Starmer on brink of quitting as UK prime minister
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 June 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer could be on his way out of Westminster, and the US and Iran held high-stakes talks in Switzerland to officially end the war. Venture capital funds are rushing into defense tech startups on the back of the world’s wars, and the FT’s Claire Jones explains why Wall Street sees more volatility ahead from changes to Federal Reserve communications.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Keir Starmer on brink of quitting as UK prime minister
What Andy Burnham’s Westminster past reveals about him
US and Iran hold crunch talks in Switzerland
Wars trigger $12bn venture capital rush into defence tech
Kevin Warsh’s push to axe Fed guidance may lift US borrowing costs, investors warn
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The FT News Briefing is produced by Victoria Craig, Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, Katya Kumkova, and Fiona Symon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Kelly Garry and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our intern is Cole van Miltenburg. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Monday, June 22nd, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:11.4 | Kier-Starmer may soon be out at number 10, and we'll have the latest on crunch talks between the U.S. and Iran. |
| 0:18.2 | Plus, less communication from the Fed chair could lead to more volatility on Wall Street. |
| 0:24.5 | This is what Walsh wants in a way is for markets to speculate. |
| 0:29.8 | I'm Victoria Craig, and here's the news you need to start your day. Kier Starmers' days as Britain's prime minister may be numbered. |
| 0:47.2 | His allies told the F.T. He is on the brink of resigning, a move that could come as early as today. |
| 0:53.3 | Colleagues say they expect Starmor to announce |
| 0:55.3 | a, quote, orderly transition plan after he spent the weekend agonizing over the decision. |
| 1:00.9 | I'm joined now by Lucy Fisher, our Whitehall editor and political fix podcast host. Hi, Lucy. Hi, |
| 1:06.1 | all right. So the context here, I think, is really important because this decision comes after a critical by-election in the north of England where Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a seismic victory on Thursday for an open parliament seat. |
| 1:20.7 | And that has now set off a chain reaction in number 10. |
| 1:23.7 | So just bring us up to speed here. |
| 1:25.5 | What is the very latest? |
| 1:27.2 | That's right. And we shouldn't |
| 1:28.6 | forget that Andy Burnham's seismic victory in Makerfield is really important coming in the wake of |
| 1:34.9 | Labour, facing an absolute drubbing in the elections only last month in Scotland, in Wales and in English |
| 1:41.0 | councils. And in fact, Nigel Farage's Reform UK had swept the board. |
| 1:46.1 | So Andy Burnham winning here has brought a lot of relief to Labour MPs who've been gripped by a |
| 1:52.1 | sense of panic that they are going to be routed at the next general election. And Burnham's |
| 1:57.6 | argument is, look, I've shown locally that I can take on Farage and beat reform. |
| 2:02.5 | Now let me lead the party and I can do it nationally. |
| 2:05.5 | So things are moving quickly. |
... |
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