As it happened – Starmer fights for premiership in make-or-break speech

May 11, 2026 - 11:04

Starmer addressed the nation after the local elections disaster. (Image: PA)

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Sir Keir Starmer will deliver a speech to the nation this morning as rivals circle whilst his premiership hangs in the balance.

The Prime Minister is expected to set out his response to the disastrous local elections, where Labour lost 1,496 seats.

The losses came as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK surged with 1,451 gains and the Greens picked up 441.

Starmer is expected to promise to go faster in enacting change and double down on a closer relationship with the EU in his address today.

“We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments,” the Prime Minister is expected to say.

“To meet the challenges that our country faces incremental change won’t cut it. On growth, defence, Europe, energy – we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times.”

Elsewhere, geopolitical anxieties show no sign of easing up today.

Donald Trump has dismissed Iran’s response to the latest US attempt to end the conflict in the Middle East in a move that has sent Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – higher and firmly in triple digits at around $100.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister also issued a stern warning to the UK and Britain on Sunday regarding the potential deployment of warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Any deployment and stationing of destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz, under the pretext of ‘protecting shipping’, is nothing but an escalation of the crisis,” he posted on social media.

“The presence of French and British warships, in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially accompanying the illegal and internationally unlawful actions of the US will be met with immediate decisive response.”

We’ll be keeping you up to date with the latest.