Keir Starmer: “We've seen this playbook many times, whipping up intimidation and threats of violence.”

I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, to work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely.

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.

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.