Sky News was interrupted this morning with a breaking alert while Beth Rigby was interviewing Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains. The interruption cut across a live conversation about his leadership, his mood, and the pressure building around him.
That mattered because Starmer was on air while the questions swirling around him were already plain. He said he felt no anger or bitterness, describing the office of prime minister as an "incredible privilege" and insisting he still wants to carry on. He also said he wants to tackle cutting migration and improving the United Kingdom's relationship with the EU, framing those as the issues he still intends to pursue while the speculation around him grows.
Rigby made clear the interview was taking place against a political backdrop that Starmer understands well. She said he knows the predicament he is in and is clear-sighted that he wants to carry on, adding that she believed he thinks he is the right person to lead the country. That is the central point in the row around him: Starmer is arguing that he should keep going, while Angela Rayner is signalling that Labour must listen to voters and that the party's next step may have to be a different leader.
Rayner sharpened that line by saying people need to see that Labour is listening and on their side, and that the party's job is now to take on board what voters have said on the doorstep. Her comments have been read as a direct challenge to Starmer at a moment when his authority is under strain and when any public sign of division matters more than usual.
Starmer, for his part, did not sound like a leader preparing to step aside. He said he will fight off leadership challenges and added that he is keen to offer Andy Burnham a big role in government, even saying he hoped Burnham wins in the by-election and would be a fantastic asset for the party and the country. If Burnham wins in Makerfield on Thursday, he would have to resign as Manchester mayor, and a by-election to replace him would then be expected by August 6. That leaves one question hanging over the dispute: whether the interruption on Sky News was just a broadcast glitch or a brief break in a much bigger fight over who Labour believes should lead it next.
