In his first interview since resigning as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer warned his likely successor Andy Burnham that he will have to spend just as much time dealing with global turmoil as Starmer did during his tenure in No 10. The outgoing PM, in an untypically candid moment, described the decision to step down as 'intensely personal' and 'really tough,' made alongside his wife Victoria and teenage children at Chequers.

Starmer insisted he had 'saved' the Labour Party and been a successful prime minister, despite frequent criticism over his time abroad - earning him the nickname 'never here Keir.' He promised to 'keep my mouth shut' under Burnham, claiming they've 'always got on.' But when asked if a PM could spend less time on diplomacy, Starmer replied: 'No, I don't think it is possible.' He argued that international and domestic affairs are 'one and the same thing,' adding, 'We're in a more dangerous and volatile world than we've been in for probably most of my lifetime. That's not going to change. And the domestic challenges aren't going to change.'

Starmer described Labour when he became leader as 'politically, financially and morally bankrupt,' and said it had been 'hard and bloody work' to revive it. He ranked his electoral success alongside Clement Attlee's 1945 victory and Sir Tony Blair's 1997 landslide. But he acknowledged he was ousted because Labour MPs no longer believed he was 'the right person to take us into the next election.' Burnham, fresh off a by-election win in Makerfield, has ruled out calling an early election - for now.