The Conservatives have dubbed the Prime Minister ‘By no means Right here Keir’.
Sir Keir Starmer travelling on a airplane to the COP local weather convention in Brazil final yr (Picture: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer’s globetrotting has price the taxpayer hundreds of thousands since coming into Quantity 10, new figures present. The Labour authorities is spending a larger quantity on international journeys, with the Prime Minister’s 39 visits overseas since July 2024 costing greater than £4 million.
The Labour chief’s frequent journeys abroad have seen Tories dub him ‘By no means Right here Keir’, whereas a few of his backbenchers are mentioned to have additionally been pissed off by the regularity of his visits abroad. Bettering relations with different nations has been certainly one of Sir Keir’s international coverage priorities since taking workplace, along with his Brexit ‘reset’ with the EU and a brand new commerce cope with China two apparent examples. Sir Keir’s costliest quarter for journey got here on the finish of 2025, with eight journeys costing as much as £1.2 million.
Sir Keir Starmer on the COP local weather convention in Brazil – a visit which price £413,000 in whole (Picture: Getty)
Probably the most dear was his three-day go to to the COP local weather convention in Brazil, together with 29 officers, which added as much as £413,000, The Guardian reported.
A commerce journey to India with 45 workers on a industrial airplane price £340,000, whereas £367,000 was spent on a visit to the G20 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with 30 workers on an RAF jet.
The figures have been launched within the Authorities’s newest transparency publication.
Sir Keir is spending extra on international journeys than his predecessors Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, though a lot of Mr Johnson’s premiership was marked by worldwide journey bans as a result of pandemic.
Nevertheless, the Guardian reviews Sir Tony Blair, David Cameron and Theresa made as many, if no more, journeys overseas than Sir Keir through the first two years in Quantity 10.
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A Authorities spokesperson mentioned: “All PM journey is completed with consideration to safety necessities and worth for taxpayers, and is central to rebuilding Britain’s world affect and maintaining folks secure via stronger alliances.
“These journeys have helped safe billions in funding for the UK and tens of hundreds of jobs, whereas strengthening our safety, defending British pursuits abroad and delivering actual advantages for folks at dwelling.”
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