Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that whoever succeeds him in office will have to devote the same amount of time to foreign policy as he did, rejecting suggestions that the next British leader could focus more on domestic issues. He also maintained that he "saved" the Labour Party. In an interview with the BBC yesterday, he argued that foreign policy and domestic policy cannot be separated from one another.
He added that there is "often a debate about the right balance between engaging with international affairs and dealing with domestic issues, but the two are in reality two sides of the same coin."
Starmer announced his resignation last month after two years in office. When asked whether a future British prime minister could devote less time to diplomacy than he had, he replied: "No... I don't think that's possible." Meanwhile, Andy Burnham announced that he would not call an early general election if he becomes prime minister later this month.
MP Burnham, who is widely seen as the frontrunner to succeed Starmer, pledged to focus on domestic priorities.