Sir Keir Starmer insists it was “personal decision” to resign in exclusive BBC interview | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00Saky Starmmer has warned his probable
2. 0:02successor as Prime Minister Andy Bernham
3. 0:05that he'll have to spend just as much
4. 0:07time as he has dealing with global
5. 0:09turmoil during his time in number 10. In
6. 0:12an exclusive interview with the BBC,
7. 0:14Sakia has spoken for the first time
8. 0:16about what he called the intensely
9. 0:18personal decision he took alongside his
10. 0:21wife and children to accept that his
11. 0:23political career was over. Kama has
12. 0:26faced criticism during his two years as
13. 0:28prime minister about the amount of time
14. 0:30he's spent on the world stage. Henry
15. 0:33Zeman has the story.
16. 0:35>> I attempted to stop in Mexico City on
17. 0:36the way to Anchor.
18. 0:38>> This weekend is Sakir Star's second
19. 0:40anniversary as prime minister.
20. 0:42>> There won't be a third. Speaking for the
21. 0:44first time since he resigned, Britain's
22. 0:46outgoing leader told me about the moment
23. 0:48he realized his time was up.
24. 0:50>> Your wife was by your side during the
25. 0:52last few weeks, which have clearly been
26. 0:53very difficult for you.
27. 0:55When was the moment that the two of you,
28. 0:57I think, as a pair,
29. 0:58>> Yeah.
30. 0:58>> decided it was over?
31. 1:00>> Well,
32. 1:03it was tough. I'm not going to pretend
33. 1:05otherwise. Really, really tough as I
34. 1:07grappled with what was the best thing to
35. 1:09do for me, for the country, for the
36. 1:11government. And those discussions
37. 1:14inevitably start with many discussions
38. 1:17with colleagues, with parliamentary
39. 1:19colleagues, with the team here, with my
40. 1:22immediate adviserss,
41. 1:24um, with trade unions, so many people in
42. 1:27that discussion, but for me, and this
43. 1:29may be different for other people, in
44. 1:31the end it became an intensely personal
45. 1:35decision. Um and that's why it was a
46. 1:38decision taken ultimately um when Vic
47. 1:41and I were away with the kids. We went
48. 1:43to checkers and just spent two days
49. 1:46together as a family. And that's when I
50. 1:48came to my final decision.
51. 1:50>> He's not just resigning as prime
52. 1:51minister, but Labour leader, too. A job
53. 1:53he took after the party's worst defeat
54. 1:56in 80 years.
55. 1:57>> The Labour Party arguably could have
56. 2:00been lost. Um but I stepped up as leader
57. 2:03and with others we saved the Labor
58. 2:05Party. So yes, look, um, did I want it
59. 2:08to end at this point in this way? No, I
60. 2:10didn't. But I accept that with good
61. 2:12grace. As I look back, am I proud of the
62. 2:15fact that I picked the Labour Party up,
63. 2:17turned it around, turned it back into
64. 2:19electoral force, um got rid of
65. 2:22anti-semitism in our party, ensured our
66. 2:24party was trusted again on the economy,
67. 2:27um and on defense and on immigration,
68. 2:30and won not just a general election, but
69. 2:31a landslide general election and put in
70. 2:33a shift at two years uh that has um seen
71. 2:36our economy stabilize, our public
72. 2:38services improve, and our international
73. 2:40standing uh in a completely different
74. 2:42place. When I look when I look back on
75. 2:44that, I'm proud.
76. 2:45>> And a clear warning for his successor,
77. 2:47he acknowledged that would almost
78. 2:48certainly be Andy Burnham about the
79. 2:50importance of foreign policy.
80. 2:52>> And therefore, if you're prime minister
81. 2:53and you care um what bills are going to
82. 2:56be like in any household around the
83. 2:58country, you have to care about finding
84. 3:01a lasting solution to the situation in
85. 3:04Ukraine. You have to care about what
86. 3:06happens in the Strait of Hamuz. It's not
87. 3:08sensible to think you can just separate
88. 3:10these two things out
89. 3:11>> because there are those in your party
90. 3:13and you probably know this who think
91. 3:14that the next prime minister could spend
92. 3:15less time on diplomacy than you have.
93. 3:18You're saying pretty clearly that's not
94. 3:21possible.
95. 3:21>> No, I don't think it is possible. So, uh
96. 3:24this suggestion you could really in the
97. 3:26modern era simply split up international
98. 3:29domestic is just uh it it just doesn't
99. 3:32make sense. It isn't true. It isn't
100. 3:33right.
101. 3:35This is Sakir's first attempt to frame
102. 3:37what he sees as his legacy.
103. 3:39>> He knows the debate about that is just
104. 3:42beginning.
105. 3:44>> And Henry is with me now. Uh Karma being
106. 3:48unusually candid, Henry. And also we've
107. 3:50heard tonight from Andy Bernham.
108. 3:52>> That's right, Jane. Just after Saki
109. 3:53Starama took questions from me in
110. 3:55Downing Street, the man many expect to
111. 3:57be his successor was taking questions
112. 3:59online on Reddit and we learned a bit
113. 4:00more about what he would do as prime
114. 4:02minister. Uh he said that he wouldn't
115. 4:04call a general election. He said he
116. 4:06would seek to negotiate a returns
117. 4:08agreement for failed refugees, including
118. 4:09with Taliban run Afghanistan. He said he
119. 4:12wouldn't scrap the triple lock on
120. 4:13pensions, saying, "I appreciate there's
121. 4:15a lot of debate about this, but it's
122. 4:16important that the commitment in
123. 4:17Labour's 2024 manifesto stands." And he
124. 4:20also pledged to work for a closer
125. 4:22relationship with Europe. Well, I asked
126. 4:23K Star about Mr. Burnham, who he pretty
127. 4:25much acknowledged was his inevitable
128. 4:27successor. He said he was just joking
129. 4:29when he had mocked Mr. burn him in the
130. 4:30past and that there's no personal
131. 4:32animosity there. In fact, he likes him.
132. 4:33Well, to see that exchange and much else
133. 4:35besides, you can watch the full
134. 4:37interview on BBC Breakfast tomorrow at
135. 4:388:15, as well as on YouTube and the BBCI
136. 4:41player.
137. 4:42>> All right, Henry, thanks very much.
138. 4:43Henry Zeffan.