Starmer's last stand? PM braces for Trump backlash on under-16 social media ban, defence and immigration at G7 summit - as Andy Burnham allies plot to seize power in days

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:39, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 08:43, 16 June 2026 Keir Starmer is bracing for what could be his last international summit as PM today - amid tensions with Donald Trump. The embattled PM is in the French Alps for a gathering of the powerful G7 group of nations.  But at home allies of Andy Burnham are plotting an immediate bid to oust him if the Greater Manchester mayor wins the Makerfield by-election on Thursday. In a sign Sir Keir might know the event is his swansong on the world stage, he has been accompanied by wife Victoria.  The premier is walking a diplomatic tightrope in Evian-les-Bains, with potential flashpoints over the UK's proposed social media ban for under-16s, defence spending shambles and immigration. The wars in Iran and Ukraine are also dominating the agenda.  Sir Keir sat next to Mr Trump at dinner with fellow leaders last night, although as yet there is no news of what they discussed. Unusually the PM does not appear to have a bilateral meeting planned with the US President. Keir Starmer sat next to Donald Trump at a G7 dinner last night - but does not have a one-on-one meeting planned  The US President has branded Sir Keir 'no Churchill' - and called on NATO countries to increase defence spending  In a sign Sir Keir might know the event is his swansong, he has been accompanied by wife Victoria (second left) Sir Keir and Mr Trump have not met face to face since they fell out over the PM's refusal to let the US use British military bases to carry out strikes on Iran, and his decision not to send aircraft carriers to the Middle East. Relations were further strained recently after an intervention from vice president JD Vance prompted No 10 to criticise those seeking to 'interfere in our democracy'. The US president had a bilateral with Mr Macron last night and is due to hold one-on-ones with Middle East leaders at the summit.  Sir Keir will try to keep the focus on Ukraine this morning, announcing more measures targeting Russia's 'shadow fleet' and the finance networks the country uses to circumvent western sanctions. British troops seized an illicit oil tanker in the Channel for the first time at the weekend. However, Mr Trump's long-standing demands for Nato countries to ramp up military spending could feature at the summit.  Wrangling is continuing over the Defence Investment Plan (Dip), which sparked the resignation of John Healey last week accusing the PM and Rachel Reeves of failing to keep the country safe. Sir Keir appears to be standing by the same £13.5billion settlement - only set to boost spending from 2.6 per cent of GDP to 2.68 per cent by 2030 - in a move that threatens to further strain relations with Mr Trump. Sir Keir is expected to have bilateral meetings with world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian PM Narendra Modi today. The G7 leaders began their talks in France last night The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.