Gareth Gordon - Political correspondent, BBC News NI Mon, June 22, 2026 at 8:52 AM UTC 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Sir Keir Starmer has been the UK prime minister since July 2024 [Getty Images] Where Northern Ireland was concerned Sir Keir Starmer enjoyed one big advantage denied to his four immediate predecessors. He did not have to spend any time waking Stormont from one of its frequent periods of suspension.