love it.

7:09And therefore, we want to be able to make it work. making sure that our experiences, expertise and advice was really informing the direction of travel of the government in the way that the government was conducting itself. It was very frustrating when that wasn't happening. And why do you think it wasn't happening? I mean, some people said of Keir Starmer, you know, decent bloke, but he's incredibly stubborn. Or just others were saying decent bloke, but he's simply not up to it. What do you think it was? Well, I'm not going to conduct this conversation as though we're in the psychiatrist chair.

7:41Well, no, I'm asking for your political judgment. Yes, but my political judgment is that one of the most important things about doing politics is that people understand that you will do politics for them so that they don't have to worry about it. And they feel more confident in your ability to do that if you really like the job. And it became increasingly obvious to me that Keir didn't like it and didn't understand why we liked it. And so therefore thought we were quite strange. We love not only the Labour Party, but our country. That's why we want to do this. We also have pretty well-held beliefs and we want to be able to make those translated into improvements in the country.

8:25And that is an important part of the process. Like I say, it's a team sport. Recognising that you have a whole team on your side to help you make those decisions better is a vital part of why I've got more hope now, now that we're talking about Andy Burnham potentially going forward. I think that's much more hopeful for most of us. OK, so you see Andy Burnham, who, I mean, lots and lots of people, you obviously included, think is the overwhelming likelihood to take over as prime minister. I mean, you see him as more of a team player. You, again, most people, I guess you would subscribe to this, would say that he's an easier political commentator than Keir Starmer is.

9:01What else has he got, though? Because, I mean, you will know as a serving MP that Britain is mired, your constituency is mired in some really deep problems to do with anemic growth, economic growth, pronounced inequality, and really, really heavy demands on public expenditure, which are quite difficult to meet. How's Andy Burnham going to rise to that challenge? Well, I think what's important to remember is that Andy is possibly one of the most experienced people, if he ends up being Prime Minister, that we've had in the Labour Party, in that he first became a Member of Parliament in 2001, when some of my colleagues were still at primary school.

9:41He's been a Secretary of State for Health. He's also been a Minister in the Treasury and had to make difficult funding decisions. So he is not untested in Whitehall and Westminster, as well as the fact that he has run one of our biggest cities for a number of years now. And yes, we do know we face extremely difficult situations. We face threats from within, reform, and I think one of the most important things about Andy is that he can take on reform and win electorally like we've seen. That's the English Nationalist Party that is, I mean, it's not just about English nationalism, but it is seen as a hard right party that's been leading the polls for many, many months.

10:19Yes, and he was able to overcome that in Makerfield. And I think that's very important. I hear the argument that you're making, but a lot of people just want things to get a bit better. And that has not happened under Labour, why should they believe that Andy Burnham has got the secret source? Well, I think one of the things is we need to be honest about the fact that there have been some significant unforced errors over the last two years, which are the root of many of the frustrations that myself and my colleagues have felt that we were regularly resisted or ignored. And I think that that's one of the things is that Andy is a team player, he knows how to lead and he knows how to give a strong sense of direction.

10:57Do you think he should still be bound by the manifesto? Oh, I've no doubt that we need to be bound by the manifesto. Well, in terms of tax rises, let me make it clear, what we need to do is to make sure that we're talking about the outcomes that we're trying to achieve in the manifesto, because circumstances have changed quite considerably in this country since July 2024. And if we're not careful, we end up keeping to the letter of the manifesto and not the spirit. And what we want to do is to make sure that we meet the spirit of what people wanted, which was change combined with hope. And I take that point, and I'm not just sort of trying to engage in a gotcha moment, but, you know, one of the reasons why political journalists ask about whether you're going to stick to the manifesto is not because they're being pedantic.

11:39But for example, it has been argued, you may disagree with this, but that one of the constraints that Labour came into office with was their promise that none of the major taxes would rise. And that, some people argue, is the thing that has meant that you haven't been able to square the circle about social care or welfare spending or defence spending and you have had to raise taxes in other ways which some people say has militated against growth. It's a fairly major argument. Well I think what is important is for us to understand where we want to get to and that is about making sure that we're investing in growth, making sure that we're tackling the cost of living but also particularly understanding what the drivers are that are causing that those rises in the cost of living for example And one of them is energy prices because we continue to be locked into a dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets in the global environment.

12:30Polly, I have to ask you one further question, which is I realise that Britain is a parliamentary democracy and not a presidential democracy. So there's no constitutional need for Andy Burnham, where he took a prime minister to call for a general election. But he did demand that there be a general election when Rishi Sunak took over as Conservative Prime Minister for Milist Trust in 2022. If he fails to call a general election, should he become prime minister? Wouldn't the first charge that could be levelled against him is that he's a hypocrite? Well, I mean, look, the circumstances might be very different that we're talking about.

13:03One particularly is that we're not looking to significantly diverge from the manifesto. And that's one of the situations that you had when you were on the third prime minister within one parliamentary term with the Tories when they had been switchbacking on things as big as interest rates and unfunded tax cuts and all kinds of chaos. So there was an argument for that then. What we're looking for now is greater stability. And that's why I think as long as we are keeping our promise to the British people that we will make this country fairer, safer and more prosperous, then I think we can absolutely make sure that we reassure them that we're not going to ask them to go to the polls again.

13:39And that was Polly Billington, the Labour Member of Parliament for East Thanet. Much more on this to come here on News Air.

13:55Coming up, we'll also have this. My personal thing so far, Cabo Verde has been playing great. He's been matching Uruguay's pressure. Goal! Goal! Let's go! Let's go! We are going to the next phase! What do you make of that goal? You're leaving everybody wrong! Cabo Verde is going to a long man! The sounds of Cape Verde as their players at the World Cup produced another shock and they earned their second straight draw against the powerhouse, or at least the historical powerhouse. It has been Uruguay. We'll have more on that in 15 minutes. And also hear about the Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who's scored a record 18th goal at the Football World Cup finals.

14:54This is News Out, live from the BBC World Service, and we're going to head back to our top story now. The resignation of Keir Starmer as British Prime Minister and what is almost certain, it seems, going to be Andy Burnham taking over as the seventh British Prime Minister within ten years. We'll get some bigger thoughts from our political correspondent, Rob Watson, towards the end of the programme on what this tells us about Britain. But first, what's the timetable for the replacement of Keir Starmer? So the timetable is the 16th of July as set out by Keir Starmer, because what he said was, and I'm sorry to give you all these sort of boring practical details, else, but they're very important in this context, was that nominations he suggested for a leader to replace him in the Labour Party would begin on the 9th of July and close a week later on the 16th.

15:45So if nothing else happens, right, if nobody else comes forward, that means that Andy Burnham will be Prime Minister on either late on the 16th or on Friday, the 17th of July. Of course, what we're looking out for is whether somebody does come along to challenge him. And perhaps if nobody does challenge him, might the Labour party's governing body say, you know what, it's kind of crazy to wait until the 16th of July, let's bring it forward. Right, and the big potential challenger who might have stood against Andy Burnham, he folded pretty early on in between Keir Starmer resigning and Andy Burnham arriving in London.

16:23Yes, that's a man called Wes Streeting who used to be the Minister for Health, but he resigned dramatically, so there's a way of trying to force Keir Starmer to step down. But he's recognised that Andy Burnham is way, way ahead in the popularity stakes within the Labour Party, so has stepped aside. And it's very difficult, Tim, to see anybody within the party could beat Mr. Burnham. And why are so many Labour MPs swooning over Andy Burnham? Why? Well, some of it is personal, right? I mean, he's a more obviously relatable person, shall we say, than Keir Starmer. He's got a certain sort of charm.

16:59And I think some of it, of course, is a kind of an element of sort of hope mixed with panic. I mean, many Labour MPs were very concerned that Starmer's unpopularity, the unpopularity of their party, represented an existential threat. So, you know, to some extent, they're turning to Andy Burnham as the sort of the bright hope from the North, someone who can talk a good game, who's clearly a better messenger and communicator than Keir Starmer. But I think some of them deep down will know there'll be all sorts of doubts about why on earth should Mr Burnham succeed when six other prime ministers have been burned in the last 10 years.

17:36And the main challenge for Labour, I mean, it's difficult, isn't it? Because they appear to be challenged on the left and on the right. What do we know of Andy Burnham's politics? Well, his politics are the same, really, as Keir Starmer's. ideologically in the sense that he's a politician of the soft center left. He believes that by and large state intervention is a good thing, that the priority of a center left government should be improving the living standards of ordinary people. The big question comes about as to how exactly might his policies differ, given the fiscal restraints, the financial restraints on Britain.

18:14Britain is already a country with very high levels of debt, historically high levels of tax and spending. But, of course, those on the left of the party, they would love Andy Burnham to somehow borrow more and spend more and tax more. So, of course, the danger that he faces is that if he doesn't do that because he's worried about the reaction of financial markets, his party might be quickly rather disappointed with him. Rob Watson, and I'll be talking to Rob once again towards the end of this program just to try and set today's breathless events in a little bit more. historical context.

18:54Another political change to tell you about now, and one which involves a rather more dramatic swing. It's in Colombia, where in a very tight presidential election, the tough-talking right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Esprilla has beaten his challenger from the left and will now take over from the current left-wing president, Gustavo Petro. So what can we expect from the new man. Juanita Leon is the founder and director of the Colombian news website La Sia Vazia. First, what did she make of the result? Very close, just one percentage point between the two contenders and with the highest turnout in decades.

19:31The turnout was so historic, so many people went to vote that you can tell that people still believe in democracy in Colombia and that is great news. On the other hand, the results show a country that is divided by half. The people in the periphery of Colombia, on the coasts of Colombia, is more to the left and the people in the Andean region and the coffee region and the centre is more to the right. It's a very polarised country so we really need a president that governs for the whole country and that tries to unify the countries. The outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, I mean, he has made some very inflammatory comments claiming that there was some sort of fix, there was some sort of fraudulent interventions from outside.

20:20How confident should we be in the result? We're still going through the official results, which are not official yet. But I think if we see historically, the pre-count and the official results change very little and we don't see any reason for this to be different. So in La Silla Vacía, we are very much sure that Abelardo is the new president. But Petro has been sowing this distrust in the electoral system, which I think works very well in Colombia. In terms of what we can expect from Abelardo as president, it's very difficult to tell because during his campaign, he was a very divisive figure.

21:02He was saying that he was going to persecute the left, that he was going to extradite the president. So people were really scared of his victory, people that were on the left. The media, we were quite fearful of him because he has a trajectory of suing journalists, of using a lot of intimidation against the press. But his speech was very conciliatory. You know, he said that he was not going to persecute anyone, that he was going to govern on behalf of every Colombian, even the ones that were against him. So with Abelardo, you never know because he's a very pragmatic guy, not an ideological person.

21:44He plays roles. So we are not sure which role he will play. I mean, he's also expressed some admiration for the economic policies of the Argentinian president, Javier Millet, who obviously has sort of gone to war on public expenditure. How is he going to affect that? I think he can end a lot of contracts that Petro signed in the last year to promote the campaign of Ivan Cepeda. He hired a lot of people with very small contracts for a lot of money, so he can end them very fast. And he can reduce a little bit of bureaucracy, but not 40 % of bureaucracy as he wants, unless he's willing to go through a constitutional reform in Congress or a legislative reform in Congress.

22:34You know, he needs to do fiscal adjustment because we are going through a very huge fiscal crisis, but it won't be of the magnitude that he's promised. Viewing the trend from abroad, lots of people have been saying it feels as if Latin America is swinging right recently in Chile and Honduras and so forth. Do you think that that has a certain validity? I think we are part of that trend. Trump is going to be a big ally of Abelardo. He already used that alliance as intimidation for politicians that were going to support Ivan Cepeda. Christopher Landau said that he would withdraw the American visas of those politicians.

23:17And that really worked as an intimidation. So I think we will see a lot of that in Abelardo's government. And that was Juanita Leon, founder and director of the Colombian news website, La Silvia Vazia, on Abelardo de la Esprilla, becoming the new president of Colombia. He won that very tight election on Sunday, but he's due to takeover from Gustavo Petro. You're listening to News Hour.

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25:20Welcome back to NewsHour. Lino Messi, he made World Cup history today shortly before we came on air. He became the competition's all-time leading scorers. His team beat Austria 2-0 with the Little Master scoring both goals. They were both wonderful goals. He's up to 18 overall, five already in this World Cup in just two games. But we're going to go from a legend of the game to one of the minnows, or to change my biological metaphors, one of the underdogs. And that's Cape Verde, the island nation off the west coast of Africa, who on Sunday managed to hold Uruguay, a country with a great World Cup pedigree, to a two-all draw.

25:57and the fans, well, the fans were ecstatic, as you can probably get from this little incident with the BBC's Paul Njia, who's in Cape Verde, as he was talking to a fan during the game. What's your appraisal of the way the Cape Verdean team has been playing so far? My personal thing, so far, Cabo Verde has been playing great. It's been matching Uruguay's pressure. Goal! Let's go! Let's go! All one! The campaign has broken He has made history Tonight He's calling a left goal Yeah And you can see Marcello What can you do Marcello We pass into the next phase History We are going to the next phase What do you make of that goal You're leaving everybody wrong Gaboufeld is going to a long man I've listened to that enough times today That I knew to turn my headphones down Fortunately before we played that Anyway My colleague Virginia Vaidyanathan Spoke to the BBC sports correspondent Jane Dougal about the extraordinary levels of excitement around this team.