Starmer: “I am Not Going to Walk Away”; No Timetable Even if Burnham Wins
Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters this afternoon that he would not set out a timetable for his departure even if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election: “I’m not going to do that.” The Prime Minister repeated that he would “not walk away” from the job and said the by-election was “a fight between Labour and Reform”, adding: “I will be backing 100% whoever the [Labour] candidate is.” The Guardian’s Andrew Sparrow framed the day in his live-blog headline: “I am not going to walk away, says Starmer as Burnham pitches debate on how politics needs to change.”
Starmer’s position formally closes down the weekend reporting in the Mail On Sunday, the i Paper and ITV’s Robert Peston that suggested he was about to announce a departure timetable from Chequers. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy set the tone on Sky News this morning — “there will be no timetable for departure” — and the Prime Minister’s own broadcast lines later in the day formalise it. The Prime Minister’s framing — that the next general election remains his to fight and that “we’ve got to turn things” after the 7 May local-election losses — is also the line for the gilts market. Gilts stabilised through Monday after cabinet voices coalesced behind the Prime Minister; the political risk premium is coming off, with the ten-year gilt yield modestly lower at 5.18%.