0:00 From BBC Learning English. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
0:07 In this programme, British Prime Minister resigns.
0:14 Hello, I'm Becca.
0:15 And I'm Phil.
0:16 In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.
0:23 You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
0:31 So, let's hear more about this story.
0:40 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has resigned. He will remain in power until a successor is chosen by the ruling Labour Party.
0:48 He won a large election victory in 2024, but his popularity has dropped since then.
0:54 Many people believe his government have made a number of mistakes.
0:59 His party lost heavily in recent local elections and some important figures in the Labour Party called on him to resign.
1:07 Andy Burnham, until recently Mayor of Greater Manchester, is expected to become the next Prime Minister.
1:14 Burnham became a Member of Parliament again after winning a by-election last week.
1:19 Let's have our first headline. This headline is from Al Jazeera, an international news organisation. 'No sense of direction' : The downfall of Keir Starmer.
1:29 And that headline again from Al Jazeera, an international news organisation.
1:33 'No sense of direction': The downfall of Keir Starmer.
1:38 This headline quotes experts on British politics who believe that Starmer's goals as Prime Minister were hard to see.
1:45 That's what no sense of direction means. We're going to look at the word downfall.
1:50 Downfall is commonly used to talk about people who have been powerful or successful.
1:55 If they have a downfall, it can either describe a situation where they lose their power or status suddenly, or it can be the thing that makes them lose their power or status.
2:08 This article is suggesting that a lack of direction is what led Starmer to have to resign. It has been his downfall according to this headline.
2:17 As well as in politics, downfall is often used to talk about criminal figures being caught and made to pay for their crimes.
2:25 The police might carefully plan a criminal's downfall.
2:30 We also sometimes use downfall in a slightly jokey, exaggerated way to talk about our guilty pleasures.
2:36 Eating too much chocolate will be my downfall.
2:42 We've had downfall, a sudden loss of power or status.
2:48 For example, the singer's drug arrest led to his downfall.
2:58 This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
3:03 Today, we're talking about the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
3:08 Keir Starman's successor will be the seventh British Prime Minister in the last 10 years, which is unusual.
3:16 Questions have been raised about the strength of the British economy and many people feel that living standards have been getting worse.
3:23 This has contributed to unhappiness with politics in general.
3:27 This leads us to our next headline. This headline is from Reuters, an international news organisation. Can anyone fix Britain?
3:36 Regular change of PM a symptom of UK's malaise.
3:40 And that headline again from Reuters, an international news organisation.
3:43 Can anyone fix Britain? Regular change of PM a symptom of UK's malaise.
3:51 This is about how the UK is changing Prime Ministers regularly.
3:55 The word that we're learning is malaise.
3:58 A malaise is a general feeling of low energy or bad health.
4:02 It can refer to how a person is feeling or just how people are feeling in general.
4:07 Yes, this article discusses weak economic performance in the UK since 2008, suggesting that there is a feeling of general unhappiness and that people feel that things are getting worse.
4:21 Malaise is often used to talk about how people in a country might feel.
4:25 It can also be used to talk about performance in business or sport.
4:30 A company or team suffering from malaise is unable to improve their results.
4:38 We've had malaise, a feeling of low energy or bad health.
4:44 For example, high unemployment is contributing to the country's malaise.
4:53 This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.
4:57 We're talking about the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
5:03 The expected successor to Keir Starmer is likely to be Andy Burnham, who until last week was Mayor of Greater Manchester.
5:12 Burnham's election victory last week made him a Member of Parliament, making it possible for him to become Prime Minister.
5:19 His high level of support in the ruling Labour Party is thought to be one of the main reasons that Keir Starmer decided to resign.
5:28 Here's our next headline.
5:29 This headline is from The Economist, a British magazine.
5:32 Andy Burnham may find Sir Keir Starmer a hard act to follow.
5:38 And that headline again from The Economist, a British magazine.
5:41 Andy Burnham may find Sir Keir Starmer a hard act to follow.
5:47 This headline is suggesting that Andy Burnham may not find it easy to be Prime Minister and the expression that we're going to learn is a hard act to follow.
5:56 Literally, an act is a performer like a singer or a comedian. If they're very good, it's harder for the next performer to look good.
6:06 We can use it metaphorically. If we say someone is a hard act to follow, then we are suggesting that they have done something well, that it will be hard for the next person to match it.
6:17 Here, the article is suggesting that the problems faced by Keir Starmer are difficult to solve and Andy Burnham might not be able to do any better.
6:27 We usually use a hard act to follow to talk about someone who has clearly done well.
6:33 A successful sports coach or player could be a hard act to follow if they're leaving and will be difficult to replace.
6:40 We might also have colleagues at work who would be a hard act to follow.
6:48 We've had a hard act to follow, someone who has been successful and will be hard to replace.
6:56 For example, the manager was so good at developing their staff that they will be a hard act to follow.
7:03 That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.
7:06 We'll be back next week with another news story.
7:10 And if you're looking for a new job, don't forget to look at the Work Topic page on our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you can learn all the language you need to find and succeed in any job you'd like.
7:25 But for now, it's goodbye!
7:26 Bye!
