‘Arise, Sir Harry?’: Keir Starmer set to honour England stars if they win World Cup

‘Arise, Sir Harry?’: Keir Starmer set to honour England stars if they win World Cup The prime minister is expected to name a resignation honours list so the avid football fan he can celebrate England’s stars - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Sir Keir Starmer is expected to give honours to the men’s England football team if the Three Lions win the World Cup. Labour sources have told The Independent that Sir Keir is keen to be the one to honour England’s men’s football stars, including a potential knighthood for captain Harry Kane and a major honour for the star of the tournament, Jude Bellingham. Other key players who could be celebrated, including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, play for Sir Keir’s beloved Arsenal. One senior Labour source told The Independent: “Keir is definitely not going to leave honouring the England football team Andy Burnham, he wants to do that himself.” But such a move would amount to a final U-turn for the outgoing prime minister, who said in 2023 he would not hand out a traditional resignation honours list when he finished being prime minister after controversies with the lists presented by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Back then Sir Keir said: “Tony Blair didn’t have a resignation list. It’s very hard to justify. There are other avenues for that and I think it’s easier to be clean about this and simply say, no, I wouldn’t do it.” During his time as PM, Sir Keir has been plagued by damaging U-turns, including on cancelling winter fuel payments for pensioners, abandoning welfare cuts, and agreeing to end the two-child benefit cap. However, he is an avid football fan, who even joked in his last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that he had an “important meeting with my television at 8pm” – when England face Argentina in the playoff for the final – when asked about his duties for the day. If England get to the final on Sunday, it is expected that Sir Keir’s last act as prime minister will be to fly out to New York to watch the match at the Metlife Stadium. In recent weeks, Downing Street has not provided a clear answer on whether asked if Sir Keir would stick to his original plan to not give out resignation honours. Another Labour source said: “I think the football has changed his mind.” Downing Street has not commented on the latest speculation when asked by The Independent. Even if they don’t make it to the final, key players could still be celebrated in the New Year’s honours based on previous tournaments, which saw Kane and former manager Gareth Southgate awarded MBEs after the team's run to the semi final in 2018. PMQs was dominated with references to the World Cup, alongside MPs paying tribute to Sir Keir as his two years as prime minister comes to an end. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice pointed out that a 76 per cent win rate for England “is the highest of any prime minister in history”. Referring to England’s only World Cup victory in 1966, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch noted that “we all hope Sir Keir will emulate [former Labour PM Harold Wilson] in another way by being the prime minister when England win the World Cup”. Sir Keir pointed out that "England only win world cups under Labour”. He has already announced that if England wins on Sunday there will be a bank holiday to celebrate the occasion. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments