Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that he has no “personal animosity” towards Andy Burnham in his first interview since he resigned as prime minister.
The PM announced he was stepping down on 22 June following the former Manchester mayor’s landslide win in the Makerfield by-election.
Sir Keir told the BBC that he “never had any personal animosity” towards Mr Burnham and that he would “do everything I possibly can to make sure” that the next government succeeds.
He explained he would be “keeping my mouth shut, rather than giving constant advice to my successor about what they should be doing”.
Sir Keir warned that his successor would face the challenge of dealing with global affairs as a priority in their first term as prime minister.
“There’s often this discussion – what’s the right balance between dealing with international affairs and dealing with domestic affairs? They’re one and the same thing,” he said.
“Whoever’s my successor is going to face the same global conflict. We keep saying, and it’s true, we’re in a more dangerous and volatile world than we’ve been in for probably most of my lifetime. That’s not just a phrase, that’s reality.
“That’s not going to change. And the domestic challenges aren’t going to change.”
In candid comments about the decision to resign, Sir Keir said that he had taken time out to discuss his options with his family.
“I grappled with what was the best thing to do for me, for the country, for the government. And those discussions inevitably start with many discussions with colleagues, with parliamentary colleagues, with the team here, with my immediate advisers, with trade unions, so many people in that discussion.
“But for me, and this may be different for other people, in the end it became an intensely personal decision. And that’s why it was a decision taken ultimately when Vic and I were away with the kids. We went to Chequers and just spent two days together as a family. And that’s when I came to my final decision.”
He added: “Taking the decision that your political career is over, it is an intensely personal matter, or at least it was for me. I wanted to do that with Vic, and that’s what I did.”
In the months leading up to his resignation, Sir Keir’s premiership had been plagued by controversy over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite concerns over his vetting.
In the latest tranche of documents to be released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files, Lord Mandelson’s links with Epstein were brought back into the limelight and further scrutinised.
After widespread Labour losses in local elections, several MPs and cabinet ministers resigned and called on the prime minister to do the same. However, Sir Keir withstood the pressure until Burnham’s path to Downing Street was cleared.
