Overview
- Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday and is remaining as caretaker prime minister while European leaders publicly praised his role at an E5 meeting in Berlin on Wednesday.
- In Berlin Starmer said he will publish the long-delayed ten-year Defence Investment Plan ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara and framed it as an overhaul to reflect lessons from Ukraine.
- The DIP was originally due last autumn but has been repeatedly delayed by a Whitehall funding row that has left its timing and funding decisions unsettled.
- Downing Street reports and media coverage say Andy Burnham is widely seen as the likely successor and is pressing to decide the final DIP, which increases the odds the package could be revised after the leadership change.
- Starmer rebuilt UK ties with EU partners and helped lead pro-Ukraine cooperation through NATO and a formal EU–UK security partnership, but the postponed EU–UK summit and the leadership transition create uncertainty about sustaining that policy momentum.