Keir Starmer: “Did I want it to end at this point in this way? No, I didn’t. But I accept that with good grace.”

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 go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything we have achieved.

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.

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