Starmer nationalises British Steel and visits Ukraine on last full day as Labour leader – UK politics live

Andrew SparrowGuardian - WorldUpdated Jul 16, 2026, 4:45 PM

Outgoing PM moves to cements his legacy before his replacement by Andy Burnham as party leader tomorrow Good morning. Conventional wisdom has it that, once a PM announces they are going to stand down, all their power vanishes faster than water down a clear plughole. Broadly that’s correct. But in the last week or so Keir Starmer seems to have been acting with a decisiveness that eluded him for most of his time in office: finalising the defence investment plan; delivering the long-awaited apology

Zack Polanski , the Green party leader, says reports saying Shabana Mahmood is now set to be Andy Burnham’s chancellor have shown he would be “subservient to the City”.

Polanski posted this on social media this morning.

double quotation mark We don’t know what the cabinet will be yet, but the mood music is ominous.

A Labour Party subservient to the City of London and harking back to the Blair years would be catastrophic for this country.

People simply won’t stand for Rip Off Britain any more.

And he posted this on a tweet that also included a picture of today’s Financial Times splash.

double quotation mark “City relieved” = Burnham’s government won’t challenge the power of the bankers, or tax their wealth.

Who is choosing our politicians - the people or the banking sector?

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