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Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Category: Politics
3 hours ago
News
Politics
UK

Only 13% of Brits Want to See Andy Burnham Installed as PM Without an Election.

Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Andy Burnham is on track to be installed as Labour leader and, by extension, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, without a general election or even an internal party election, despite widespread opposition to an uncontested coronation.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Only a little over one in 10 people support a coronation of Andy Burnham as leader of Britain’s governing Labor Party and, by extension, Prime Minister, according to polling data.
📺 DETAIL: According to a poll by Ipsos, only 13 percent of British people support a “coronation” of Andy Burnham as leader, in the form of an uncontested bid for control of the governing party with no meaningful leadership election. The poll also found that 39 percent of Britons believe there should be a party leadership election in which multiple candidates compete for election and are subjected to scrutiny from the media and the public. The poll was carried out from Friday to Monday and surveyed 1,131 British voters. This coincides with a survey from YouGov, which found almost half of Britons believe there should be a general election after Sir Keir Starmer is replaced as Prime Minister. The vast majority of British voters think that the outgoing Prime Minister was right to resign. Nominations for the Labour leadership race open on July 9. Over the course of a week, Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) will nominate their choice for party leader and Prime Minister. If Burnham is unopposed, he could be Prime Minister as early as July 18, a day after Parliament breaks for a summer recess.
🎯 IMPACT: If installed without opposition, Burnham will become Britain’s fifth Prime Minister in four years, underscoring the growing volatility of the country’s political system. While Labour politicians are eager to coronate Burnham, owing to his popularity with the parliamentary party, the British electorate is far more skeptical. Polls taken since his convincing victory in a parliamentary by-election (special election) last week, allowing him to challenge Starmer, show that, nationally, Labour continues to trail Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, and has actually lost a point of support while Reform has gained one.
📺 FLASHBACK: On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as the Prime Minister and leader of Britain’s Labour Party. The outgoing Prime Minister stated that he will remain in his post until a new leader is chosen. This follows heavy losses to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in local elections last month, and the return of Andy Burnham to Parliament following the Makerfield by-election. Wes Streeting, the former Health Secretary, was rumored to be planning to launch a leadership bid, but he has since thrown his support behind Burnham. As the only plausible rival to Burnham, Streeting’s endorsement has been taken as a sign that the party intends to coronate Burnham as Prime Minister without a real leadership contest.

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Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Andy Burnham is on track to be installed as Labour leader and, by extension, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, without a general election or even an internal party election, despite widespread opposition to an uncontested coronation.

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June 22, 2026
News
Politics
World

Trump-Endorsed Candidate Secures Colombian Presidency.

Colombia has elected the Trump-backed candidate, Abelardo De La Espriella, to serve as President, continuing Latin America’s recent rightward political shift.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Abelardo De La Espriella, a Colombian presidential candidate backed by President Donald J. Trump, has won the country’s presidential election.
📺 DETAIL: De La Espriella secured 49.66 percent of the vote in the run-off election against Senator Ivan Cepeda, who secured 48.70 percent of the vote. Whereas Cepeda campaigned to continue the far-left policies of outgoing far-left President Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president of Colombia in recent history, De La Espriella vowed to crack down on terrorists and criminal organizations while cutting taxes and expanding the country’s oil and gas sector. “I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who chose the other candidate,” De La Espriella announced to supporters following the results. Similar to President Trump’s election back in 2016, De La Espriella has no prior political experience, having previously worked as a businessman and a lawyer. Over 26 million Colombians voted in the run-off election, which took place over the weekend.
🎯 IMPACT: De La Espriella’s victory reflects a broader trend across Latin America, where right-wing candidates have recently gained power in several nations. Right-wing candidates have won recently in Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, and Paraguay, with conservative Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori, former President of Peru, also on track to win the presidency in Peru. This trend coincides with the decision of the Trump administration to slash funds given to far-left non-government organizations (NGOs) via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Despite his victory in the run-off election, De La Espriella faces a fragmented Congress. At present, the Petro-founded, far-left Historic Pact party holds the largest number of seats in both Colombia’s Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, albeit without an outright majority in either. Colombia’s recent election comes during a time when the country faces significant challenges with public debt and has endured over 60 years of conflict involving leftist guerrilla organizations and drug-trafficking cartels.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who chose the other candidate.” – Abelardo De La Espriella, President-elect of Colombia
📺 FLASHBACK: In March, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) directed federal prosecutors to open criminal investigations into Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s outgoing far-left president, over alleged meetings with drug traffickers as well as allegations that he accepted campaign contributions from criminal organizations.

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Colombia has elected the Trump-backed candidate, Abelardo De La Espriella, to serve as President, continuing Latin America's recent rightward political shift.

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June 22, 2026
News
Politics
UK

Andy Burnham All But Certain to Replace Starmer as UK PM After Only Serious Rival Backs Him.

Former Health Secretary and previously rumored Labour Party leadership contender Wes Streeting has backed incoming Member of Parliament for Makerfield Andy Burnham for Labour leader, all but guaranteeing that Burnham will become Prime Minister.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield Andy Burnham has secured the backing of former Health Secretary and rumored Labour leadership rival Wes Streeting to replace Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, meaning Burnham is all but certain to assume the premiership in a matter of weeks.
📺 DETAIL: Streeting, once considered a potential contender for the Labour leadership, has thrown his support behind Burnham, urging his party to unite rather than focus on internal divisions. Streeting resigned as Health Secretary amid a wave of ministerial resignations and calls from Labour Party backbenchers for Starmer to resign last month. In his resignation letter, Streeting accused Starmer of a lack of vision following disastrous results for the Labour Party in May’s local elections, which saw Nigel Farage’s Reform UK make historic gains. “[May]’s election results were unprecedented – both in terms of the scale of the defeat and the consequences of that failure. For the first time in our country’s history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom – including a dangerous English nationalism represented by Nigel Farage and Reform UK… It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this,” wrote Streeting. On Monday, in another letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), the former Health Secretary declared that he felt confident that ideas of “progressive capitalism,” a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” and “a new special relationship with Europe,” among other ideas, would be taken seriously under a Burnham-led government. “Having spoken at length with Andy in recent days, I’m convinced that there is a place for those ideas under his leadership; that he is committed to building an inclusive party that draws on the best of our political traditions; and that he can win the fight of our lives against the forces of nationalism.”
💬 KEY QUOTE: “We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our party and our country needs. That is the choice that I am making and I hope that everyone else will back Andy too.” – Wes Streeting, former Health Secretary
🎯 IMPACT: Streeting’s endorsement paves the way for Burnham to be coronated as Labour Party leader uncontested and be installed as Prime Minister by September. The official nominations process for the Labour leadership contest is scheduled to begin on July 9. Prior to Streeting’s endorsement, Burnham was already the frontrunner by a wide margin. As such, even if Streeting did make a leadership bid, it is unlikely that he would have won, but the process of installing Burnham would have been stalled.
📺 FLASHBACK: Streeting’s endorsement follows the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer. The outgoing Prime Minister confirmed that he will remain in his position until a new leader is chosen. This follows the return of Andy Burnham, who had been serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester, to Parliament following a by-election (special election) in Makerfield, England. The former MP for the constituency (electoral district) resigned the seat following Labour’s local election losses to Reform in May specifically in order to allow Burnham to return to the House of Commons and supplant Starmer. 

Image by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.

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Former Health Secretary and previously rumored Labour Party leadership contender Wes Streeting has backed incoming Member of Parliament for Makerfield Andy Burnham for Labour leader, all but guaranteeing that Burnham will become Prime Minister.

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June 19, 2026
News
Politics
UK

Britain’s Prime Minister Could Be Replaced. Here’s How:

Andy Burnham’s recent win in the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election) on Thursday sets the stage for a leadership challenge within Britain’s governing Labour Party, which could oust Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: After winning the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election) on Thursday, outgoing Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is likely to challenge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party and, by extension, the British government. Burnham is returning to Parliament after serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years, having previously stood for the Labour leadership in 2010 and 2015, unsuccessfully.
📰 DETAIL: On Friday, following Burnham’s victory in Makerfield, speculation turned to his expected leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. While Burnham has not officially declared a challenge yet, it is all but confirmed that the Mayor of Greater Manchester will move to oust Starmer or enter a party leadership contest once someone else does. Burnham needs the support of 20 percent of Labour’s parliamentary party, currently 81 Members of Parliament (MPs), and at least five percent of local party branches or at least three party-affiliated groups, including two unions, to trigger a leadership contest. However, Burnham’s team reportedly hopes to avoid a contentious leadership battle, with Starmer stepping aside willingly. Despite his widespread unpopularity and his party’s tanking approval ratings, the incumbent has refused to step aside and announced that he will fight any leadership contest, although he may reverse his position if the scale of internal opposition to his continuing in post is overwhelming.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I would hope that Andy and the Prime Minister can speak over the coming days. We want to avoid a leadership contest if possible.” – Louise Haigh, Labour MP for Sheffield Heely and Burnham ally
🎯 IMPACT: The process to replace Starmer could take just days or several weeks, although events are likely to move quickly after Burnham is sworn in as an MP and Parliament goes into recess next month. Britain’s executive and legislature are blended, with the Prime Minister always being a House of Commons lawmaker in the modern era, technically serving at the invitation of the monarch but, in practice, depending on his ability to command a majority in the House of Commons to stay in post. In practice, this generally means that the Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, and changes to that party’s leadership also lead to a change in Prime Minister. Many recent prime ministers have been installed between elections due to party leadership changes, including Theresa May in 2016, Boris Johnson in 2019, Liz Truss in 2022, and Rishi Sunak later the same year.
👀 FLASHBACK: Burnham took an absolute majority of the vote in the Makerfield by-election with approximately 25,000 votes. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK came in second place, far ahead of the third-placed Restore Britain, a Reform splinter party backed by Elon Musk. Farage chalked up Burnham’s victory to his campaign to change Labor from within, tapping into widespread anti-Starmer sentiment. “What really happened here was, it was vote Burnham, get Starmer out, which, of course, was our campaign message leading up to the [local elections] on May 7, so we were slightly hoisted with our own petard,” he said.

Image by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street.

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Andy Burnham's recent win in the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election) on Thursday sets the stage for a leadership challenge within Britain's governing Labour Party, which could oust Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

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June 19, 2026
News
Politics
UK

WATCH: Farage Urges Supporters of Musk-Backed ‘Restore’ Party to ‘Think Again’ After Crunch Election.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has attributed his party’s second-place finish to Labour’s Andy Burnham in a parliamentary by-election (special election) to voters’ desire to oust Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while urging right-leaning voters to unite behind Reform.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has attributed Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election) on Thursday to strong voter sentiment against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Significantly, while Burnham and Starmer are both Labour Party politicians, Burnham is expected to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership and, by extension, the office of Prime Minister, when he returns to Parliament. Farage also urged supporters of the Elon Musk-backed splinter party “Restore Britain,” which came a distant third in the by-election, to “think again,” stressing that the Makerfield results show Reform is the only viable right-wing force against Labour.
📺 DETAIL: On Thursday, residents in Makerfield, a constituency (electoral district) in Greater Manchester, England, headed to the polls to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) in a by-election (special election). The seat became vacant after Josh Simons, the area’s now-former Labour MP, stepped down to pave the way for then-Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament. Burnham’s return to Parliament is widely seen as laying the groundwork for a leadership challenge to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, whose government was plunged into crisis after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party emerged victorious in local elections last month. In the early hours of the day after, it was officially announced that Burnham had won the by-election. In a Friday morning response to Burnham’s resounding victory, Nigel Farage attributed the Manchester mayor’s decisive win to anti-Starmer sentiment. Farage also argued that the results show that former Reform MP Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain splinter party, backed by Elon Musk, cannot present a viable challenge to the left. Lowe’s party secured only around seven percent of the vote, insufficient to swing the result in Makerfield but possibly able to damage Reform in a wider election. This was in line with pollsters’ expectations, and far short of Restore’s claims that it could possibly take as much as 25 percent of the vote. Farage urged Restore voters to “think again” and consider what they really hope to achieve.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “What really happened here was, it was vote Burnham, get Starmer out, which, of course, was our campaign message leading up to the [local elections] on May 7, so we were slightly hoisted with our own petard.” – Nigel Farage
💬 SECONDARY QUOTE: “I would say this: there’s a couple of thousand voters there who would normally have gone out and voted Reform that voted Restore. And I would say directly to them, what do you want? We are the challenger party to the left in this country, and I would urge you to think again. I really, really would.” – Nigel Farage
🎯 IMPACT: Burnham’s election means that he will cease to be Mayor of Greater Manchester—setting up another special election—and will officially be sworn into Parliament later this month. After officially becoming the MP for Makerfield, Burnham, or a sympathizer, will likely trigger a leadership contest to oust Starmer. Burnham was previously an MP and government minister under former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, but left the House of Commons to become Manchester’s mayor after losing a previous party leadership contest to the hard-left Jeremy Corbyn.
📺 FLASHBACK: At the local elections in May, Reform UK won 24 out of the 25 seats available in the Wigan area, where Makerfield is located. Commanding performances like this from Reform across the country in May prompted Josh Simons to resign his seat so Burnham could campaign for it, in hopes that the Manchester mayor could boost the Labour government’s collapsing popularity.

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has attributed his party’s second-place finish to Labour's Andy Burnham in a parliamentary by-election (special election) to voters’ desire to oust Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while urging right-leaning voters to unite behind Reform.

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June 18, 2026
News
Politics
World

Hungarian Lawmakers Change Constitution to Stop Political Comeback by Orban.

Hungary’s National Assembly has passed a constitutional amendment retroactively barring former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from office.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Hungary’s parliament has passed a constitutional amendment preventing former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from seeking the office again.
📺 DETAIL: The amendment imposed an eight-year term limit on prime ministers seeking office again. The amendment was passed this week and applies retroactively, effectively barring Orbán from returning to power. Hungary’s Parliament, The National Assembly, voted 135 to 50 in favor of the measure. The passing of the measure has sparked accusations that Hungary’s recently-elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar is attempting to ban his political opponents. “Implementing personalised legislation with retroactive effect is a unique low point,” said Gergely Gulyás, parliamentary leader of Orbán’s Fidesz party. “Liberals preach democracy and apply legal means to exclude top challengers, instead of winning the argument and popular support. We’ve seen lawfare against conservatives in France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Poland, Czechia, etc… In Hungary, we’ve been in power with a supermajority for 16 years. We’ve never banned our opponents from running. Tisza did it merely weeks after winning,” posted András László, Hungarian Member of European Parliament for Orbán’s Fidesz party on X (formerly Twitter).
💬 KEY QUOTE: “It doesn’t concern me, it’s about me.” – Viktor Orbán, responding to a question whether the amendment concerned him.
🎯 IMPACT: Orbán served as Hungary’s prime minister for 16 years, from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2023, earning a reputation among European leaders as a prominent opponent of European Union (EU) mandates, particularly on mass migration. The ban raises concerns about the use of lawfare against supporters of Orbán. Magyar’s decision to crack down on Fidesz may signal a shift in Hungary’s relationship with the EU, potentially unlocking relief funds withheld by the bloc due to Orbán’s conservative policies. This coincides with the creation of an investigative committee by the Magyar government to examine Orbán-era officials.
📺 FLASHBACK: In April, Orbán and his party were defeated in a major election victory for challenger Péter Magyar and his pro-EU Tisza party. The opposition coalition secured 138 of 199 seats in the National Assembly, allowing the new government to amend the national constitution.

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Hungary's National Assembly has passed a constitutional amendment retroactively barring former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from office.

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June 17, 2026
News
Politics

Trump Moves to Delay Clayton’s DNI Confirmation in Renewed SAVE Act Push.

President Donald J. Trump has moved to delay Jay Clayton’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) as part of a renewed effort to push the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump moved to delay the confirmation of Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Wednesday morning, while tying the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to the passage of election integrity measures in the SAVE America Act. Trump stated on Truth Social that he will keep his previous nominee, Bill Pulte, as Acting DNI while Congress deliberates.
📺 DETAIL: Clayton, currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, had been scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing this week. The nomination had been fast-tracked amid disputes over the renewal of FISA, which recently expired. Democrats had previously indicated they would not support renewing the surveillance program while Pulte remained Trump’s nominee. However, Trump accuses Democrats of breaking an agreement related to FISA, and said he would not approve its renewal unless Congress also passes voter ID requirements in the SAVE AMERICA Act. The Republican-controlled Congress has ostensibly not advanced the bill due to insufficient support, particularly among Democrats.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “[F]or the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it.” – President Trump.
🎯 IMPACT: The attempt to delay Clayton’s confirmation hearing and link FISA to the SAVE Act underscores the tension between President Trump and the GOP establishment over the importance of election integrity. Democrats oppose voter ID measures, despite an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrat voters, supporting them, claiming they are concerned by potential voter suppression. Significantly, past research indicates that when noncitizens vote unlawfully, they tend to vote Democrat, sometimes swinging elections in their favor decisively.

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President Donald J. Trump has moved to delay Jay Clayton's nomination as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) as part of a renewed effort to push the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act.

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June 17, 2026
News
Politics

DATA: Two-Fifths of Americans Doubt Their Nation Will Last Another 250 Years.

A new poll highlights growing concerns about America’s future, with a significant portion of the population doubting the nation’s ability to endure another 250 years.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that two out of five Americans doubt the United States will remain intact for another 250 years, as the nation approaches its semiquincentennial. The survey also found that 77 percent of respondents believe political violence is likely to increase in the next five years.
📺 DETAIL: The survey of 1,537 adults found that two-thirds of respondents believe American democracy is in danger of failing, up from 57 percent last August. Democrats argue Trump poses a threat to democratic institutions, while Republicans point to lawfare campaigns against President Trump and assassination attempts against him as evidence of growing political instability. Confidence in America’s global standing has also declined, with just 30 percent of respondents describing the United States as the greatest country in the world, down from 38 percent in 2017.
🎯 IMPACT: The findings underscore the nation’s deepening political divides, with traditional celebrations of Independence Day, such as fireworks and patriotic attire, now painted by the left as reflecting partisan preferences.

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A new poll highlights growing concerns about America's future, with a significant portion of the population doubting the nation's ability to endure another 250 years.

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June 12, 2026
News
Politics
UK

UK PM Starmer Admits He Must ‘Turn Things Around,’ But Refuses to Step Down.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer conceded that his premiership is going badly in an interview with the BBC following multiple resignations from the Ministry of Defence.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has admitted that his premiership is going badly following the resignation of his Secretary of Defence. He has also been under fire for refusing to admit Britain has a problem with two-tier policing amid the Henry Nowak scandal.
📺 DETAIL: In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Britain’s de facto broadcaster, Starmer conceded that he needed to “turn things around” following a slew of ministerial resignations and disastrous results for the Labour Party in local elections in May. Despite this, the Prime Minister refused to stand aside and vowed to fight any leadership challenge from within his own party. Prime Minister Starmer also criticized former Secretary of Defence John Healey, accusing him of seeking “easy answers” and being unable to accept “trade-offs” after he resigned on Thursday in frustration at the government’s refusal to fund the military. Hours after Healey’s resignation, Al Carns, a junior defense minister and potential Labour leadership contender, also announced his resignation, expressing similar concerns. In his own resignation letter, Carns accused the government of “asking our Armed Forces to operate in a more dangerous world on a budget written for a calmer one.”
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I recognize that I’ve got to turn things around. We had a very bad set of elections… I recognize that given where we are, I need to turn that around, and that’s what I intend to do.” – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday.
🎯 IMPACT: The willingness of the Prime Minister to admit so openly that his own premiership is not going well shows that widespread dissatisfaction with his government has become unignorable. The Prime Minister’s comments are likely to embolden his rivals, such as Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who is contesting the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election) to return to Parliament and challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership and, by extension, the office of Prime Minister.
📺 FLASHBACK: Since early May, the British government has been in crisis as an ever-growing number of Labour MPs, including several now-former ministers, including Cabinet secretaries, have called for Starmer’s resignation. The already unpopular government was plunged into crisis after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party stormed to victory in the country’s local elections earlier that same month.

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British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer conceded that his premiership is going badly in an interview with the BBC following multiple resignations from the Ministry of Defence.

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June 11, 2026
News
Politics
UK

Another Resignation Hits UK PM Starmer’s Government.

British Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Al Carns has resigned from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government, following Secretary of Defence John Healey, citing concerns over the government’s refusal to fund the military.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Another defense minister has resigned from British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s crumbling government, following the resignation of the Secretary of Defence.
📺 DETAIL: Al Carns, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government. This follows the resignation of John Healey, the Secretary of Defence, early Thursday. Similar to Healey, Carns heavily criticized the Labour government’s defense strategy, citing inadequate funding for the armed forces and a lack of seriousness in addressing current global threats. In his resignation letter, Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, described the British government’s defense funding plan as “neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded” and accused the government of “asking our Armed Forces to operate in a more dangerous world on a budget written for a calmer one.”
💬 KEY QUOTE: “While I had no hand in the Defence Investment Plan, that distance does allow me to say plainly that it is not built for the threat we face… A serious country funds its defence to meet the threat it actually faces, not the threat it wishes it faced.” – Al Carns, Labour Member of Parliament (MP) and now-former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces.
🎯 IMPACT: Carns’ resignation is the second high-profile resignation from the Department of Defence in a day. Several government ministers have resigned in frustration at Keir Starmer’s performance as Prime Minister, particularly following heavy losses to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in local and regional elections in May. Carns’s resignation, just a week before the Makerfield parliamentary by-election (special election), which could see Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham return to the House of Commons as a Labour MP and challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership, suggests wariness about the Starmer regime’s growing instability. Carns had previously been touted as a potential leadership contender, having been described by the British press as a ‘dark horse’ candidate and openly floated the idea himself.

Image by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.

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British Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Al Carns has resigned from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government, following Secretary of Defence John Healey, citing concerns over the government's refusal to fund the military.

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