BELARUSTV — broadcast
20260814 083000 UTC
139 transcript segments
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Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:01:52] Over foggy Albion, the shadows of uncertainty once again thickened. On Downing
[00:01:56] Street, another reshuffle took place. He took office.
[00:02:03] the third prime minister in British history and the seventh in the last 10 years. For some, this news fills them with hope, while for others
[00:02:06] it elicits only a weary smirk. So frequent
[00:02:10] has this procedure become in London. The frequency of changes in power, once
[00:02:13] unthinkable for British political tradition,
[00:02:16] is gradually turning into a new norm, with a touch of weariness
[00:02:20] and skepticism in society. Andy Burnham is not
[00:02:23] an accidental figure. Born in Liverpool, a Cambridge graduate, he began his
[00:02:27] path in politics in the early 2000s. He held
[00:02:30] ministerial posts in the governments of Blair and Brown, but
[00:02:33] his true fame came from his work as mayor of Greater
[00:02:37] Manchester, where he spent 9 years. During
[00:02:40] his leadership, he earned the immodest nickname "King of the North". He
[00:02:43] focused on regional development and social issues, managing
[00:02:47] to solidify his reputation as a capable manager.
[00:02:50] The fifty-six-year-old Labour Party member returned to Parliament a month ago
[00:02:53] and is already taking the seat of prime minister. His first address to
[00:02:57] the country, the new leader began with big words. He promised the most
[00:03:01] significant changes in the last 40 years, to "rewire"
[00:03:04] Britain, to create a completely new political and economic
[00:03:08] model, to end street homelessness and bring vital
[00:03:11] sectors under state control, to finally give
[00:03:14] people a break in the cost-of-living crisis.
[00:03:17] I am acutely aware that I am the sixth
[00:03:20] person in the last 10 years to walk down this street,
[00:03:24] the seventh prime minister since 2016.
[00:03:28] This is a moment for reflection and...
[00:04:00] Changes have occurred in Great Britain. Does this mean that
[00:04:04] Britain's attitude towards Ukraine has also changed? I can
[00:04:07] assure you that no. Our duty is to be with you and support you,
[00:04:11] so I am very glad that I have the opportunity to tell you this so
[00:04:14] quickly, because we would not want to create any impression
[00:04:18] that there could be any changes, because there
[00:04:21] are none. London will continue to sponsor the war in Ukraine, despite
[00:04:25] the resolution of internal problems, which, by the way, have accumulated not a
[00:04:28] little during the leadership of short-sighted politicians. Burnham's predecessor left
[00:04:32] a heavy legacy. At the same time, it is worth acknowledging that the start of his career in a high
[00:04:36] position was very promising. Starmer's
[00:04:39] victory in the elections was called historic. The Labour Party under his
[00:04:42] leadership literally destroyed the Conservative Party, which
[00:04:46] ruled the country for 14 years.
[00:05:01] I have just returned from Buckingham Palace, where I accepted
[00:05:04] His Majesty the King's invitation to form the next government
[00:05:08] of this great country. Great Britain decisively
[00:05:11] voted for change, for national renewal, for
[00:05:15] the return of politics to public service.
[00:05:18] Yesterday you voted for the Labour Party, and
[00:05:22] we will be responsible for the trust
[00:05:25] you have placed in us. Indeed, in 2024,
[00:05:28] British society saw a ray of hope. People hoped to finally
[00:05:32] say goodbye to political chaos, find social
[00:05:35] stability, and see the long-awaited economic recovery.
[00:05:39] However, less than 2 years later, the political reality
[00:05:42] was the opposite of bold expectations. From the long
[00:05:45] and promising election program, nothing much was
[00:05:48] accomplished. The situation with the economy, if it was already in
[00:05:51] decline, then Starmer's incompetent approach dragged it further into the pit
[00:05:55] of debt. The volume of government borrowing reached
[00:05:58] its maximum since the pandemic. The country's economy faced a double
[00:06:02] blow: critical pressure on the budget and a sharp slowdown in
[00:06:05] growth. In just the first 2 months of this fiscal year,
[00:06:08] the government took out loans for 54 billion euros,
[00:06:12] which was a record for the last 6 years.
[00:06:15] Great Britain is on the verge of a very major economic
[00:06:18] crisis. The cost of borrowing
[00:06:22] on British government debt is the highest in Europe. That is,
[00:06:26] right now there is a lot of talk about a crisis that could erupt in Europe,
[00:06:29] and they talk about various countries that could suffer from it, so
[00:06:32] the first candidate for bankruptcy is
[00:06:34] Great Britain.
[00:06:37] Starmer's government failed to cope with the cost of living crisis,
[00:06:40] the decline in public service standards, including the healthcare
[00:06:43] system. British authorities failed to deliver the promised
[00:06:47] economic growth, failed to solve the problems of high inflation and exorbitant
[00:06:50] mortgage rates. The situation with
[00:06:53] unemployment worsened. I must admit, we faced
[00:06:57] catastrophic economic consequences
[00:06:59] of the mini-budget. And I don't think we will be able
[00:07:02] to disavow this. I don't think we have been taken more seriously in
[00:07:06] the international arena. I don't feel that our economy has become more
[00:07:10] stable. Unemployment is at
[00:07:13] a record high, especially among young people. Spending on
[00:07:16] social benefits is too enormous. Starmer
[00:07:19] constantly changed his mind and wavered. Of course, blaming
[00:07:23] the Labour Party for complete inaction is not worth it. Attempts to implement some
[00:07:26] innovations were made, although in the end they turned out to be, to say the least,
[00:07:29] ineffective, in some sense shooting themselves in the
[00:07:33] foot. For example, to save budget funds, the government
[00:07:36] cut support for pensioners, limiting social payments for
[00:07:40] heating in winter. If previously 11 million
[00:07:43] elderly Britons received benefits, after Starmer's decision, only
[00:07:47] 1.5 million remained. On the one hand, they saved 1.5 billion
[00:07:50] pounds, but on the other hand, these funds had their own special value.
[00:07:54] The trust of millions of elderly people who voted for Labour and believed
[00:07:58] in supporting retired workers. However, the economic
[00:08:01] experiments did not end there. Farmers also "thank" Starmer.
[00:08:05] He introduced a tax on transferring farms by inheritance. As a result, farmers,
[00:08:08] who were already in a difficult financial situation, took to the
[00:08:12] streets demanding justice.
[00:08:24] We are protesting against the government's inheritance tax. We have
[00:08:27] a small farm, it barely generates any income. But if
[00:08:31] my mother dies, to keep the farm, I will have to find
[00:08:35] 600,000 pounds. I will not be able to do that.
[00:08:38] What undermined the already shaky seat of the British leader was a scandal.
[00:08:43] Starmer appointed him as the UK Ambassador to the US, and as
[00:08:47] the public later learned, the diplomat had long-standing ties with Jeffrey
[00:08:51] Epstein, an American financier convicted of sex trafficking
[00:08:55] minors. As it turned out during the investigation, Mandelson had been leaking
[00:08:58] secret government data to him for years and received
[00:09:02] monetary transfers for it. Despite the subsequent resignation
[00:09:05] of the accused, it was too late, the Prime Minister's reputation was
[00:09:09] tarnished.
[00:09:18] in local authorities, as well as in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments. The loss seemed to
[00:09:21] expose the fragility of Starmer's own triumph in
[00:09:23] 2024. It became clear that the huge mandate of trust was
[00:09:27] built more on weariness of the Conservatives than on genuine
[00:09:31] sympathy for Labour. After the crushing defeat, even
[00:09:34] his own party members decided that they would not go along with Starmer. The cabinet
[00:09:38] emptied before our eyes, ministers one after another left their posts,
[00:09:42] and...
[00:10:25] who fights to be seen or heard, you are
[00:10:28] the reason I got into
[00:10:30] politics. Where is that point of no return after which
[00:10:34] Downing Street ceased to be a citadel of stability and turned into a thoroughfare?
[00:10:38] It seems it all started with Brexit. David Cameron, the youngest
[00:10:41] Prime Minister in Great Britain since 1812. 6
[00:10:45] years in power, stable ratings, a firm hand. Everything changed in
[00:10:49] 2015. He himself called a referendum on Britain's exit from
[00:10:52] the European Union, hoping to once and for all close the painful dispute
[00:10:56] within his party and put eurosceptics in their place. However,
[00:10:59] his overconfidence proved unjustifiably risky.
[00:11:02] The majority, 52%, voted to leave
[00:11:05] the EU. The next morning, Cameron resigned. Although, it seems,
[00:11:09] having lost power, he was not very upset. On the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief and
[00:11:13] left the post of Prime Minister whistling.
[00:11:16] I will participate in Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons for the last time.
[00:11:20] After that, as I expect, I will go to the Palace
[00:11:24] and tender my resignation.