Sky News interview with Beth Rigby in Kyiv: stepping down, Ukraine and family

My message to President Zelenskyy is one I delivered at the press conference, but I'd also delivered privately to him. And that is that the UK commitment to Ukraine will not waver. Uh we will be there for as long as it takes and a long time afterwards. And it was really important as I step down that I um told that to President Zelenskyy. Um and I wouldn't have said it publicly if I hadn't had the opportunity to talk it through with him privately.

Um and I'm absolutely confident um that the UK's support will not waver. And he really needs um to have that reassurance because of course the relationship between the UK and Ukraine has been very strong since the outbreak of the conflict. It's been particularly strong in the last 2 years and I have um got known him. We've had a personal friendship. Um a very closeness in terms of his thinking, um how he's approaching the conflict, the decisions he takes.

Um and um I wanted to and did give him that reassurance.

Yeah, I think what he means by that is there's a degree of uncertainty. But he needn't be. I really um I'm clear about that. I wouldn't have given that reassurance um if I wasn't absolutely sure in my own mind. This is far too serious um for that.

Um and therefore um I'm absolutely clear the relationship between the UK and Ukraine will not um waver in any way whatsoever.

No, I'm not. No, I think that um the UK support for Ukraine is deep in the psyche of the British public.

Um if you go around around the country, we've got Ukrainian flags on churches, on town halls, in people's gardens. These are voluntary acts by the British people. We've managed to achieve unity across the House of Commons from the start of the conflict, and therefore I have no doubt um about the future. And this isn't I'm not in the business of sending advice or messages to my successor. I will give him my full support.

Well, I I would not have um said what I said to President Zelenskyy, which is really important, if I wasn't confident about what I was saying.

Um and that is really important. I'm not somebody else's spokesperson. I'm not telling somebody else uh what to do or offering advice. But this conflict is serious.

This is about values of um democracy and freedom, values that are really important uh to the British. Um and I would not have given the assurance I did give if I wasn't 100% confident about it.

I believe Ukraine will win this war. Um I think that the last 6 months have been a real turning point because at the beginning of the conflict, um everybody assumed that Russia would win within a matter of weeks. Um we are now in year five. And what has happened in that time is um Ukraine has begun to push back on the front this year. Um medium-range and long-range missiles have been used to great effect.

The economic sanctions have had real damage to the Russian economy. The work that's been done on the shadow fleet. But the other reason I think we sometimes miss this is um that one of the consequences of four and a half years of conflict here in Ukraine is they now have

one of the most effective, efficient military forces anywhere in Europe. They're tech-savvy. They've got incredible skills on the front line. Their drone warfare has gone from I remember the early days seeing their capability to now world-leading capability. What they've shown is that it's not just the size of your army, it's how you fight a modern conflict.

And so they are probably the most effective fighting machine in Europe. That is what 4 and 1/2 years. So they will win this conflict. They will get the Russians.

Well, I don't think anybody can put a date on that, but it's significant that this year the mood has changed in Moscow, actually across Europe. One of the reasons I genuinely believe that we've had such strong statements coming out of the G7 meeting, the global leaders meeting a few weeks ago, out of NATO more recently is because across the world people are beginning to appreciate that actually the tide is turning and Ukraine will win this conflict. And quite right too.

Well, the way I look at this is not just the two years we've had in government, but the 6 and 1/2 years that I've been on the front line. I took over the leadership of the Labour Party early in 2020. We had just lost the 2019 election. That was the worst election result for the Labour Party since 1935. And most people thought the Labour Party is finished.

It will never win again. And even those that were a bit more optimistic said, if they do win again, it'll take 10 years. I've never believed that. Um, I turned it around. We ripped out antisemitism.

We forced the party to face the country. Um, and we began to make real progress. Begrudgingly, people said, "Well, you might win, but it'll be a coalition because you won't get the majority."

And we got a landslide victory. So, for the parliamentary party, the question who is the right person to save our party, um, to take it to victory in a general election and second biggest majority ever of a Labour government. Uh, that's answered. I've answered that question. They're now asking the question who's best to take us into 2029.

They've given the answer to that question.

I accept it. I accept it.

but I accept it, and this is really important, with good grace.

and therefore, from the moment I took the final decision,

um, I have um, not only done it in good grace, I've done it um, trying to ensure that there's an orderly transition and that my successor can succeed. And I believe, um, that to be true. I think we've built strong foundations, um, a stable economy, which it's impossible to imagine that we've done in 2 years, much stronger public services, huge measures on child poverty. Uh, we'll do more on child poverty than any government, including a Labour government. We've done more on defense and security.

We've enhanced our international reputation. Now, that is a sound foundation um, to go on and win in 2029. Um, and amongst the reasons that, um, I accept the decision of my parliamentary colleagues, I'm going in good grace, and want to support what comes next is I believe in my country. I want my country to thrive. And in the end, um, I've said in many interviews with you, country first, um, and I mean it, and I'm going to live it.

I've always believed we would win the next election, but the decision about who's best placed to take us into 2029 is a decision the parliamentary party has taken. I accept it in good grace. And I look on the 6 year and a half years to have taken my party from near oblivion to the second biggest landslide victory and to have built two years solid foundations for our country and to leave the country in a better state than I found it. I'm proud of that and I will now happily spend more time with Vic

and to the most important which is to be the best dad I can to my kids, the best husband I can to my wife. And I'm looking forward to that.

with Morgan on many things, but not that.

Um and if you look at what's happened in the two years, the economy was broken when we inherited [snorts] it. It is now stable. Even the figures that have come out today on growth are better than expected. We've got the best growth in the G7 and we've stabilized the economy even though we've got the conflict in Iran going on. Our NHS has got the fastest drop in waiting lists for 17 years.

Child poverty will be a record numbers that we're lifting out of poverty. And internationally, nobody could argue that we're not in a better place. And therefore that's not just not just a plan, that is a plan being implemented. None of these things fall from the sky.

Look, it's a very difficult decision to um decide to end your political career. Uh of course it is, and I'm not going to sit here and pretend otherwise. Um and what I've had to grapple with is the question what is the answer of my parliamentary colleagues to the question about 2029 and um accept that. What is the best thing for the country?

What's the best thing for the government? And then the intensely personal which is um am I going to end my political career? That in the end becomes something which for all the discussions with parliamentary colleagues teams in number 10, my parliamentary and

In the end um for me it may be different for other people. It it boiled down to a deeply, deeply personal decision. Um am I prepared uh to um end my political career. And I've answered that question. I answered it um having spent the weekend with Vic and the kids and only Vic and the kids.

It is hard, of course. I mean I do hate um anytime when we don't win, but it's very important to look at the last 6 months and a half years as a big win. Because taking the party from near oblivion, possibly um never winning again to winning a landslide victory and then putting in place the foundations of a better country, leaving the country better than you found it, which is the test of any Prime Minister. I'm proud of that. That is a win.

I will now go on and spend time

because really important to me.

I had to reflect on the answer my parliamentary colleagues had given on the question about who should lead us into 2029.

Um and I felt that it was right to apply the same principles as I've always applied, which is um what is in the best interest of the country.

Um how do I ensure that we don't implode into some massive fight in government. Um and how do I do my bit to ensure that the solid foundation that we have built continues um as the basis for that 2029 win um by the Labour Party, which I believe it can be.

I I think it was very I've always said country first, and I've always meant country first, and that means in the end um I felt um I had to take decision of what was in the best interest of the country. And I don't and I do that with good grace because that is what I've lived by. That is the right thing to do. But, it is also, Beth, something intensely personal in the end because um it is a decision to end your political career. And um I just needed the space to really think that through.

And there's been a lot of noise around me, a lot of people

I needed just to be on my own with Vic in particular, our kids as well. And they were the only people I was with that week.

I didn't speak to anybody else pretty much that week.

And in the end, it came down to me and my family making decisions.

Well, I'm not going to get into the ins and outs of what Vic said, but I can tell you this. Through every step, she's been with me.

The good, the bad, the challenging, the great moments, the victory nights, the really low moments when somebody tried to burn our house down, our family house. When my brother died. The last few months, which have not been easy, but she's been there at my side every step of the way. And so, that's why we had to take the decision together. Um and um that's the way we will always be.

And I do realize how lucky I am to have such a rock. Because there are lots of highs in politics. There are a number of lows, and to have someone by your side who is 100% part of um an inseparable team um is remarkable. And so, of course I was going to talk it through um with Vic, um talk about the pros, the cons, how it left us as a family. But also, I do have to reflect on the fact that 6 and 1/2 years on the front line

hard for it not to. We've protected the kids. I've tried to make time for them, but there's no pretending that there haven't been I don't know how many times when I've said, "We can't do that. I'm sorry. I've got to do this." Or I know

did. Well, I don't think they wanted me to stand down, but they wanted me to spend more time with them. But they've all They always have. Um and I'm always conscious that um you know, it's their time that often is given up. And now I can spend more time with them, which is fantastic.

It's

that space at the moment, but

I can't This is um part of They're my pride and my joy. Every day I take pride and in them every little thing they do. Um and um it's a unconditional love for my children. Um and of all the things I've done in my life um having um our two children is by far the best thing. Um it's been a joint project to me and Vic from the very start.

When they were born um we looked at each other and said, "What do we want for our children?" And we decided we wanted happy and confident. And that is all we've uh set out to achieve with them that they're happy and confident. Um and every time I look at them, it gives me um such a sort of well of feeling inside. And so, to be able to spend a bit more time with them now is a great step forward.

I mean, in a sense that'll be for others to decide, but um as the person that's um saved the Labour Party turned it into a party that could face the public again. And we were a party that were found to be institutionally anti-Semitic. Um that was not fit actually to face the country um and the electorate. And we turned that around. And we did that in a relatively short period of time.

It was 4 and 1/4 years from me taking over as leader of the Labour Party and so walking into Downing Street with a landslide majority. That is hard, bloody work. Um if you know, forcing a party to change at pace to win an election. And then to in 2 years to have stabilized the country, to leave it in a better state. And on the international stage

um I do think and you'll have observed yourself at international meetings and gatherings um we have transformed the standing of the United Kingdom. The personal relationships with international leaders, the trust that is now put in the UK. And the sense that when other countries are looking for leadership, they're looking to the UK again. And I'm really proud of that cuz I've always felt the UK had a huge amount to offer on the on the international stage. We're pragmatists, we're leaders, we're able to bridge and bring together.

We'd lost that in the last decade. We've got it back. We've got our mojo back as a as a country.

Pride. Big pride in everything that um I've achieved. When I came into politics in 2015, I didn't think I'd be leader of the Labour Party. I didn't think I'd be Prime Minister. That has never been my lifelong ambition.

I thought with a bit of luck we'll win in 2015, I might become Attorney General one day. Um so this wasn't a great project. But in 2019, it was obvious to me that um our party was on the brink.

Um and that somebody had to step up as a sense of duty to uh the party and to the country actually. You need a good strong Labour Party for the country to function properly. So, I stepped up into that space and having stepped up, I thought, "Well, I'm not just going to stay here. I'm going to go on and I'm going to win the election." And I never had any doubt in my mind about that. Everybody along the way said, "It's not going to happen.

You're not going to do it. It's not possible." And every time I said, "It is. You watch. We would." And we did. And we won a general election and I'm very proud of that.

So, I shall walk out with pride and I shall walk out looking forward to the next chapter, which is spending time with Vic and the kids, being, as I say, the best husband I can to my wife who has stuck with me and been with me every step of the way. And it's impacted her hugely. And the best dad I can be to my kids. What a wonderful thing to look forward to.

my son is a fantastic young man, just turned 18. And we do a lot of things together. My daughter is a beautiful 15-year-old going on 19 who has got her dad absolutely wound around her little finger.

dad than my dad was. He It was a It was a generational thing. It was different in those days. He saw his job was going out, earning the money. But also my mom was so very ill all of her life that she needed my dad to provide so much to her and he did.

And he he gave her such sort of unconditional love and support that I don't think he had space, emotional space, for us in the way that he might otherwise have had. We didn't hug. We didn't have the sort of relationship, but I was determined to do it differently with uh my children. Um, and um And and we have done it differently, and um it gives me great joy.

I go with pride. I go knowing that I leave the country in a better state than I found it. I go knowing I've left the foundation for Labour to win the next general election. Um, and I go out, and I will immediately that afternoon spend time with Vic and the kids. Uh, and I look forward to that.

I hope so. We've built the foundation for this now. Um, and Labour can go on and win that election. I think we'll go on and win that election. I'm proud uh to hand over the party um in good shape to Andy Burnham, hand over the country in good shape to Andy Burnham.

I will support him all the way. I'll give advice if it's asked for, and I'll give it privately. I will not give advice if it's not asked for, and I certainly won't give it publicly. I will give my full support, um and that is what I mean. I want my country to thrive, um and I'm sure it'll be a great success going forward.

Thank you Beth.