I stood in Downing Street as Keir Starmer resigned – 1 thing completely shocked me
ANALYSIS – JON WALKER: Keir Starmer’s allies applauded warmly, but something was missing.
Keir Starmer with wife Victoria following his resignation announcement (Image: Getty)
He was doing so well. Sir Keir Starmer almost made it to the end of his resignation speech before the tears came. But it was when he thanked “my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad”, that his voice cracked and the emotions could no longer be contained.
It wasn’t the first time we’ve seen a Prime Minister cry as they quit Number 10. Theresa May was in tears during her resignation speech. Margaret Thatcher was red-eyed as she was driven to Buckingham Palace, back in 1990. But something was different. In the past, it was the Conservative Party stabbing sitting Prime Ministers in the back and forcing them out. Now, Labour has caught the disease.
Live Reaction To Starmer Resignation
I was part of the crowd of journalists waiting for something to happen in Downing Street this morning. It soon became clear that the rumours were true and Sir Keir was about to go. But it became official once Sir Keir’s staff and supporters emerged from the door of Number 11 – next to Number 10 – and stood expectantly in the street.
There were special advisers, including the Prime Minister’s “spin doctors” who speak to the media. And one or two members of the Cabinet were present, such as David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Darren Jones, the Prime Minister’s Political Secretary.
They applauded warmly when the PM finally appeared. These were the loyalists.
No doubt there are others who stuck by the Prime Minister through thick and thin. But it was striking how few of Sir Keir’s Labour Party colleagues were in Downing Street to support him. Did they, perhaps, have guilty consciences?
Sir Keir tried to put a brave face on it. He talked about his achievements as Labour leader and Prime Minister.
After all, he inherited a party on the brink of annihilation, following Jeremy Corbyn’s disastrous period in charge. Sir Keir turned Labour into an election-winning machine that won a massive majority in a general election.
What has Andy Burnham done? He’s won a by-election.
To be fair, seeing off the threat from Reform in Makerfield is an achievement Mr Burnham can be proud of. Still, you could understand if Sir Keir felt rather aggrieved that his rival is about to walk into his job.
The defenestration of a sitting Prime Minister once felt like a momentous occasion but we’ve grown rather used to it.
As the Conservatives discovered, do it once and it’s tempting to do it again, once you hit a roadblock or the polling starts to look bad.
For the Tories, it became a habit. Mr Burnham better hope it’s not a habit his Labour colleagues also fall into.
Will any of this help young people find jobs, increase our wages or allow the NHS to treat more patients? The Labour MPs and Cabinet Ministers who forced Starmer out must, presumably, think it does. I’d love to hear them explain how.
