The Guardian view on Keir Starmer’s farewell: a dignified departure and a necessary one | Editorial

The outgoing prime minister was on good form during his sometimes emotional last PMQs. But Labour MPs were right that change was needed Mercifully for a prime minister whose defenestration was swift and brutal after Labour’s catastrophic local election results in May, Sir Keir Starmer’s valedictory week has offered several opportunities to point to what he got right. Sir Keir’s steadfast record in corralling international support for Ukraine – and ensuring Britain stayed out of Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran – will be looked on favourably by history. A minute’s applause in Paris on Monday, from leaders of the “coalition of the willing” countries, was well deserved. On Tuesday in the House of Commons, Andy Burnham paid tribute to the outgoing prime minister for his role in drafting the bill that finally became the Hillsborough law this week. On Wednesday, serendipitously, the England team’s World Cup exploits allowed Sir Keir to indulge his passion for football during his final prime minister’s questions. Freed from the gladiatorial atmosphere of a normal PMQs, where his somewhat wooden style seldom thrived, the prime minister was also relaxed enough to te