Prime Minister Keir Starmer watched England's World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina on a night train speeding to Kyiv, in what would be his final newspaper interview as PM. The football-mad leader was glued to the screen in his carriage, with Ukrainian tech wizardry enabling the broadcast. President Volodymyr Zelensky had loaned Starmer his official train for the journey, a sign of their friendship.
As they met outside the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Zelensky clasped his arm and said "once more" during their final meeting. Starmer chose Ukraine as his swansong, marking one of his proudest achievements in office. The warmth for him in Ukraine was clear: as the group left Kyiv, Ukrainians renamed the train "Bravery Express" on the platform board. Starmer sought to reassure Ukrainians that the UK, under his successor Andy Burnham, would remain a steadfast ally.
Starmer's Final Interview and Legacy
Starmer will be replaced by Burnham as Labour leader on Friday and as PM on Monday, after two turbulent years in office. In his final newspaper interview, conducted in the stands of a Ukrainian stadium, he appeared to accept his fate with good grace. He told The Mirror: "Labour can win the next election under Andy Burnham."
Despite being ousted, he had no snide words for colleagues. He interrupted an answer to cheer when Ukrainian veterans scored a goal, and had to be reminded they were on the clock. In his final weeks, he focused on shaping his legacy on the world stage, with the Ukraine trip and a visit to France to see Emmanuel Macron. At home, he pushed through the long-promised Hillsborough Law to prevent state cover-ups.
Personal Reflections and Challenges
Starmer admitted the toll of office on his family, and was more candid than ever about the challenges. He set his sights on a 10-year project to reshape Britain, but as Boris Johnson said on resigning: "When the herd moves, it moves." The herd moved against Starmer after dire local election results, following a string of missteps and U-turns. Those problems now fall to Burnham.
At a Downing Street reception, Starmer chose to fill the garden with people who battled injustice—Hillsborough Families, Pooja Kanda (campaigning against knife crime after her son Ronan's death), and Figen Murray (whose son Martyn Hett was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing)—rather than politicians. Even those close to him admit he was uninterested in politics, which tripped him up repeatedly. But he hopes history will remember him more kindly.
