Starmer’s G7 performance overshadowed by looming leadership challenge at home

Sir Keir Starmer had a big task ahead of him when he set off for France with a plane full of journalists for the G7 Summit.

In the face of mounting speculation about an increasingly likely leadership challenge, the Prime Minister needed to travel to Evian-les-Bains and prove that he was still the right man for the job. An assured performance on the world stage could, to some extent, make domestic infighting seem childish compared to what is happening internationally.

But unfortunately his poor performance in the G7 this week didn’t cut it. It quickly became clear that his international influence was waning, as world leaders became increasingly aware that this might be his last move as Prime Minister.

Instead of playing a dual leading role against Macron as he did last year, the prime minister appeared more isolated than ever. It was encapsulated by a hot mic moment reported by. protectorWhen Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Macron arrived late for the summit’s opening session, the prime minister asked: “Are they having a meeting?” he was heard asking.

Meanwhile, her later insistence that she and Trump “sat side by side and chatted with each other” for two hours over dinner Monday night came off as needy rather than genuinely reassuring when it came to the state of the transatlantic alliance.

It should not be ignored that the Prime Minister made important statements at this summit. A £210 million export finance package for Ukraine was agreed on Tuesday, as well as a new package of sanctions against Russian shadow fleet ships. On Wednesday afternoon, he went even further and imposed the largest penalty for financial sanctions violations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Prime Minister also announced that companies in France and India will invest £1.3 billion in artificial intelligence and clean energy projects.

None of this is anything to belittle. But compared to last year’s joint press conference with Donald Trump, where the Prime Minister announced the UK-US trade deal, it does not carry the same impact.

The announcements were also almost completely overshadowed by questions about the leadership contest. Instead of asking about the upcoming EU summit, the date of which was announced yesterday, Sir Keir found himself asking about both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham’s upcoming challenge.

It was telling that the main story of Wednesday morning was that the mayor of Greater Manchester would be offered a cabinet post if he wins the Makerfield by-election, despite the fact that a victory in Makerfield would pave the way for Mr Burnham to immediately challenge the Prime Minister for his job.

A similar situation occurred on Tuesday. While the prime minister was making progress at the G7, Mr Streeting was in London and announced he had the support of enough MPs to challenge the prime minister and said he wanted a “real contest” to decide who would replace Sir Keir.

Taking questions from lobby hacks on Wednesday, Sir Keir repeatedly tried to focus on international relations, turning the topic back to his achievements in the G7. But try as he might, the strange fact that his own party was publicly moving against him was the elephant in the room at the top that would likely be his last if Mr Streeting and Mr Burnham had their way.