Bend it like Burnham? Starmer says he is 'more relaxed' since quitting power as ex-PM, 63, braves summer heat for kickabout

By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 16:36, 9 August 2026 | Updated: 16:38, 9 August 2026 Sir Keir Starmer said today he was feeling 'more relaxed' since quitting power, as he braved the summer heat to enjoy a kickabout with friends. The ex-prime minister, 63, joined players including the comic and actor Hugh Dennis for a game of football in North London despite temperatures expected to pass 30C. Ahead of the new Premier League season Sir Keir was decked out in the kit of his beloved Arsenal, and appeared to be feeling the heat at one point as he puffed out his cheeks. He will have more time to play now he has returned to being a backbench MP, having made only sporadic appearances while leading the country. When in No10 he rarely wore Arsenal colours, more often stepping out in a Gaelic football kit. But he no longer has to consider upsetting supporters of the Gunners' rivals. It came as a new poll showed how Labour is faring better under new leader Andy Burnham. The Mail's poll-of-polls puts Labour on 25 per cent, a point ahead of Nigel Farage's Reform in the week he contests a by-election in his Clacton constituency. The leapfrogging appears to have been powered by hard Left voters ditching the Green Party in favour of Labour. The ex-prime minister, 63, joined players including the comic and actor Hugh Dennis for a game of football in North London despite temperatures expected to pass 30C Ahead of the new Premier League season Sir Keir was decked out in the kit of his beloved Arsenal, and appeared to be feeling the heat at one point as he puffed out his cheeks Zack Polanski's outfit, having threatened to challenge the main parties earlier this year, has experienced a decline in popularity. Mr Burnham has pushed Labour to the left since replacing Sir Keir Starmer last month, setting out a policy platform that includes building thousands of new council houses and shifting power out of Westminster to the North. Once he returns from a holiday he is to kick off a national tour this week to ask the public how the Government can improve their lives. Officials said the Prime Minister would be in 'listening mode' as he spends much of the rest of August travelling the country to discuss the cost of living and improving high streets.