Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation(宣布辞职) as Britain's prime minister, less than two years after winning a landslide majority(压倒性多数席位) at a general election. The trigger(触发因素；导火索) for Sir Keir’s decision to go was Andy Burnham’s victory in a by-election(补选). The hitherto(迄今为止；直到此时) mayor of Greater Manchester is a Labour Party favourite who will stand for party leader in mid-July. Sir Keir’s time in office was plagued by(受……困扰) broken promises and a series of U-turns(一系列政策逆转), often forced by militant backbench MPs(激进的后座议员). His judgment was also questioned, as advisers and ministers, including his deputy, were forced to resign for inappropriate behaviour(不当行为). Following disastrous local elections for Labour, seven ministers quit after falling out with(与……闹翻；决裂) Sir Keir.
基尔·斯塔默爵士宣布辞去英国首相职务，距离他在大选中获得压倒性多数席位还不到两年。促使斯塔默辞职的导火索是安迪·伯纳姆在补选中获胜。这位大曼彻斯特市市长是工党内部的宠儿，他将在7月中旬竞选党魁。斯塔默的执政期饱受背弃承诺和一系列政策逆转的困扰，这些逆转往往是由激进的后座议员逼迫所致。他的判断力也受到质疑，因为包括副首相在内的多位顾问和部长因不当行为被迫辞职。在工党地方选举惨败后，七名部长因与斯塔默决裂而辞职。
After Sir Keir announced his departure(宣布离开) the European Union postponed a summit with Britain that had only recently been set for July 22nd. Sir Keir had promoted the summit as a chance to reset(重启；重新设定) Britain’s relations with the EU, but the EU wants to wait until a new prime minister is in place(到位；就职).
斯塔默宣布离职后，欧盟推迟了原定于7月22日举行的英欧峰会。斯塔默曾力推此次峰会作为重启英欧关系的机会，但欧盟希望等到新首相就位。
In some rare good news(罕见的好消息) for Britain’s Conservatives, the party won its first by-election in 50 years in Scotland by booting out(赶走；击败) the Scottish Nationalists in south Aberdeen. The campaign centred on the nationalists’ lack of support for the oil and gas industry. Aberdeen is the hub(中心；枢纽) of Britain’s North Sea energy business.
对于英国保守党来说，这是一个罕见的好消息：该党在苏格兰赢得了50年来的第一场补选，在南阿伯丁击败了苏格兰民族主义者。竞选焦点是民族主义者对石油和天然气行业缺乏支持。阿伯丁是英国北海能源业务的中心。
Rooting out the old regime
根除旧政权