Keir Starmer under pressure to 'show strength' in Middle East as PM attempts to rebrand as 'global statesman' over Iran

George Bunn
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:36:36 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to "show strength" in the Middle East as Labour aides attempt to shore up the Prime Minister's position by rebranding him as a "global statesman".

The Prime Minister is currently in the Gulf after meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, as part of ongoing talks with allies to give shipping the "confidence" to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel has called for the Prime Minister to demand the release of Britons detained by the United Arab Emirates.

She told The Telegraph: "While he is in the Gulf, Starmer must show some strength and ensure our partners in the UAE do not keep Brits locked up simply for filming their surroundings."

Closer to home, Labour sources have suggested they expect a challenge to the Prime Minister’s leadership if the party suffers heavy losses on May 7, when more than 5,000 council seats are up for election in England, plus the Senedd and Holyrood elections.

Backbench MPs said the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) would try to compare the Prime Minister's approach to the war to the position of the Conservatives, Greens and Reform UK.

One said: "There is a contrast there that we will be drawing on, between what we are doing about Iran and what the Greens and Reform would do.”

Another backbencher told GB News: "Keir's position is getting a lot of support from both the PLP and even more so among party members."

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Priti Patel says it would be 'preposterous' to start tolling the Strait of Hormuz

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel has said the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz is "very very concerning"

She told GB News: "Let's not forget before the war, this was an international waterway, it is preposterous to think there is any suggestion of tolling the strait. That will have enormous consequences for every country in the world.

"We need to find a resolution."

She added the Prime Minister's visit to the UAE today is an "afterthought."

Senior Liberal Democrat blasts 'lack of clarity' over Middle East ceasefire

The President of the Liberal Democrats Josh Babarinde has said there is a "lack of clarity" over the conditions of the US ceasefire.

He told GB News: "We need to make sure this Government is putting pressure on the Middle East including the US to clarify exactly what falls under the ceasefire.

"As far as what the Liberal Democrats are concerned the ceasefire needs to apply on all sides. We need to take the heat out of this and get back to the negotiating table.

"This is a war that is punishing the people not just of the Middle East but people in the UK too."

Kemi Badenoch tears into Keir Starmer after Labour delays defence spending plan

Kemi Badenoch has said Sir Keir Starmer is "all mouth and no trousers" as she called for the long-delayed defence investment plan to be published next week.

Labour ministers had said the investment plan would be published last year, but have since refused to set out a timeline amid reports of a dispute between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.

Last month, Defence Secretary John Healey denied reports the Treasury was causing the delay, insisting Chancellor Rachel Reeves had already given the defence budget an additional £8billion.

The Tory leader, who on Saturday will speak at the London Defence Conference, said the failure to publish the plan was a scandal.

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Yvette Cooper 'deeply troubled' by Israeli strikes on Lebanon

The Foreign Secretary said she is “deeply troubled” by Israel’s strikes on Lebanon.

Speaking on Sky News, Yvette Cooper said: "I’m deeply troubled about the escalating attacks that we saw from Israel in Lebanon yesterday.

"We’ve seen the humanitarian consequences, the huge mass displacement of people in Lebanon."

Ms Cooper also said there is a "lot of work" that needs to be done to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and she would be meeting with the International Maritime Organisation later on Thursday about their proposal to get some of the first ships moving.

She also said it was "crucial" that Iran is not allowed to apply tolls in the strait.

Keir Starmer arrives in UAE

Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in the United Arab Emirates for talks on the Iran war as the ceasefire agreement comes under strain.

Here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond...

Good Morning from all of us on the GB News Politics team, here's what's happening today in Westminster and beyond.

Sir Keir Starmer is still in the Gulf as he said there was a "sense of real relief" at the ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict, however a lot of work still needed to be done to make the peace deal last and restore oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to tell a speech to City leaders later today that Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.

Addressing an event at the Mansion House, the Foreign Secretary will also warn there "must be no return to conflict" following the earlier announcement by President Donald Trump of a two-week pause in the conflict.

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski will be launching his party's local elections campaign in London alongside Hackney Mayoral Candidate Zoë Garbett and other local councillors.

He's expected to criticise "failing Labour councils" as he lays out the Greens' social housing plans, with his party eying up large gains in the capital.

Across the border, Rhun ap Iorwerth will be kicking off Plaid Cymru's election campaign as he promises a "more ambitious Wales" with his party leading in the polls in the Senedd.

Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey is in Greater Manchester, where he will be sewing school uniforms.