As Ed Miliband took charge as the U.K’s new Foreign Secretary, officially the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on July 20, he stated that international development and tackling the climate crisis would be the core priorities of the U.K’s foreign policy under him. “We will work with others on tackling the climate crisis, strengthening our partnerships for international development, and reforming our international institutions so they deliver for all countries, including the world’s poorest people,” Mr. Miliband wrote on X.

Data | Ten years and 7 PMs later, did Brexit make a difference? 

Under the previous Labour government led by Keir Starmer, Mr. Miliband held the position of Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. He had previously been the Energy Secretary under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2008 to 2010. In that short stint, Mr. Miliband strengthened the 2008 Climate Change Act and implemented the U.K. Low Carbon Transition Plan, which was the country’s first economy-wide decarbonisation strategy.

After taking on the role again in 2024 under Mr. Starmer, Mr. Miliband oversaw the implementation of various policies that backed the U.K’s commitment to renewable energy. He established the Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company, to expand and accelerate homegrown clean energy production and deployment.

He also laid out the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which aims to reduce the U.K’s dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets, especially in light of the Ukraine war, by “harnessing the power of Britain’s natural resources so that we can protect working people from the ravages of the global energy market”.

One of his very first moves as Foreign Secretary was to visit Spain and France, the two countries which are now dealing with devastating wildfire disasters. After Mr. Miliband met with Spain’s Foreign Minister, both governments released a joint statement which acknowledged climate change as a global challenge and detailed that these “summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life.”

Seasoned politician

Mr. Miliband is the son of Polish Jewish refugees who came to the U.K. fleeing the Nazis during the Second World War. He started his career in TV journalism before entering politics. He was recruited as a speechwriter by then Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Harriet Harman, in 1993, and climbed through the ranks to work with Gordon Brown. He stood for elections for the first time in 2005, and attained his first Cabinet position under Mr. Brown in 2007.

His older brother, David Wright Miliband, a former labour party MP, had also, coincidentally, served as the Foreign Secretary in the Brown Cabinet from 2007 to 2010. Both of them ran against each other for the post of Labour Party leader in 2010 after Mr. Brown resigned. The race was eventually won by the junior Miliband.

One of the prominent reforms that Ed Miliband made as Labour Party leader from 2010 to 2015 was to abolish the electoral college within the party, and make it a ‘one member, one vote’ system. He also sought to unify the party, under the campaign ‘One Nation Labour’, as one working for the country and its people as a whole rather than for sectional interest groups.

Mr. Miliband was once one of the biggest critics of U.S. President Donald Trump. After Mr. Trump’s election as President in 2016, Mr. Miliband had remarked that he had “lowered the bar for idiocy.” However, in his statement after his appointment as Foreign Secretary, Mr. Miliband affirmed that he would “nurture our strong, enduring and essential alliance with the United States”.

Rebuilding ties with the EU, post- Brexit, is also a distinct challenge for Mr. Miliband. “Britain’s national economic and security interests are served by having a stronger relationship with our European allies,” Mr. Miliband said in his statement.

Domestically, the immediate challenge seems to be the shift in Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s stance on new drilling licences for oil and gas in the North Sea. As the U.K. suffers from droughts and heatwaves, Mr. Burnham has hinted at taking a “pragmatic approach” on renewed drilling licences and has said that the government cannot ignore the potential energy resources the North Sea holds. These comments came after Mr. Trump said that Mr. Burnham would “open North Sea oil”, in a telephonic conversation between the two premiers.

Mr. Miliband has vociferously opposed renewed drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea as it would delay the transition to clean energy. He has also argued that since North Sea energy is sold on the international market, domestic consumers would not see much of a reduction in their energy bills. If Mr. Burnham goes ahead with allowing drilling in the North Sea, Mr. Miliband and he could potentially be at loggerheads.

Published – August 02, 2026 02:15 am IST

When Andy Burnham took charge as the U.K.’s Prime Minister on July 20, he became the seventh occupant of 10 Downing Street since the country decided to exit the European Union (EU) by a narrow margin in the Brexit referendum held in June 2016.

The fact that the U.K. has never seen these many Prime Ministers in any 10-year period in at least the last five decades speaks to the political volatility the country is witnessing. Although one cannot attribute the unprecedented revolving door of Prime Ministers to Brexit alone, the instability provides the backdrop to test whether the U.K.’s exit from the EU — which legally came into force in January 2020 — made any difference in meeting the objectives it purportedly wanted to achieve.

The two key arguments made in favour of the exit were to control migration and enable the U.K. to chart its own path in trade by freeing the country from the “unfair” regulations imposed by the EU.

Taking back control of borders

The ‘Vote Leave’ campaign used the famous slogan “take back control”, meaning in part to increase control over the U.K.’s borders and break free from the EU’s free movement programme, which allows citizens of member countries to live and travel across other member countries without a visa.

Seven months after the referendum, the then Prime Minister Theresa May said, “Brexit must mean control of the number of people who come to Britain from Europe.” The Conservative Party manifesto for the 2019 election, which Boris Johnson won to become the Prime Minister, promised that there would be fewer lower-skilled immigrants and that overall immigration would come down. Instead, the data show that net migration (immigration minus emigration) moved in the opposite direction, although immigration from EU countries fell.

After free movement between the U.K. and the EU ended in January 2021, net migration reached 8,91,000 in 2022 and 8,48,000 in 2023, more than three times the 2016 level. In fact, the total net migration of 2.7 million in the five-year period from 2021 to 2025 was more than double the 1.27 million recorded in the five years before the Brexit vote (2012-2016).

Brexit campaigners had promised to cut overall numbers by replacing EU free movement with a common system covering migrants from everywhere. While a unified system was put in place, the trends for EU and non-EU migrants diverged sharply.

In the 2012-2016 period, net migration from EU countries to the U.K. marginally exceeded the country’s overall net migration figure. For instance, in 2016, net migration from EU and non-EU countries stood at 2,53,000 and 90,000 respectively, while 94,000 U.K. nationals left the country. This left the U.K.’s net migration in 2016 at 2,49,000. The trend has since reversed: from mid-2022, net migration from the EU to the U.K. has been negative. Thus, Brexit did not reduce migration but altered the composition of migrants.

Mixed outcomes in trade

Trade tells another complicated story. Brexit campaigners touted leaving the EU as a chance to reduce dependence on the bloc’s regulations and expand commerce with the rest of the world while continuing to have full access to the European market.
The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the U.K.’s formal exit from the EU and the U.K.-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The agreement was a last-ditch free trade deal to continue zero tariffs and avoid reverting to the World Trade Organization’s rules, which Ms. May claimed would allow “for the freest possible trade in goods and services between Britain and the EU’s member states.”

Though the U.K.’s exports to countries in the EU, in current prices, have grown year-on-year since 2021, its trade deficit has also widened due to higher imports from these countries.

Across each year from 2012 to 2025, the U.K. ran a trade deficit with EU countries and a surplus with non-EU countries. Though the pattern held, the U.K.’s trade deficit with the EU as a percentage of its exports to the bloc increased from 13.5% in 2021 to 23.5% in 2025. At the same time, the country has not been able to significantly improve its trade surplus with other countries, indicating that Brexit perhaps did not help the U.K. in any considerable measure on the trade front.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the resulting spike in energy prices benefited the U.K., which re-exported gas to EU countries. The Office for National Statistics reported that European demand, combined with Britain’s regasification infrastructure, which converted imported LNG back into pipeline gas, nearly tripled gas exports to record levels in April 2022 — possibly explaining the peak of £202.9 billion worth of goods exported to EU countries in 2022. However, U.K.’s goods exports haven’t recovered to their 2019 pre-pandemic peak. Inflation-adjusted goods exports remained weaker in 2025 than before the pandemic and before the U.K.-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement took effect in 2021.

On services, the U.K.’s exports to EU and non-EU countries follow largely parallel trends. Though services exports fell sharply during the pandemic, they have recovered since, suggesting that Brexit did not derail them — although sectors dependent on moving staff, particularly in EU countries, faced higher regulatory costs.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Government of the U.K.

Published – July 30, 2026 08:00 am IST

Labour Party’s Andy Burnham
| Photo Credit: AP

FIle photo of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
| Photo Credit: AP

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves takes journalists’ questions after delivering a speech in the media briefing room in London on November 4, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

New Delhi:

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked a political storm in the UK by launching a series of controversial posts targeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour government. His comments have reopened discussions around the issue of child grooming gangs, sparking calls for fresh investigations.

Musk’s Allegations Against Starmer

On New Year’s Day, Musk accused Keir Starmer of failing to act decisively on grooming gang cases during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions (2008-2013). Musk claimed that Starmer allowed “rape gangs” to exploit vulnerable girls without facing justice, alleging that institutional failures were linked to Starmer’s leadership of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The billionaire also criticised Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister – a position under the UK Home Office, accusing her of covering up for Starmer by rejecting a call for a public inquiry into alleged grooming scandals in Oldham. Musk suggested that Phillips’ decision was politically motivated to shield Starmer, claiming it represented a “cover-up” of systemic failings.

In a series of posts on X, Musk demanded a new national public inquiry and called for the Labour government to face an immediate general election. He went so far as to accuse Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist”.

The Labour government was quick to dismiss Musk’s remarks, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting labelling them “misjudged and misinformed.” Starmer’s defenders argue that as DPP, he introduced new guidelines in 2013 to better address child sexual exploitation cases. 

Grooming Gang Scandals

The grooming gang scandals have long been a flashpoint in UK politics. Investigations in towns such as Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford revealed widespread child sexual exploitation, often perpetrated by men of predominantly Pakistani descent. Reports suggested systemic failings by local authorities and law enforcement, with officials accused of ignoring or downplaying abuse due to fears of being labelled racist.

The 2022 Oldham inquiry found serious safeguarding failures but did not uncover evidence of organised exploitation in council-run facilities. National inquiries, such as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), have repeatedly identified gaps in the system, while successive governments have pledged reforms.

These failures have been seized upon by far-right figures like Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment. Musk’s decision to amplify Robinson’s views has led critics to accuse him of spreading disinformation.

Musk vs Farage

The Tesla chief has aligned himself with far-right movements in Europe and expressed support for Britain’s Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage. Musk has also championed the cause of agitator Robinson, currently serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court

On Sunday, however, Musk appeared to distance himself from Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK party. Musk, who previously signalled potential support for Farage’s party, declared on his X platform that “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

This public rift comes days after Farage revealed he had been in talks with Musk regarding a possible significant financial donation to Reform UK. Farage’s party, which split the conservative vote during the general election in July 2024, is seen as influential in Labour’s return to power.

Musk posted on X questioning why Robinson was in solitary confinement, claiming it was for “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, a series of scandals involving the exploitation of young girls by predominantly South Asian men in several UK cities.

Farage responded with a firm rebuke, stating, “Tommy Robinson’s imprisonment is not political. It’s about contempt of court.” While maintaining Musk’s “very supportive” stance toward Reform UK, Farage rejected the notion of aligning with Robinson, saying, “I never sell out my principles.”

A London-based professional who chairs the Labour Party’s diaspora group, Labour Indians, was on Friday nominated by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as one of his 30 picks for new political peerages in the House of Lords, to be approved by King Charles III.

Krish Raval, awarded an OBE in 2018 by Queen Elizabeth II for Services to Leadership Education and Inter-faith Cohesion, is the Founder-Director of Faith in Leadership – a University of Oxford-based organisation working towards fostering inter-faith relations.

He is now expected to join the Labour benches in the Upper House of the UK Parliament as a life peer, along with Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray and former Labour shadow minister of Sri Lankan heritage Thangam Debbonnaire.

“The King has been graciously pleased to signify his intention of conferring peerages of the United Kingdom for Life,” reads the Downing Street statement announcing the nominations this week.

An independent House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) vets these nominations before the Prime Minister can formally recommend them to the King.

This is followed by legal documents, or the writ of summons, issued by Parliament and a Letters Patent issued by the monarch to create a life peerage for the new members to be able to take their seat in the House of Lords and vote.

The Labour Party has nominated 30 peers in what is seen as an attempt to balance the numbers in the Lords, where the Tories have the most number of peers.

Once the new nominations are approved, which include Opposition Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch’s six picks and Liberal Democrats’ two, the governing Labour Party is expected to have 217 peers, Tories 279 and Lib Dems 80. Over 180 crossbench peers are also part of the Lords as unaffiliated to any party, which means no party has an outright majority in the Upper Chamber of Parliament.

While Badenoch has nominated former deputy prime minister Therese Coffey among her choices, the Lib Dems have British Pakistani councillor Shaffaq Mohammed on their list. According to reports, former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s nominations for the House of Lords are expected at a later date.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Elections herald change in UK with a Labour landslide, but also France and Iran, while the campaign trail hits a shocking turn in the US- Should New Delhi worry about losing friends in high places and how will results change the geopolitical landscape for India?

Hello and Welcome to WorldView at The Hindu with me Suhasini Haidar

If 2024 is the year of elections, with 64 countries going to vote, then the past week is particularly interesting- with 4 of the world’s most prominent leaders watching results of their campaigns closely- US President Biden, Iranian Supreme Leader Khameini, French President Macron….and the biggest loser this week -UK PM Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party.

They were crushed in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer- that won the biggest mandate since Tony Blair and ended a 14 year-4 term run in office that saw 5 Conservative Prime Ministers from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak

The Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, a former Human Rights lawyer and prosecutor will now lead one of the strongest majorities in the UK Parliament. Another strong showing has come from the ultra-right Reform Party led by Nigel Farage- accused of outright bigotry and a very tough anti-immigration line- which will no doubt drive the new labour government.

What does the UK loss mean for India:

1. Loss of Sunak, Britain’s first Indian-Origin PM

2. The new government will take a different line on immigration – has promised to appoint special prosecutors to crack down illegal immigrants, and sign Returns agreements with countries to send back

3. Labour past policies troubling- and though Starmer has disavowed its past positions on Kashmir and Khalistan, the worries of many Labour MPs advocating anti-India stands remains

4. The India-UK FTA has been in the works for years has not been completed. While the Labour Party is committed to the FTA, the question is, will it reopen the chapters already negotiated. At an India Global Conference, Shadow Minister David Lammy was very optimistic of completing it soon.

Across the channel, France is also seeing a second round of parliamentary elections that may severely dent President Macron’s grip on governance. The elections, which have been called 3 years early were announced after Macron’s Centrist coalition was defeated badly in June’s European Parliament elections by the Right wing National Rally -Rassemblement National. In the first round, Macron’s party came 3rd to both the ultra right RN and the Leftist bloc that combines Socialists, Communists and the Green party. If the RN were to win it would be the first time a right wing party, once accused of being anti semitic and fascist would control the French parliament since world war 2.

What does the right surge mean for India

1. If Macron is weakened by the results, that may impact France India ties too- certainly Macron has been a major friend, stepped in to be Republic Day chief guest this year after US President declined, has signed a number of major agreements with India in past 5 yrs

2. Immigration- France had begun to take a more progressive look at immigration, bring in new policies for students, and make speaking French a more stringent clause

3. RN’s leader Marine Le Pen has advocated a France First economic policy, and while she has softened her anti-EU position, might make the trade negotiations with India that much more difficult

4. Legislative gridlock that could follow from a hung parliament will make every negotiation difficult at a time France and India has growing strategic ties, also on trade, nuclear and renewable energy and defence.

Next, an election we haven’t followed as closely perhaps- in Iran, which is going to polls after a shocking helicopter crash killed its President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister, also after conflict with Israel, and after the major anti-Hijab demonstrations. The first round of these elections had two startling outcomes- a very low turnout of 40%, which is being read as a boycott of polls by an overwhelming number of voters unhappy with the regime. And in the results of the first round, Masoud Pezeshkian, a surgeon who was the Minister of Health and seen as a reformist, one who has advocated more reconciliation with the west won more votes than Khamenei protégé Saeed Jalili, Iran’s former chief nuclear negotiator. 

Here’s what to watch out for in India:

1. A win for Khamenei’s choice Jalili would no doubt signal continuity, and the same policies that India forged with his predecessor- in terms of Chabahar

2. However, Jalili’s win would also mean a continuation of US sanctions on Iran, that are already a cause for worry for India

3. A reformist win could bring in some relief internally in terms of women’s rights -Pezeshkian had publicly criticised the regime for the death of women’s activist Mahsa Amini over not wearing the hijab

4. However, real power remains with the Supreme leader and clergy, so no major policy changes can be expected

Finally, while this election is still months away, the US campaign hit a dramatic note this week in the aftermath of a disastrous drubbing to US President Joseph Biden by former President Donald Trump- with many calling for 82-year-old Biden, who appeared infirm and incoherent, to step aside in favour of another candidate as polls show Trump far ahead. Biden is said to be considering his options, but is expected to make another show of strength, in interviews and hosting a mega NATO Summit with Indo-Pacific leaders as well as Ukraine President Zelenskyy next week.

 What does it mean for India?

1. India has dealt with both Biden and Trump, and strategic and defence ties have improved with both

2. However, the Biden administration is getting tougher on India’s Russia ties, and PM Modi’s visit to Moscow next week will be seen dimly

3. While Trump has been seen as softer on Russia in the past, he also brings unpredictability and open threats, of the kind seen with Iran sanctions, and India may have to make tough choices there

4. On the economy too, Trump will drive a harder deal

35. While Biden is seen as more problematic on the issue of human rights, and the ongoing Pannun case on alleged transnational repression by India

 WV Take: The larger theme from elections in UK, France, Iran, US is that economic distress, inflation are underlying issues for people everywhere, spurring democratic change. A resultant strengthening of conservative right wing values- including anti-immigration, xenophobia and racism is a larger worry, even as Indians continue to be amongst the largest groups of illegal immigrants to Europe and US. These will have a bearing on both bilateral ties and foreign policy in the future.

 WV Book recommendations:

1. Biographies of new UK PM- Keir Starmer: by Tom Baldwin and Red Knight: The Unauthorised Biography of Sir Keir Starmer by Michael A. Ashcroft

2. The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation Kindle Edition by Tim Bale

3. Great Britain?: The instant Sunday Times bestseller and must-read for the 2024 General Election Kindle Edition by Torsten Bell

4. Politics On the Edge: by Rory Stewart also co host of podcast The Rest is Politics

5. The Macron Régime: The Ideology of the New Right in France by Charles Devellennes

6. Revolutionary Iran : A History of the Islamic Republic by Michael Axworthy

Script and Presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Gayatri Menon and Shibu Narayan

Victoria Starmer, whose husband Keir is the new UK prime minister, works in the public health service, is hardly photographed and has kept a low profile on the campaign trail.

But in the coming days, many Britons will begin to recognise the face of the elegant 50-year-old brunette who has been married to the head of the Labour government for more than 15 years.

Since Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 and during the election campaign, Victoria Starmer has not given an interview and has only rarely partaken in politics.

Her public appearances are few and far between: at the polling station on election days, in the stands at the Wimbledon tennis tournament and Taylor Swift’s London concert, or at Buckingham Palace for state dinners and receptions.

A rare exception was when she joined her husband on the stage at the party’s annual conference in 2023, donning a red dress in Labour’s colours.

Even with the move into Downing Street, the former lawyer intends to continue as an occupational health worker in the NHS.

Former lawyer

Victoria Alexander was raised in north London. Her father is a former accountant from a Polish-Jewish background and her mother was a community doctor.

She studied law at Cardiff University in Wales where she was head of the student union.

She also volunteered in Labour’s campaign headquarters under Tony Blair before becoming a solicitor in a law firm.

After that, she joined the NHS.

The new prime minister has recounted their first encounter several times, meeting back when they were both working on a court case in the early 2000s.

He called her up to ask if all the documents she prepared were accurate.

Soon after, he asked her on a date to a pub in Camden in north London.

The couple married in 2007 and have two children — a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter whom Starmer never mentions by name in public to protect their privacy.

They live in Kentish Town, in his north London constituency.

‘Down to earth’

While the prime minister says he is not religious, his wife has passed on Jewish traditions to their children, including going to the synagogue and Friday night dinners.

Always ready with a compliment for “Vic”, as he refers to her, Keir Starmer told Vogue magazine that his wife was “very sassy, very down to earth”.

In another interview, he said her current job gave him a “direct line of sight on a daily basis into the challenges of the NHS and the morale of the staff”.

A family friend once said Victoria complemented her husband and was “literally the yin to his yang”.

Seen by many Labour advisors as an asset to her husband, she has nevertheless kept a safe distance from the media during the election campaign.

Keir Starmer insisted that she wished to focus on their son, who was taking his school-leaving exams this year.

But she could not stop the press mentioning her testimony in court last month in a case where three pro-Palestinian activists went on trial for protesting outside the family home against Labour’s stance on Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

“I felt a bit sick, to be perfectly honest. I felt apprehensive and uncomfortable”, she said.

In Downing Street, the Starmers intend to be “fiercely protective” of their children from the media spotlight to come, the Labour leader has said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)