Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the port in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, March 26, 2026 via Associated Press
Keir Starmer is expected to make Labour’s decision not to go to war with Donald Trump against Iran central to the party’s local election campaign on Monday.
Speaking from the West Midlands, the prime minister is expected to call on the UK to “stand together” amid the turbulence from the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Alongside his cabinet ministers and Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell, Starmer will vow to continue “to fight to earn every vote” and “fight for the country we are building together, a Britain built for all”.
He will say: “Because, in the context of everything that is happening in the world, those values – that fairness we stand for – it’s never been more important.
“That is the thing about the volatile world we live in now.
“It tests, not just our security, our strength on the world stage. It also tests our fairness at home. Our unity.”
Starmer will take aim at his rivals too, accusing Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and her Reform counterpart Nigel Farage of poor leadership over the Iran war.
The prime minister is expected to say: “We will protect our forces, our people, our allies in the region. But I made the decision that it is not in our national interest to commit British forces to a war, without a clear legal basis and a clear plan – and I stand by that.
“It’s a question of judgement. Do not forget that the Tories and Reform would have rushed us into this. With no thought of the consequences, including for the cost of living. Utterly reckless.”
Both right-wing parties initially suggested Starmer should have granted Trump full access to UK military bases for his pre-emptive strikes on Iran last month.
The PM rejected that US request, later allowing access only for defensive and limited attacks in an attempt to keep British troops out of the war.
Starmer will be trying to galvanise the public before voters head to the ballot box on May 7 for local elections across England, and national elections in Scotland and Wales.
It’s the first major test of the Labour government since Starmer’s landslide victory in 2024.
But the party has slumped dramatically in the polls in the last two years.
Labour lost a seat to the Greens in last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election, coming in third place after Reform UK.
The launch also comes as energy bills are set to fall to £117 next week as the price cap for April to June comes in.
Starmer will say that decrease in energy bills is down to Labour’s efforts to stabilise the economy.
However, there are fears wholesale gas and oil prices could drive the cap up for the following quarter, between July and September, as the Iran conflict squeezes global energy prices.
Iranian forces continue to effectively block the major shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, by targeting most oil tankers which passed through it – subsequently pushing up prices worldwide.
The cabinet is also set to play an active role in the coming weeks with almost 30 visit across the country over the next week.
