Starmer says his political journey is over at his last question session as UK leader

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was leaving the United Kingdom in "better shape than I found it” as he fielded questions, criticism and even a bit of praise from lawmakers in the House of Commons for the last time on Wednesday.

Starmer, who leaves office next week, bid farewell to the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions sessions where he has traded barbs with opposition politicians and defended his government’s record. On Monday, he will step down as prime minister after losing the support of his Labour Party, handing over power to a new Labour leader, Andy Burnham.

“Every prime minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on,” said Starmer, who has spent six years as leader of the Labour Party and two as prime minister.

“This is the end of my political journey,” he said, though he plans to remain a backbench lawmaker for now.

Britain’s parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders, and thus prime ministers, without the need for a general election. The next national election doesn't have to be held until 2029.

PMQs is a weekly ritual in British politics, where the prime minister answers questions, from opposition party leaders and others, on topics they don’t know in advance. A test of leaders’ ability to think on their feet, it is derided by some as political pantomime that generates more noise than insight.

Starmer's valedictory session was a gentler affair, mixing seriousness and political criticism with personal tributes and jokes about an upcoming special election pitting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage against the comedy candidate Count Binface.

Starmer opened by saying he was “horrified” at the killing last week of the former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe. Counterterrorism police are investigating it as murder.

Starmer called it “ chilling” that three serving or former members have been killed during his 11 years in Parliament, and urged politicians to “do more to defend our democracy.”

Instead of mentioning upcoming meetings with ministers, as he has every other week, Starmer said that he had “an important appointment with the television” later when England faces Argentina in a World Cup semifinal.

Kemi Badenoch — the fourth leader of the opposition Conservative Party since 2022 — cautioned Labour that changing leaders is no “silver bullet,” and recalled how Starmer had predicted she wouldn't last a year in charge.

“Life comes at you fast,” Badenoch said.

Starmer was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but is quitting after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

He struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. And he was hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

After Labour was hammered in May’s local elections, Starmer gave in to mounting pressure from the party and announced that he would step down. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is the only candidate in the contest to replace him and will be announced as the new Labour leader on Friday.

On Monday, Starmer will go to Buckingham Palace and announce his resignation as prime minister to King Charles III, who will then ask Burnham to take over.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said that he was proud of his government’s domestic policy achievements, including stronger protections for working people, a reduction in child poverty, a law designed to stop official cover-ups after tragedies, and higher defense spending.

“I am proud to leave this country in better shape than I found it,” he said.

Starmer has been lauded for his role on the world stage, especially in repairing relations with Britain's European Union neighbors after Brexit and galvanizing international support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

On Tuesday, Starmer attended Bastille Day celebrations in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who awarded him the Legion of Honor in recognition of his work with France on European security. The two countries have led efforts to assemble an international coalition to underpin peace in Ukraine if there is a ceasefire.

Ukraine's cause has wide political support in Britain, and Badenoch praised Starmer for inviting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London immediately after the Ukrainian leader was berated by U.S. President Donald Trump and other administration officials in the White House last year.

Starmer recalled how people had gathered at the gates of Downing Street to see Zelenskyy, and “the moment he got out the car and hugged me, they cheered from the top of their voices, the British people, to tell President Zelenskyy exactly what they thought of him and the way he had been treated” in the Oval Office.

The rambunctious House fell silent as Starmer ended by thanking colleagues, staff, civil servants and all those “who struggle to be seen or heard — you’re the reason I came into politics.”

He said “I love you” to wife Victoria and two teenage children, who were watching from a viewing gallery, before a final: “Goodbye.”

Lawmakers from all sides of the chamber applauded, with many rising for a standing ovation. That drew a reprimand from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who reminded them that cheering is allowed in the House of Commons, but clapping is against the rules.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, speaks with people whose lives who are said to have been improved by the Labour Government, during a meeting inside 10 Downing Street, central London, Wednesday July 15, 2026. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives for the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks are leading markets higher worldwide as winners of the artificial-intelligence boom gather more strength following several shaky weeks. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% early Wednesday and was on track for a fourth gain in five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 57 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%. The U.S. market got a lift from another report showing that inflation slowed in the United States last month. That helped take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates. Treasury yields fell in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Stock indexes were mostly rising in premarket trading on Wall Street Wednesday and oil prices rose modestly after Iran threatened to block Middle East energy exports in retaliation for the U.S. resuming its blockade of Iranian ports.

Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.5%.

Morgan Stanley shares rose 2% in premarket trading after the bank reported revenue of $21.3 billion in the second quarter and profit of $5.6 billion, both records. That follows a slew of strong reports from big U.S. banks on Tuesday, with all of them to some degree crediting their trading desks.

It marks the second straight quarter of robust results from the banks, which have benefited from market volatility since the Iran war began in late February.

Coming later Wednesday is the government's report on wholesale inflation in June.

Stock price gains overall were moderate given worries that the United States and Iran may return to an all-out war. Renewed attacks in the Middle East have raised the risks of further disruptions of transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices higher.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the U.S. blockade. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that the blockade was resumed as an interim agreement on ending the war unraveled.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” said the statement by the Iranian side.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 63 cents to $85.36 a barrel, while benchmark U.S. crude gained 46 cents to $79.80 a barrel.

“The U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed last month has proved to be anything but. The two sides are once again exchanging military strikes, and they hold completely different views on the state of affairs in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

“With shipping around the Gulf becoming increasingly fraught with danger, traffic flows are declining once more,” he said.

In early European trading, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.2%, while the German DAX shed 0.8% and Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.2%.

South Korea’s Kospi led gains in Asia, surging 6.2% to 7,284.41 as prices rebounded from a recent sell-off in semiconductor stocks. Shares in computer chipmaker SK Hynix rose 8.8%, while those of Samsung Electronics surged 6.3%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% to finish at 68,751.51.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 8,841.10.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 1.4% to 24,681.10, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 3,955.58 after the Chinese government reported the economy expanded at a 4.3% annualized pace in April-June, slowing sharply from 5% in the first quarter of the year.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A man walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A woman walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A man walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right bottom, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right top, at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)