British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of his resignation on Monday seems to have set off a literal heat wave across Britain, with high temperatures in both climate and politics throughout the week. He will be the sixth head of government in Britain in the last 10 years to have run out of steam along the way, having to give up power all too soon, and often reluctantly.
Speaking from the Downing Street lectern, Starmer almost burst into tears at some point, for he had done everything he felt he had to do to retain his position. In fact, even in his resignation speech, he displayed the same determination, strongly condemning his predecessor as the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who has never done anything he felt would normally be expected of the likes of Starmer.
The reactions to Starmer’s resignation have been instructive, too. The official narrative is neatly captured by the slogan: Starmer is a decent man, but just not the right man. Of course, there is no evidence for the former claim, though there is ample for the latter.
Many will remember him from his notorious LBC interview, where he argued, before even being elected prime minister, that “Israel has that right” to cut off power and water in Gaza, effectively legitimizing a sinister method of mass murder. Indeed, his credentials as a human rights lawyer will be remembered only in the context of his failure to uphold human rights when it mattered.
