Keir Starmer has pledged to give his “wholehearted support” to prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham, as he made his final appearance at the despatch box.
The UK prime minister said he will “give my support privately if asked for, not publicly when not asked for”, as he faced his last Prime Minister’s Questions.
Starmer received a standing ovation from the majority of the House of Commons at the end of the session, as he said it was the “end of (his) political journey”.
He also thanked Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for her “kindness” after the death of his brother and the arson attack on his family home.
Starmer told the Commons he was “proud to leave this country in a better shape than I found it”, as his wife Victoria watched from the chamber alongside their two children.
He said “I love you” to his family as he left the chamber. Victoria Starmer could be seen wiping tears from her eyes.
Asked whether he had any advice for Burnham, Starmer said: “I will give my wholehearted support to my successor.
“I want this Labour Government to be a success. I want our country to be a success. I shall give my support privately if asked for, not publicly when not asked for.”
The former Greater Manchester mayor’s premiership has already been confirmed after he received the backing of 369 of the party’s 403 MPs, making it mathematically impossible for a rival to enter the contest.
Under Labour rules, candidates need the backing of 81 MPs to stand in a contest, meaning he is set for a coronation.
Starmer will leave No 10 on Monday to make way for the Labour MP for Makerfield.
He is spending his final days in office highlighting what he sees as his legacy – support for Ukraine and championing domestic campaigns like the Hillsborough Law.
He told the Commons: “I picked up our party, I turned it round. I made a promise to rip antisemitism out of my party, and I did.
“I turned my party to face the country, and we won a landslide Labour general election.
“And after two years, we’ve stabilised the economy. We have invested heavily in our public services. We’ve put better protections in for children, particularly on child poverty, we’ve strengthened our defence, and we’ve enhanced our international reputation.
Every prime minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me. This is the end of my political journey
“I’m proud to leave this country in a better shape than I found it.”
Badenoch paid tribute to Starmer’s family, saying: “As everyone here knows, our families make a huge sacrifice for our choice to enter public life, so I hope he will allow me to draw our time together to a close by thanking them for the love and support they have given him throughout his time in office.”
Starmer replied: “We have had robust exchanges across this despatch box, but she has extended kindness to me privately at very difficult times, including when there was an attempt to burn down our family home, which deeply affected my family, she reached out to me.
“And when my brother died of cancer, she reached out to me privately, not across this despatch box, and I thank her for that and the tribute that she’s just made to my wife and children, who mean the world to me.”
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle paid tribute to Starmer, thanking him “for his public service, his international leadership, particularly in his steadfast support for Ukraine”.
Starmer reiterated the need for cross-party consensus on support for Ukraine.
Badenoch said she “admired” him for inviting Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Downing Street after the Ukrainian president’s confrontation with Donald Trump and other senior members of the US administration.
Starmer said: “I had a meeting with him to tell him that in this country we will stand with him and Ukraine, and I didn’t let him leave alone.
“I walked him out to his car because we don’t let people in Britain walk out of our Britain, walk out of our buildings – we escort them out.”
During the session, Starmer paid tribute to the people he has met during his political career, including knife crime campaigner Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was fatally stabbed in 2022.
Signing off in his final Commons speech as prime minister, Starmer said: “Every prime minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me. This is the end of my political journey.
“In six years, we went from historic defeat in 2019 to historic victory in 2024, and in two years in government, I leave the country in better shape than I found it.”
He ended by saying: “To all those in the gallery whose lives have been changed or improved by this Labour Government, and all across the country who struggle to be seen or heard, you’re the reason I came into politics.
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“To my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.”
He had earlier taken the opportunity to hit out at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over the upcoming byelection in Clacton, where he is standing against Count Binface.
“My advice to everyone is put your vote in the bin,” Starmer said.