LONDON — The U.K. government will not announce “new major policy or spending commitments” until Keir Starmer departs No. 10, according to a spokesperson for the outgoing prime minister.
Starmer set out a timetable for his departure on Monday, announcing that Labour will begin a leadership contest in July to identify a successor.
If there is a full contest, it would run until September — but new Makerfield MP Andy Burnham is overwhelmingly expected to run unopposed, meaning he would succeed Starmer as prime minister at a special party conference on July 17.
In the interim, a No. 10 spokesperson said “the business of government will continue” in line with precedent.
“Where a process is already under way or collective agreement is in place, government business will continue,” they said. “All ministers remain in office and may carry usual activities.”
However, they said the prime minister has “agreed that there will be no new major policy or spending commitments initiated during this period.”
This does not include publication of the widely anticipated Defense Investment Plan, they added, reiterating the government’s intention to publish it ahead of a NATO summit on July 7.
The spokesperson said Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo has written to departments to set out how the civil service should operate until Starmer’s formal departure.
Dan Bloom contributed reporting.
