The comments made by Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, on 20 July 2026.
Congratulations, Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Wishing you lots of strength and success in your new role. Poland and the United Kingdom are close friends and allies. I look forward to working together with you for a safer and stronger Europe
The speech made by Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, on 20 July 2026.
I have just come from Buckingham Palace, where I have accepted His Majesty the King’s invitation to form a government.
In doing so, I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last ten years to walk up this street, the seventh Prime Minister since 2016.
Making this a moment for reflection and new resolution.
It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game, and rise to the new challenge.
Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge, to make politics work, to make it work better.
I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you. And I want to be honest with you. We have not been good enough, and we need to be better.
We will be.
We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last forty years.
A new political model and a new economic model.
In the 1980s, Britain took some wrong turns. Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, large parts of the country de-industrialised, and they still haven’t recovered.
Many feel as though they’re still in decline, and they don’t have the ability to turn things around.
And that’s why we will change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point scoring.
We will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more.
And in doing more, build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again.
Re-industrialising Britain, using public procurement to back British industry.
Later this year, I will bring forward a new plan for Britain, a 10-year plan, laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be, wherever we’re coming from, whatever party we support.
But I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living.
And I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them.
We will help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support, more mental health support.
And we will build more council homes.
That is the fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down, to meet our fiscal rules, and to honour our commitments on defence to our international partners.
We will help people to live well, building a more preventative state, investing in people’s success, rather than paying for failure.
And that work starts now.
I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.
It’s about putting the right values and the right standards at the heart of government.
I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do.
I will give this my all, and I ask you all to pull with me.
Let’s build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity.
Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again.
The moment we bring back hope.
Thank you very much everybody.
The speech made by Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street on 20 July 2026.
Today I am here to offer my resignation and close the book on my time as Prime Minister. My work is done.
In six and a half years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country and won a landslide general election victory in 2024.
Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as Prime Minister. I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.
Our economy is stronger. Our public services are on the up, with the biggest fall in waiting times for 17 years. Children are being lifted out of poverty every single day. Immigration is down significantly. Our defence and security are on a far stronger footing. And our international reputation is greatly enhanced.
Yet the thing I will always take away with me, the most humbling aspect of this job, is the front row seat you get to witness the greatest things of this country in action. To see, every day, immeasurable acts of resolve, grit, decency and compassion. From people who serve our country, whether that’s in their regimental colours, NHS scrubs, or simply the millions of people in their communities who volunteer their time and their effort to the ground beneath their feet.
We face a world now where our enemies will stop at nothing to divide us because of our values, our freedom, our decency, and frankly, because of our unflinching resolve towards the brave people of Ukraine. And so under this attack, it is vital that we remember the greatness of the Britain all around us. That while we debate how to fix our problems, there is something we inherit from our country and our character that can give us confidence that we can change our country for the better; that we can create a Britain where every child can go as far as their talent will take them. And we can unite different people under our common flag if we don’t succumb to that division.
So, as I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support.
And finally, I want to thank once again my family, Vic and our children, my team, all the staff here and across the Labour Party, everyone at Number 10 and across the civil service, and everyone who has supported our efforts along the way.
For all the focus on individuals, politics will always be a team sport. And the changes we’ve delivered for our country and our party belong to everyone who has fought for them. I thank them again today.
And I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much.
The letter sent by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, to Andy Burnham, the incoming Prime Minister, on 20 July 2026.
Dear Andy,
Congratulations on your appointment as Leader of the Labour Party. Later today you will take over as our Prime Minister. In the interest of our country, I wish you every success.
As you know, however, it is my job as Leader of the Opposition to hold you to account, and I will never shirk from doing so. You will enter office without having set out a clear plan on any of the issues facing our country. You have refused calls to come to Parliament for questions from MPs, and you have not submitted yourself to serious media scrutiny. This is not a promising start.
Economically you will have a challenging inheritance from your predecessor. Borrowing, inflation and unemployment have all risen since the 2024 election. Britain faces an unsustainably high tax burden which is hurting families and businesses. The benefits bill is on course to hit £110 billion a year by 2030, the Jobs Tax has created a youth unemployment crisis, and we are borrowing so much that the debt interest alone is more than we spend on defence. The Defence Investment Plan is inadequate to meet the challenges we face and unfunded to the tune of £6 billion.
I know you have instructed officials to develop a ‘July package’ of announcements. But it’s crucial that you set out how you will pay for each announcement at the same time. Given taxes are already too high, and we are already borrowing far too much, you must commit to making spending cuts and to addressing our debt burden.
You must not repeat the mistakes of Keir Starmer’s premiership which failed because he refused to stand up to his left-wing Labour backbenchers and their endless demands for tax rises to pay for more welfare. As the Welfare Secretary himself said: every meeting he had with Labour MPs was about who they could tax more to pay for more benefits. Britain cannot go on like this without becoming a welfare state with a country attached.
I made multiple offers to work together with Keir Starmer in the national interest to bring down the benefits bill. Sadly, he refused these every time. We both know that Labour backbenchers will not vote to cut benefits, so I make the same offer to you. Meet with me, and if we reach agreement on a plan to bring down the benefits bill, 118 Conservative MPs will vote for it on a three-line whip.
Turning to taxes, I was disappointed by your recent comments that there was room for movement on tax and that you might ask people ‘for a little more’ in tax. I urge you to rule out any new tax rises now, otherwise we will face a damaging summer of speculation, affecting business investment, home owners and family finances.
Another area where you can make an immediate difference is energy. Ed Miliband has been a disaster for Britain: a one man deindustrialisation machine, destroying thousands of jobs which rely on the North Sea. I welcome the media reports that you intend to grant licences for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. As I heard in Aberdeen on Thursday, just two pieces of paper stand in the way of Jackdaw and Rosebank which alone could secure £4 billion of tax revenues by 2034. But you must not stop there. You should overturn the destructive ban on new oil and gas licences which amounts to unilateral energy disarmament. Getting Britain drilling will be good for our energy security, good for our national security and good for our financial security.
We need common sense policies to get Britain working again. That means cheaper energy, lower taxes, cutting welfare, and stronger borders. Where we support your agenda, I will say so. But I will always stand against the instincts of Labour MPs for higher taxes and more spending.
The comments made by John Redwood on 20 July 2026.
Mr Burnham today should set out which companies he will nationalise. Will he make taxpayers pay compensation to owners or will he confiscate the assets? Does he realise people’s savings and pension funds are at risk if he steals them and foreign investors could stop investing?
The comments made by Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister, on 17 July 2026.
Congratulations to my friend Andy Burnham on becoming leader of the Labour Party with a clear mission to transform Britain for the better.
Today, we also thank Keir Starmer for bringing Labour back into government and guiding Britain through difficult times at home and abroad.
The comments made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 16 July 2026.
Today, we express our special gratitude to Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with whom we’ve done a lot of serious work during the full-scale war. The United Kingdom has always stood with Ukraine and continues to do so. And we value that immensely. Thank you, Keir Starmer.
Thank you to your team and to all the people of the United Kingdom. I awarded Keir the Order of Freedom in recognition of his personal leadership and support for our people. Prime Minister Starmer and I have had dozens of meetings, conversations, and decisions together. Today marks Keir’s fourth visit to Ukraine as Prime Minister. Altogether, we’ve had 46 official meetings and calls alone – at least two every month. I am grateful for all the support provided to Ukraine during this time. Today, Keir and I discussed the key issues regarding the front line, our long-range operations, and our mid-range strikes. Ukraine has achieved significant success in these areas, and we will continue applying every form of such pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end and achieve a dignified peace. We will, of course, continue coordinating closely with our British friends.
The comments made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 17 July 2026.
Twelve years ago, Russia shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, killing 298 innocent people.
Today, we remember every victim and stand with their families, and all the nations that lost their loved ones on that tragic day. The downing of MH17 was nothing but a terrorist act. Russia has made such terror against civilians a defining feature of its policy – toward its neighbors, the world more broadly, and even its own people.
It is important to ensure that the world doesn’t turn a blind eye and that for every Russian crime – both against Ukrainians and against other people – there is justice and accountability.
The comments made by Robert Jenrick on 17 July 2026.
Kiran Kaur will serve less jail time than Lucy Conolly due to a shocking two-tier loophole.
The mother of Henry Novak’s murderer got three years today for hiding the weapon her son used to repeatedly stab Henry Novak to death.
She would normally serve just 40% of that sentence due to early release rules. But it gets worse…
Buried in the judgment, the judge says Kaur may qualify for “Home Detention Curfew”. That means on top of her early release, she can be released on house arrest 180 days before the 40% point.
Put simply, Kiran Kaur will serve just 8 months for her role in Henry’s murder.
To put that into context, Lucy Conolly served over 10 months for one badly worded tweet. Unlike Kaur, she was told that her offence made her “presumed-unsuitable” for house arrest.
I’m sorry. But this looks like another case of two-tier justice to me.
Kaur conspired with her son as he sought to smear Henry as racist he lay dying on the street.
Frankly — as an Indian national — she should be deported to serve a very lengthy sentence in her country of origin.
But to let her off with house arrest, when it was denied to others, would be an outrage.
The comments made by Alastair Campbell on 17 July 2026.
Truly honoured and humbled to be attacked by Liz Truss at her MAGA conference. Spreading the news here because there weren’t that many people there in the room at the time apparently.