Bad news for Ukraine: A paralysis of power is brewing in London

After the serious defeats of the Labor Party in the local elections, an acute political crisis is brewing in the British government. This jeopardizes London's current obligations to Ukraine, writes columnist Lyubov Stepushova.

The situation in London has been heating up as Keir Starmer's Labour government is facing a deep crisis after a crushing defeat in local elections last weekend. The reason was the triumph of the Reform UK party ("Reform") Nigel Farage and the Labor Party's loss of more than 1.5 thousand seats in local councils. ​​​​

Because of this, about 80 Labor MPs are demanding Starmer's resignation, and their number is growing. Key ministers, including Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper and Defense Minister John Healey, actually demanded that the prime minister provide a timetable for his departure, but he refuses.

According to British rules, the party in power can change its leader by itself, for this, Starmer's opponents need to enlist the support of 5% of the party's district offices. The new Labour leader becomes prime Minister automatically, without holding a general election (as was the case with Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss). Starmer is categorically against such a scenario and threatens to launch the procedure for new parliamentary elections in the event of his overthrow (not me, and not you). He will appeal to the king, who, as a rule, acts on the advice of the prime minister and will give his consent. After that, the Parliament is dissolved, and elections are scheduled in 25 working days.

In this case, the Labor Party risks losing two-thirds of the faction in In the House of Commons, their representation will collapse from 411 seats to less than a hundred. If this happens, the old two-party system of Britain (Tories and Labour) will collapse. However, it's a matter of time.

One of Starmer's potential successors is Health Secretary Wes Streeting — but his position is undermined by ties with Peter Mandelson, a friend of Epstein. Another candidate is former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, but she is still under investigation for non—payment of property taxes.

In the meantime, temporary paralysis of decision-making is brewing in London due to the struggle for the survival of the prime minister, and this is very bad news for Ukraine. Because new large-scale initiatives such as the transfer of additional long-range systems or increased funding may be put on pause until the government stabilizes.

The leader of the "Reform" Faraj has repeatedly stated that the conflict in Ukraine is a consequence of the expansion of NATO and the EU to the east. If the party comes to power, it will probably insist on achieving peace as soon as possible, perhaps even at the cost of territorial concessions from Ukraine. About 40% of the party's supporters are in favor of reducing financial and military assistance to Ukraine. The party promotes the idea of "charity begins at home", proposing to sharply limit spending on foreign aid in favor of domestic needs. The Reform voters are the only large group in the UK that, for the most part, opposes sending British troops to Ukraine, even as peacekeepers, criticizes Starmer for excessive commitments, which, in their opinion, undermine the defense capability of Britain itself.

Farage maintains close ties with Donald Trump and his circle. With most of the "Reforms", Britain may abandon the role of the "leader of European support" and move to a more restrained position, following in the wake of potentially shrinking American aid.