Sir Keir Starmer has announced he will step down as UK prime minister. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, is expected to succeed him after a party leadership contest.

The change at Westminster comes as London and Dublin continue to navigate the post-Brexit relationship. In July 2024, Starmer and then-Taoiseach Simon Harris met at Chequers and pledged a "reset" in bilateral ties. They agreed to hold an annual British-Irish summit, with the most recent meeting taking place in Cork last March.

Burnham has previously met the current Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, in Dublin and in Manchester.

Labour has introduced legislation to reform the previous government’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. MPs have voted to repeal provisions that offered conditional immunity to perpetrators of Troubles-era crimes in exchange for co-operation with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

The bill still must pass the House of Commons and other parliamentary stages. The UK and Irish governments previously agreed a joint framework on legacy issues, but progress on the legislation remains a point of concern in Dublin.

The repeal of conditional immunity is seen as a step towards addressing long-standing Irish government objections to the legacy arrangements introduced by the Conservative administration. With a new prime minister expected to take office, attention will turn to whether the legislation remains a priority for the incoming government.