Why does Britain keep changing prime ministers? | Global News Podcast

Hello and welcome to the Global News. podcast from the BBC. I'm Celia Hatton. and today I'm joined by our UK political. correspondent Rob Watson on a very. consequential day in British politics. The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer has. just announced his resignation. Rob, great to have you with us. Big day. The. UK's about to have its seventh Prime. Minister in 10 years. Can you talk us. through it? >> Goodness, well we've had so many big. days in British politics and we'd have. another one and it's both dramatic and.

unsurprising. I mean, dramatic because. yes, it is the the sixth Prime Minister. to be to be claimed by events in Britain. and it was after Sir Keir Starmer had. won such an enormous majority just two. years ago and and it's all gone horribly. wrong. But but unsurprising in the sense. that given how many other Prime. Ministers have gone by the wayside this. last decade and given how incredibly. unpopular Keir Starmer had had become. I.

mean, it's not really in that sense. surprising that he lost the support of. his governing Labour Party. But again, you know, if you if you step back from. it, Celia, it just is head-scratching. I. mean, I couldn't I mean, I don't think. anyone would have believed if you'd said. 20, 30, 40 years ago there'd be a decade. where Britain would have seven Prime. Ministers. >> Rob, you mentioned that Keir Starmer is. pretty unpopular. Earlier today we spoke. to some voters in the city of York. Let's take a listen to what they had to. say.

>> I mean, he's not he's not been that. popular of a Prime Minister, has he? >> I mean, yeah, I feel like he's not done. a terrible job, but he's just not. popular and it's very hard in this sort. of type of. politics we have now to. be a Prime Minister that just does okay. without, you know, making it. You kind. of have to do grand things, don't you, these days in politics. It's not about, you know, doing an all right job, it's. about making a mark. >> I'm not sure this was is great news for. me, in my opinion, because I I I don't. think it will solve the problem.

Um I think the problem is deeper than. that and um. I'm a bit worried that populists are. pushing. forward their agenda. I think it's the. same I'm French and it's the same. situation in France. >> Well, it's overdue in my opinion. Well overdue. He's been a failure for some time. >> So Rob, we've just heard those people. ending with that last gentleman. Why was. Keir Starmer so deeply unpopular? >> It's a great question and it's certainly. not in doubt that he was. I mean there.

seems to have be a visceral dislike for. the Prime Minister among the voters. I. mean that the polling evidence and focus. groups suggests it's because, you know, fairly or unfairly, Celia, they saw him. as variously inauthentic, a sort of. typical politician, indecisive, kind of cold, bureaucratic, a bit out of. touch with the way this country felt to. live in. And for some people that the. sort of personification of the the woke.

bureaucracy as they would see it. So, you know, absolutely extraordinarily. unpopular. >> So, the Prime Minister's position was. already under threat and now his main. rival, Andy Burnham, has a seat in. Parliament. Tell us why that matters and. how things might change moving forward. >> Well, the reason it matters is that the. rules of the governing Labour Party is. that you can't challenge for the. leadership, you can't become Prime. Minister unless you're an MP and Andy. Burnham is now an MP. So, that was the.

the vital step for him to challenge Keir. Starmer and of course it's the reason. why uh Keir Starmer has had to step. aside because essentially within the the. governing Labour Party that the the. mood, the tide has turned against him. towards Andy Burnham and there's a very, very simple reason for that, Celia, and. and that is that Labour MPs felt when. they looked at the standing of Mr. Starmer in the country and of their. party in the country, they were facing. an existential threat. So, there's a.

sort of you could almost describe it as. a level of panic amongst MPs, Labour MPs. worried about losing their job. Andy. Burnham has just won a special election. or by-election as we call them in the. north of England where he defeated one. of the parties that frightens Labour. most, the populists of Reform Nigel. Farage, who've who've done well in. appealing to the sort of white working. classes who who used to vote who used to. vote Labour. >> I mean, it all seems a bit crazy, doesn't it, Rob? Andy Burnham.

is uh now serving as the mayor of a the. northern city of Manchester, but he. could leapfrog to become prime minister. Why do so many people see so much. potential in Andy Burnham? >> His attraction to to Labour politicians. and the people who like him, the voters. of Greater Manchester, is that he's. quite clearly more relatable, more more. friendly, if you like, uh than Keir. Starmer. He comes over as being much. more likable. He comes over as being.

more normal. He likes sort of football. Uh he likes trendy clothing for a for a. middle-aged guy. Uh he loves he loves. music. So, that So, they think that if. nothing else, that even if their. policies don't change particularly. radically, at least they'll be someone. as prime minister who can communicate, who'll be a much better messenger than. Keir Starmer. Now, of course, you know, whether that would be enough without. other policies is, I guess, the absolute. key question in British politics now. >> Okay, so you've mentioned policy, Rob.

Just. quickly, domestically, what would Andy. Burnham do differently? Because voters. just had an election not too long ago to. put Keir Starmer in place to do certain. things. >> Yeah, and the short answer is we just. don't know, Celia, right? I mean, in. some ways, the the two men. seem very similar in terms of ideology. and policy. They're both center-left. politicians. You would recognize that. all over Europe. They both believe that. the priority should be on increasing the. living standards of ordinary people. They both believe, as center-left.

politicians, that the state is a force. for good. But here's the thing. You then. say, "Well, okay. What might Andy Burnham do differently?". And those more on the left of the Labour. Party would love to see more public. spending, more taxes on the on the rich. And the problem here is that economists. would tell you that Britain already has. is up to its eyes in debt. That it. already has historically and relatively. speaking high levels of public spending. and taxation on businesses on the rich.

So, there's a danger, of course, and if. you're from the left of the Labour. Party, that you're going to end up being. very disappointed that Mr. Burnham will. be will be boxed in just like. Keir Starmer was. And in fact, just like. prime ministers and presidents are all. over the world by the kind of financial. constraints they find themselves in. >> Rob, just to focus on the big picture a. bit. I mean, Britain keeps changing. leaders. So far, no one's been able to. to stick in place for very long over the.

past 10 years. Why is Britain so difficult to govern? >> Well, the polling evidence and focus. groups and just going out there and. talking to people suggest there are. three really big drivers. And those drivers are number one, stagnating stagnating living standards. And that actually goes back beyond this. 10 years and six prime ministers. It. goes back to the financial crash of. 2008. And that makes people's lives. miserable. And it makes them unhappy and.

and angry. The second thing, which is. sort of connected, is a sense that. nothing works properly and Britain, Sheila. The public services don't work. thanks to underinvestment. And then the. third, you know, a massive issue is a. concern over immigration and social. cohesion. And all the evidence suggests. that is what is driving voter anger, an. anger which in turn is driving enormous. political volatility in this country and. the threat to the the two main parties. that have governed Britain for the last.

100 years, the Conservatives before and. now Labour. And it is of course why if. people are sort of stepping back from it. all will say, you know, what? Maybe you. know, Britain's political crisis is not. just about the person who's in Downing. Street given that we've gone through six. of them. May- maybe it's these bigger. issues. >> Mhm. It's interesting, Rob. I mean, listening to you talk.