Keir Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in north London seat – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London
Keir Starmer is going to resign as an MP, his local paper, the Camden New Journal, is reporting.
When he resigned as PM, Starmer said he planned to stay as a backbench MP until the next election. But he has changed his mind, the paper reports. It says:
After weeks of speculation about his future plans, [Starmer] chose his local newspaper to explain why he felt it was the “right time” to leave the House of Commons and concentrate on new work on international affairs.
He told the New Journal that, after leaving Downing Street at the end of July, he had reflected on what lay ahead and that he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor”, adding: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government. I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
“I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.”
This means there will be a byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London, where Starmer had a majority of 11,572 at the last election. At one point there were fears this could lead to Labour losing the seat to the Green party, but in recent weeks Labour’s national poll ratings have been rising and support for the Greens is on the wane.
Key events
Andy Burnham will start his Commons statement at 3.30pm. The Commons authorities have confirmed that there will be no urgent questions (which would have come first).
The statement is being described as being about “government direction”.
Afterwards, from about 5.30pm, Alex Norris, the justice secretary, will give one on the prisoner early release scheme. And then Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will give a statement on policing in Cleveland.
Starmer leaves ‘shameful legacy’, says Your Party
Your Party, the leftwing party founded by Jeremy Corbyn and others, has said Keir Starmer leaves a “shameful legacy”. A Your Party spokesperson said:
Keir Starmer leaves behind a party hollowed out, millions of voters disillusioned and a shameful record of British complicity in the genocide in Gaza. He entered politics as a human rights lawyer and leaves having abandoned those principles when they mattered most. Now he is abandoning his constituents too. That’s certainly a legacy!
Starmer may run, but he can’t hide from the shameful legacy he leaves behind.
Corbyn was suspended and then ultimately expelled from Labour after Starmer replaced him as the party’s leader.
Burnham says government has had ‘strong sense of momentum’ since he became PM
Andy Burnham told colleagues at cabinet that he thought the government had established “a strong sense of momentum” since he became PM.
At the No 10 lobby briefing, giving a readout from what was said at cabinet, the PM’s spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened cabinet by thanking colleagues for establishing a strong sense of momentum in his first weeks in office. He said the country had noticed a change of pace, with the government setting the agenda and starting the process of giving local areas the levers they need to create good growth. He said that during his summer tour it was clear that life was hard for many people, but that they wanted to have hope and hear a positive outlook for the country.
According to the spokesperson, Burnham also used his opening remarks to thank Alex Norris, the justice secretary, for his work on changing the prisoner early release scheme and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for her “relentless work on small boat crossings”. (See 9.29am.)
Starmer says it is ‘right to step down’ given his decision to focus now on international affairs
Here are some more quotes from the interview Keir Starmer gave to the Camden New Journal announcing his decision to stand down.
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Starmer said he wanted to focus on issues like international affairs, defence, security, trade and technology. He said:
I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.
I think once you’ve been prime minister, it’s important to answer the question: what are you going to do next? Having decided I’m going to concentrate on international affairs, I think it’s right to step down [as MP].
The constituency Labour party has got many, many fantastic people and there will be no shortage of first class candidates.
In terms of some of the things that have changed: we are opening ten breakfast clubs across the constituency – five of them opened in April, five more will be opened when the schools go back this week. I think breakfast clubs make a huge difference for children and parents because everybody knows that a child that hasn’t eaten before they try to start learning is not going to learn as well as other children.”
Free school meals are coming again this week, that’s 4,600 children in the constituency that will now benefit, the minimum wage increase will make a difference to thousands of workers across Camden who are on or near the minimum wage and there’s an increase in the number of GPs. The two child benefit cap being lifted will affect 2,500 children in the constituency who will now begin to be lifted out of poverty. Then there’s the Renters’ Rights Act – 16,500 renters in Holborn and St Pancras – and of course everybody who is at work will benefit under the Employment Rights Act.
My years on the frontline were basically six and a half years because it was from picking up the Labour party in 2019 from the worst election result since 1935 and turning it around to a general election landslide victory in 2024, while most people said it wouldn’t be possible to win the election in 2024 – let alone win it with a landslide. No leader has ever pulled such a swing across from such a low base to a landslide in the way that we did.
Greens don’t rule out Zack Polanski standing in Holborn and St Pancras byelection
The Greens have not ruled out Zack Polanski, the party’s leader, standing as their candidate to replace Keir Starmer as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.
NEW – A Green party spokesman said: “Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP. London has been his home for over 20 years.”
Sounds like Polanski might fancy a tilt at Holborn and St Pancras.
Tories describe Starmer’s decision to trigger ‘costly’ byelection as ‘yet another U-turn’ given pledge to stay as backbencher
This is from Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative party chair, on Keir Starmer resigning as an MP.
Whilst we have disagreed with almost all of Sir Keir Starmer’s decisions, I wish him and his family well for the future.
It is fitting that his final act as a member of parliament is yet another U-turn having pledged to stay on.
The decision to stand down will mean a costly byelection for taxpayers at a time when Andy Burnham are John Healey are plotting tax rises on hardworking families across the country.
The Conservatives look forward to giving the people of Holborn and St Pancras a chance to vote for a stronger economy and a stronger country in the weeks ahead.
In June, Starmer’s spokesperson said that Starmer would remain as an MP until the next election shortly before Starmer stood down as PM.
Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London
Keir Starmer is going to resign as an MP, his local paper, the Camden New Journal, is reporting.
When he resigned as PM, Starmer said he planned to stay as a backbench MP until the next election. But he has changed his mind, the paper reports. It says:
After weeks of speculation about his future plans, [Starmer] chose his local newspaper to explain why he felt it was the “right time” to leave the House of Commons and concentrate on new work on international affairs.
He told the New Journal that, after leaving Downing Street at the end of July, he had reflected on what lay ahead and that he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor”, adding: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government. I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
“I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.”
This means there will be a byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London, where Starmer had a majority of 11,572 at the last election. At one point there were fears this could lead to Labour losing the seat to the Green party, but in recent weeks Labour’s national poll ratings have been rising and support for the Greens is on the wane.
My colleague Richard Partington, the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, grew up, like Andy Burnham, in the Warrington suburb of Culcheth. He has been home to find out what people there are saying about the new PM.
Badenoch names Alex Burghart as deputy Tory leader
Yesterday, Kemi Badenoch announced a reshuffle, replacing Mel Stride with Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor and Priti Patel with Tom Tugendhat as shadow foreign secretary.
Last night, the Tories released a full list of shadow cabinet members. Alex Burghart was described as shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and shadow Northern Ireland secretary, the job he was doing already and a title that underplayed his seniority. But he was in second place in the list, below Badenoch and above Griffith, and this morning the Conservatives are confirming that he has been made deputy leader. Until now, Badenoch has not had a deputy.
This means Burghart will deputise for Badenoch at PMQs. Without a deputy, Badenoch chose different shadow ministers to stand in for her on different occcasions.
Last week, Max Hastings, the former Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard editor, infuriated the Tories with a column in which he said he attended a party with senior journalists where it turned out that almost none of them could name any member of the shadow cabinet apart from Badenoch herself. In the light of that, you might have thought the Tories would publish the full list on their website. But it does not seem to be there, or easily available anywhere online, so for the record, here it is.
Leader of the Conservative party: Kemi Badenoch
Shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland: Alex Burghart
Shadow chancellor of the Exchequer: Andrew Griffith
Shadow secretary of state for business, innovation, science and trade: Claire Coutinho
Cover while on maternity leave: Julia Lopez
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury: Richard Fuller
Shadow secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs: Tom Tugendhat
Shadow secretary of state for the home department: Chris Philp
Shadow secretary of state for defence: James Cartlidge
Shadow minister for policy renewal: Neil O’Brien
Chairman of the Conservative party: Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow secretary of state for work and pensions: Helen Whately
Shadow secretary of state for energy security: Andrew Bowie
Shadow secretary of state for education: Laura Trott
Shadow secretary of state for justice: Nick Timothy
Shadow secretary of state for health and social care: Damian Hinds
Shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs: Victoria Atkins
Shadow secretary of state for transport: Richard Holden
Shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government: Katie Lam
Shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport: Rebecca Paul
Shadow secretary of state for Scotland: Harriet Cross
Shadow secretary of state for Wales: Mims Davies
Shadow secretary of state for women and equalities: Joy Morrissey
Shadow leader of the House of Commons: Jesse Norman
Shadow leader of the House of Lords: Lord True
Opposition chief whip: Rebecca Harris
PPS to the leader: John Glen
Andy Burnham has vowed to “stamp out antisemitism for good” in a tribute to the victims of the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
In a post on social media, he said:
We send our love and support to the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond who last night gathered to remember Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who were killed defending their synagogue last year. My thoughts are with their families and all those who have been affected by the attack.
I know for many Jewish people, the sorrow and fear from that day has not lifted and I know we must do more to protect communities across the country.
I want Jewish people to know that their safety is a priority of mine and I’m determined to stamp out antisemitism for good.
Higher public spending alone won’t make UK richer, Darren Jones tells Burnham
Andy Burnham has refused to rule out tax rises to fund higher public spending in the budget – although he has also played down the prospect of big changes.
In an article for the Times, Darren Jones, who was chief secretary to the PM under Keir Starmer but who left government when Burnham took power, has warned that higher public spending on its own won’t make Britain richer. He says:
Britain is poorer than we often think. We won’t get richer based on higher public spending alone, and we can’t tax billionaires who don’t live here.
We shouldn’t rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history that is no longer available to us. We must face the future, and I know my colleagues are up to the challenge.
Jones says that the chancellor should avoid big tax rises in the budget and that the key decisions will come in the spending review. He calls for a focus on growth.
Crucially, we must create the right conditions for a dynamic, thriving market. This includes getting ahead of what artificial intelligence will mean for our services-dominated economy.
Politically, we shouldn’t see conflict between growth and fairness, or business and workers, or the market and the state. These are false choices.
Economic growth is the foundation of a better life for the people we represent.
In his article Jones, who is seen as a Starmer loyalist, says Burnham has “done an impressive job this summer in cementing his positive ratings with the public and improving my party’s position in the polls”. But the article implies Jones is worried Burnham might cave in to pressure to embark on a leftwing spending spree.
Long-term UK borrowing costs reach 28-year high
The long-term cost of borrowing for the government has reached a 28-year high, Julia Kollewe reports on the business live blog.
Andy Burnham has been chairing cabinet. Here are pictures of some of the ministers arriving in Downing Street before the meeting started.
Healey says next year’s spending review will set out ‘clear path’ to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035
Last week it emerged that John Healey, the chancellor, will not set out how the UK will raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 in the budget in October. Instead, he will set out plans to raise defence spending in the spending review next year.
The revelation led to Healey being accused of hypocrisy because he resigned as defence secretary in Keir Starmer’s government after Starmer refused to commit to raising defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 in the defence investment plan published this summer. Healey’s resignation contributed to Starmer deciding to step down, and Healey returning to government in a more senior role as Andy Burnham’s chancellor.
In an interview with the Times, Healey has said he is “100%” committed to raising defence spending. He told the paper:
For the first time at the spending review, we will set out a clear path about how we will meet that Nato commitment in 2035, of 3.5% of GDP. And as part of setting out that clear path, we will set that target date for 3%.
The paper has headlined its story: “John Healey: I’ll prove I’m no hypocrite on defence.” But Healey did not use those words himself (it is the Times summarising his stance), and in the interview Healey did not confirm the 3% target would be met by 2030.
Justice secretary Alex Norris says prisons will still function under plan to turn laundries into cells
Alex Norris, the justice secretary, has insisted prisons will “still function properly” amid concerns over government plans to turn laundries into cells in a bid to tackle overcrowding.
As Ben Quinn reports, the Ministry of Justice announced overnight that it will spend £110m creating new cells in prisons using existing spaces like unused offices, laundry rooms and other areas.
Norris was giving interviews this morning and he said “hundreds of places” would be created by converting existing spaces inside prisons into accommodation.
He declined to confirm Tory claims that there are 700 fewer prison places than a year ago, noting that the estate “fluctuates” because of issues such as fire damage.
Asked where clothes would be washed if laundry rooms were converted into cells, Norris told BBC Breakfast:
Of course we’re going to make sure that the prisons can still function properly.
This is a creative look, as I say, around our estate and being able to use some space that we can re-prioritise.
He said wider plans – including building entire new prisons – would see 14,000 new places on top of the 3,200 prison places delivered in the last two years, “but that takes time”, while the conversion plans would add “in the hundreds of spaces”.
Pressed on the Conservatives’ claim that there are 700 fewer prison places than in 2025, Norris said the estate “fluctuates” because of planned and unplanned events affecting the Victorian-era buildings.
He told Times Radio:
Those wouldn’t necessarily be the numbers I’d use, but it is possible that places come out of the estate. For example, you know, there can be damage, fire damage. We’ve got a very old estate.
Small boat crossings during summer months have fallen to seven-year low, Home Office says
In line with Andy Burnham’s emphasis on “positivity” (see 9.04am), the Home Office has put out a press release overnight saying that summer small boat crossings have been at a seven-year low this year. The figures aren’t particularly new, and anyone following the story closely will know that small boat arrival numbers have fallen sharply. But these statistics have not been publicised prominently in the rightwing media, which is one reason why almost half of Britons wrongly think small boat arrival numbers are going up.
The Home Office says:
Usually some of the busiest months in the year, with criminal gangs exploiting good weather, latest data shows that June, July and August (up to the 30th August) recorded the lowest combined total of small boat crossings since 2019, and the lowest number of small boat migrant arrivals since 2020.
• August crossings (up to 30 August) fell to their lowest level since records began in 2018, down 46% on last year, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 35% on last year.
• July saw the fewest crossings of any July since 2019, down 64% on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 58% on last year.
• June recorded its lowest level of crossings since 2019, down 50% on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2021, down 47% on last year.
It is important to recognise the distinction between small boat crossing numbers and arrival numbers. The number of people arriving on small boats has fallen significantly, but the number of small boat crossings (ie boats, not people) has fallen even more because people smugglers are using bigger boats (in part because smaller boats are being seized).
Burnham to say he wants to unlock ‘positivity’ in first statement to MPs since becoming PM
Good morning. Andy Burnham became prime minister six weeks ago, but today will be the first time he addresses MPs in the Commons. It will also be the first time he has spoken as a minister from the dispatch box in more than 16 years. As MPs return to Westminster, they will be telling each other about how they spent the summer holiday and, for Burnham, it has undoubtedly gone well. He has unveiled a blitz of announcements which, broadly, have had a good reception and he has delivered the kiss of life to Labour’s poll ratings.
Today Burnham will chair cabinet in the morning and then make a ministerial statement in the Commons after 3.30pm. Normally a prime ministerial statement has a specific focus; it will be about a major policy decision, or a foreign affairs crisis. From the briefing that we have had so far, it sounds as if Burnham’s will be more of a wide-ranging rehash of all the things that he has been talking about this summer. In her preview, Jessica Elgot says he will talk about his intention to bring more essential services back into public control.
According to the BBC’s preview, Burnham will say he wants to “unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility” in every part of the country.
For the past six weeks, Burnham’s tone has been relentlessly positive. He repeatedly says he wants to focus on “problem-solving, not point-scoring”, and he clearly means it. Labour MPs chose Burnham as leader because they thought Keir Starmer would not be able to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM, but over the summer Burnham has said very little in public critical about Farage, or Reform UK, or the Tories. He views partisan mud-slinging as part of the old politics that he would like to reject.
But can he do that when he has to perform politics in the House of Commons? It sounds as if Burnham will not have much new to announce in his statement and so journalists will probably focus instead on what Labour and opposition MPs say to him, and how he responds. Burnham may not approve of “point-scoring”, but in the Commons, tradition, culture and even the architecture (front benches supposedly two swords’ length apart) prioritise conflict and it will interesting to see if he can get through the afternoon without resorting to the usual aggressive ding-dong. This will be an even bigger challenge for him at PMQs tomorrow.
And even if Burnham can remain upbeat for two hours in the Commons chamber, he will soon find that there are some places in the country particularly resistant to “positivity” – like the newsrooms at the Mail and GB News.
Still, it is probably worth a try. Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Andy Burnham chairs cabinet.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, takes his seat as an MP after winning the Clacton byelection during the summer recess.
2.30pm: Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: Burnham gives a statement to MPs.
Late afternoon: Alex Norris, the justice secretary, gives a statement to MPs about changes to the prisoner early release scheme.
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