Starmer faces final Cabinet and PMQs as Burnham nears Labour leadership finish line – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer faces final Cabinet and PMQs as Burnham approaches Labor leadership finish line
Good morning. Everyone likes to leave, and today that’s Keir Starmer’s decision, or at least in parliament. If your outgoing coworker is someone you love and admire, the chance to see them thanked and celebrated is welcome. And that’s even better if the departing coworker is someone you don’t like or has been there too long. In a good breakup, there are also good jokes. And recent PMQs are one of those rare moments in politics when even rivals tend to be polite and respectful (which is something people watching from outside the circus enjoy).
Starmer will chair his final cabinet meeting this morning and receive his final PMQs at noon. He has undoubtedly had the opportunity to examine how his predecessors handled this challenge and has probably read: Tony Blair in question The day he left the House of Commons – It’s worth quoting again because it’s a good summary for those of us who still think politics is a valuable profession.
Some may belittle politics, but those of us who deal with politics know that politics is where people stand tall. Even though I know they have tough conflicts, it is still the arena that makes hearts beat a little faster. While it is sometimes a place where dastardly tricks are carried out, it is often a place where noble goals are pursued. I wish good luck to everyone, friend or foe. This is it. Last.
Writing about the last PMQs in his memoirs, Blair also said he felt it was a day when “there was no point in trying to advance things; there was no point in the opposition trying to criticize things”. He clearly hasn’t met Kemi Badenoch at this point, and it will be surprising if he can answer six questions without attacking, at least some of the time. The Conservative Party wanted to hold an opposition day debate today to force a vote on their (perfectly reasonable) call for the holiday to be postponed so that Andy Burnham can address MPs before disappearing for a six-week summer holiday. Yesterday, in what Blair described as a “low-ride” action, the government changed the business of the House of Commons to stop the vote from taking place. A minister has claimed it is vital MPs discuss Iran instead. But it’s hard not to conclude that No 10 just wants to silence the Conservatives on this issue and that Burnham is happy with the House of Commons recess starting tomorrow.
Newspapers are full of speculation about who will do what jobs in Burnham’s cabinet when she announces it on Monday. We’ll have more information about this soon.
Here is the agenda of the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chair cabinet.
10.30: Reform England’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf holds a press conference.
11.30: BBC director general Matt Brittin and BBC chief Samir Shah give evidence to the Lords Communications Committee on the renewal of the BBC franchise.
Afternoon: Starmer takes PMQs.
14:00: Labor Party’s Manchester mayoral candidate Bev Craig has unveiled her manifesto.
Afternoon: Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis visits Yorkshire.
If you would like to contact me, please send a message below the line or send a message on social media during comments open hours (between 10:00 – 15:00). I can’t read all messages BTL, but if you type “Andrew” in a message addressed to me, I’m more likely to see it because I’m looking for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something urgently, it’s best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from their official account on
I find it very helpful for readers to point out errors, even minor typos. No mistake is too small to be corrected. I also find your questions very interesting. I can’t promise to respond to them all, but I will try to respond as much as I can, either on BTL or sometimes on the blog.
important events
UK is now the ‘safest place’ for teens online, minister claims
In media interviews this morning, Kanishka NarayanThe online safety minister also claimed that as a result of government policies, the UK is now the safest place for young people online. He explained:
The most important thing I would say is that this is part of an overall package, which means Britain is now the safest place for young people’s online experiences.
[We’ve] Banned for those under 16, the first country in the world to ban romantic and suggestive content on youth chatbots.
It has now become the first country in the world to limit harmful features in the game by giving mandatory breaks to artificial intelligence chatbots. And today, yes, there is support for 16 and 17 year olds too.
So this is just part of the overall package; This means the UK is now firmly on the side of regulating families and parents, not tech platforms.
Here are photos of the cabinet ministers arriving for Keir Starmer’s latest cabinet this morning.
Some will probably return to that march on Monday, when Andy Burnham appoints his cabinet. And some of them (those who do not continue) will probably be dismissed in front of the cameras, either at a meeting in the parliament building or by phone.
Minister rejects social media claim that curfew on 16 and 17 year olds, although voluntary, is pointless
16 and 17-year-olds will be encouraged to comply with a midnight social media curfew in the latest stage of Labour’s bid to “protect the next generation from online harm, including poor sleep caused by night scrolling.”
Like Robert Booth In his story on this issue, critics argued that this type of voluntary curfew, imposed through a default setting that can be easily turned off, doesn’t work very well.
this morning Kanishka NarayanThe online security minister was doing a round of interviews and denied the claim. He told Sky News:
I don’t discount that because when we see evidence of these things. In October, for example, some platforms implemented such defaults; More than 90% of teens told us they keep these defaults.
And so the evidence base is clear, the motivation is very clear, and I wouldn’t do young people any harm by telling them they’re all going to turn it off.
Andy Burnham urged to overhaul ‘timid and limited’ election bill
The government was “timid” and “incremental” in deciding what to include in the election bill. Rushana Alisaid a former minister who helped write it. He called on new prime minister Andy Burnham to go further.
Kiran Stacey It has a story.
Starmer faces final Cabinet and PMQs as Burnham approaches Labor leadership finish line
Good morning. Everyone likes to leave, and today that’s Keir Starmer’s decision, or at least in parliament. If your outgoing coworker is someone you love and admire, the chance to see them thanked and celebrated is welcome. And that’s even better if the departing coworker is someone you don’t like or has been there too long. In a good breakup, there are also good jokes. And recent PMQs are one of those rare moments in politics when even rivals tend to be polite and respectful (which is something people watching from outside the circus enjoy).
Starmer will chair his final cabinet meeting this morning and receive his final PMQs at noon. He has undoubtedly had the opportunity to examine how his predecessors handled this challenge and has probably read: Tony Blair in question The day he left the House of Commons – It’s worth quoting again because it’s a good summary for those of us who still think politics is a valuable profession.
Some may belittle politics, but those of us who deal with politics know that politics is where people stand tall. Even though I know they have tough conflicts, it is still the arena that makes hearts beat a little faster. While it is sometimes a place where dastardly tricks are carried out, it is often a place where noble goals are pursued. I wish good luck to everyone, friend or foe. This is it. Last.
Writing about the last PMQs in his memoirs, Blair also said he felt it was a day when “there was no point in trying to advance things; there was no point in the opposition trying to criticize things”. He clearly hasn’t met Kemi Badenoch at this point, and it will be surprising if he can answer six questions without attacking, at least some of the time. The Conservative Party wanted to hold an opposition day debate today to force a vote on their (perfectly reasonable) call for the holiday to be postponed so that Andy Burnham can address MPs before disappearing for a six-week summer holiday. Yesterday, in what Blair described as a “low-ride” action, the government changed the business of the House of Commons to stop the vote from taking place. A minister has claimed it is vital MPs discuss Iran instead. But it’s hard not to conclude that No 10 just wants to silence the Conservatives on this issue and that Burnham is happy with the House of Commons recess starting tomorrow.
Newspapers are full of speculation about who will do what jobs in Burnham’s cabinet when she announces it on Monday. We’ll have more information about this soon.
Here is the agenda of the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chair cabinet.
10.30: Reform England’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf holds a press conference.
11.30: BBC director general Matt Brittin and BBC chief Samir Shah give evidence to the Lords Communications Committee on the renewal of the BBC franchise.
Afternoon: Starmer takes PMQs.
14:00: Labor Party’s Manchester mayoral candidate Bev Craig has unveiled her manifesto.
Afternoon: Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis visits Yorkshire.
If you would like to contact me, please send a message below the line or send a message on social media during comments open hours (between 10:00 – 15:00). I can’t read all messages BTL, but if you type “Andrew” in a message addressed to me, I’m more likely to see it because I’m looking for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something urgently, it’s best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from their official account on
I find it very helpful for readers to point out errors, even minor typos. No mistake is too small to be corrected. I also find your questions very interesting. I can’t promise to respond to them all, but I will try to respond as much as I can, either on BTL or sometimes on the blog.
