Starmer nationalises British Steel and visits Ukraine on last full day as Labour leader – UK politics live

Good morning. Conventional wisdom has it that, once a PM announces they are going to stand down, all their power vanishes faster than water down a clear plughole. Broadly that’s correct. But in the last week or so Keir Starmer seems to have been acting with a decisiveness that eluded him for most of his time in office: finalising the defence investment plan; delivering the long-awaited apology to victims of forced adoption; over-ruling the security services to deliver the concession that got the Hillsborough law bill over the line; and finally securing a conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis. This is not happening because being on the way out makes a PM more powerful. But it does help them focus, and forces them to give up on faffing around. And we’ve seen another example today. On his last full day as Labour party leader, Starmer has nationalised British Steel. In truth, this is something that has been in the pipeline for a while. But the steel industry (nationalisation) bill only got royal assent yesterday, and the government has used it to nationalise a company which was previously owned by the Chinese company Jingye and which was already under public control. Here is the government’s news release . Here is our story by Jasper Jolly . British Steel is taken into public ownership to save UK supply Read more In a statement, Starmer said: double quotation mark British Steel is part of the fabric of our nation and a cornerstone of Britain’s industrial strength. Today’s decision secures the future of steelmaking in the UK, protects skilled jobs and safeguards a vital national capability. This government will always act in the national interest to support British industry, strengthen our economy and ensure the industries we rely on can thrive long into the future. But Starmer, who will be replaced by Andy Burnham as Labour leader tomorrow, and by Burnham as PM on Monday, won’t be at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe to mark this. Instead he is on a visit to Ukraine. As Starmer ties up his legacy, there is increasing focus on what Burnham will do when he takes office next week. As Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot and Kiran Stacey report, it is now thought that Burnham will appoint Shabana Mahmood, the current home secretary, as his chancellor. Shabana Mahmood expected to be named Andy Burnham’s chancellor Read more Until recently Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, was favourite to be Burnham’s chancellor. Here is the agenda for the day. Morning: Keir Starmer is in Kyiv for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president. Morning: Peter Kyle, the business secretary, is expected to visit British Steel. 10am: Jeremy Pocklington, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee about the defence investment plan. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in Aberdeen. And it is the final day the Commons is sitting before the summer recess. That means