Keir Starmer: “Strong public finances are part of what keeps us safe - irresponsible borrowing only puts that at risk.”

In six and a half years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country and won a landslide general election victory in 2024.

I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.

I think once you’ve been prime minister, it’s important to answer the question: what are you going to do next? Having decided I’m going to concentrate on international affairs, I think it’s right to step down.

It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government.