Keir Starmer: “Look, I’m not going to walk away. I don’t think we should plunge the country into the chaos of a leadership election.”

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.

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.

They have been resolute in their support for me, firstly in becoming an MP and then becoming the leader of Labour party and then as prime minister.

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