Britain’s economic situation will not all “return to normal” once the Strait of Hormuz has reopened, Sir Keir Starmer has warned. The Prime Minister also insisted the UK must “take a different course” for its future than returning to the “status quo”, which had been pursued after other economic shocks like the 2008 financial crash and the Covid pandemic, as he sought to signal to voters that he understands their discontent. Sir Keir made the warning in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, when he was asked about the economic impact of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Tehran has blocked shipping out of the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the war, and has been met with a tit-for-tat blockade of tankers coming into its ports by the US. The stranglehold on the shipping route, through which a fifth of global oil usually flows, has played havoc with countries’ economies across the world. Speaking to the BBC, Sir Keir said: “My strong view is that many, many voters, many people across the country are frustrated that they haven’t seen the change they want to see in this country. We’ve flatlined for the best part of 20 years. “And I’ll tell you why I think that is. That is because each time we have a crisis like this, whether it’s the 2008 crash, whether it’s Brexit, Covid, the government of the day aspires to get back to the status quo as quickly as possible. “But the status quo wasn’t working. And therefore, we cannot do that again. We have to take a different course in response to this crisis.” Asked if he was preparing the public for an inflation spike caused by the Iran oil crisis by comparing it with previous global events, Sir Keir said: “I am. And the reason is because we’ve got a war on two fronts. “I think we obviously have to pull together countries to get the Strait of Hormuz open. And that’s what I’m doing in the coalition I’m leading with President Macron that we have been working very hard on in recent weeks and we need to get the Strait opened as quickly as possible. Read More “But even when that happens, I don’t want anybody to think that once the Strait of Hormuz is open, it all returns to normal. It won’t be like that.” He added: “There’s then the war in Ukraine and all the indicators are that the world is going to get more volatile, not less volatile.” Moving away from the status quo requires making Britain “more resilient”, the Prime Minister said, pointing to his plans to forge closer ties with Europe, and the transition towards green energy. It comes as Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the country has handed over its latest proposal for negotiations with the United States to mediators in Pakistan. US President Donald Trump later said he was “not satisfied” with the proposal, but did not elaborate any further.
Britain’s economic situation will not all “return to normal” once the Strait of Hormuz has reopened, Sir Keir Starmer has warned. The Prime Minister also insisted the UK must “take a different course” for its future than returning to the “status quo”, which had been pursued after…
See this event through different lenses
Compare how Western, Iranian, Israeli, Global South, and Pro-Peace perspectives frame this event.
Compare PerspectivesLoading notes...
International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.