{"id":49383,"date":"2026-04-13T09:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=49383"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:29:15","slug":"starmer-confirms-uk-will-not-support-us-blockade-of-strait-of-hormuz-uk-politics-live-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=49383","title":{"rendered":"Starmer confirms UK will not support US blockade of strait of Hormuz \u2013 UK politics live | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Starmer confirms UK will not support US blockade of strait of Hormuz<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n

Good morning. The parliamentary recess is over, the Iran<\/a> war disaster isn\u2019t, campaigning is ramping up because the May elections are less than four weeks to go, and there will be plenty for MPs to discuss as they meet in the Commons this afternoon. The full timetable, as usual, is down below.<\/p>\n

Keir Starmer<\/strong> is in Greater Manchester this morning, on a visit linked to the English local elections. But he is expected to be in the Commons later giving an update on the UK response to the Iran war, and in an interview on Radio 5 Live a few minutes ago he confirmed that Britain will not join the US in enforcing the new blockade of the stait of Hormuz proposed by Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Asked if the UK would support the US with its blockade, Starmer replied:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>We\u2019re not supporting blockade.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Starmer confirmed that the UK does have \u201cminesweeping capability\u201d. He said he would not go into \u201coperational matters\u201d, but he confirmed that Britain has been talking with allies, in a reference to discussions on what could be done to keep the strait open after the conflict between Iran and the US is over.<\/p>\n

Having the strait open was a priority, he said.<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>The strait is shut or not free for navigation in the way it should be. That means that oil and gas is not getting to market. That means the price is going up. That means everybody listening to this is facing higher energy bills. And I don\u2019t want that to happen.<\/p>\n

I want their energy bills to be stabilised and lower. And so it is, in my view, vital that we get the strait open and fully open.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I will post more from the interview shortly.<\/p>\n

Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n

Morning:<\/em> Keir Starmer<\/a> is on a visit in Greater Manchester, and is doing an interview with Radio 5 Live.<\/p>\n

Morning:<\/em> Kemi Badenoch is on a campaign visit in Clapham, south London.<\/p>\n

10.30am:<\/em> Anas Sarwar launches Scottish Labour\u2019s manifesto for the Holyrood election.<\/p>\n

10.30am:<\/em> Wes Streeting, the health secretary, gives a speech on NHS funding to the IPPR thinktank.<\/p>\n

11am:<\/em> Nigel Farage, the Reform UK<\/a> leader, and Zia Yusuf, the Reform chair, hold a press conference.<\/p>\n

11.30am:<\/em> Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.<\/p>\n

Noon:<\/em> The Southport inquiry publishes its phase one report.<\/p>\n

2.30pm:<\/em> Steve Reed, the housing secretary, takes questions in the Commons.<\/p>\n

After 3.30pm:<\/em> Starmer is expected to make a statement to MPs about the Iran war and his tour of the Gulf last week.<\/p>\n

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can\u2019t read all the messages BTL, but if you put \u201cAndrew\u201d in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.<\/p>\n

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n