Keir Starmer steps down as Prime Minister - reaction

Responding to the news that the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said: 

“Starmer will be remembered as the Prime Minister that failed to connect with voters’ demands for meaningful change after more than a decade of failed austerity policies and a cost-of-living crisis that has left millions struggling to make ends meet. By failing to offer an alternative vision of hope, unity and prosperity, and through countless fatal missteps – from the Winter Fuel Payment to Palestine – his government alienated and left too many behind. 

“These failures have overshadowed some of the genuinely positive environmental advances made by his government – such as its championing of clean energy, rejection of plans for the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years, and delivery of a stronger pathway for reducing our carbon emissions. Less can be said about its attacks on nature though, which will be more than a blot on his legacy. 

“Things could not be more existential for Labour. If the party stands any chance of holding on at the next general election, then it must drastically change course. Policies that will make a material difference in people’s lives and address the interlinked crises of inequality, climate and nature must now be the focus for whoever succeeds him. 

“That means solutions that lower bills through cheap, clean homegrown renewable energy, make quality, affordable housing a major priority to keep people warm in winter and shielded from climate impacts, and that clean up our dirty air to save thousands of lives each year. 

“The next leader must also rebalance the scales so that the billionaires and greedy corporations polluting and getting rich at our expense – not those struggling just to make it through the week – are paying the lion’s share towards our national renewal. Anything less will only fuel the political forces weaponising inequality and sowing chaos to divide our communities."

ENDS