Absurdity and Ambition in London as Starmer Faces Ouster

The UK is once again descending into political chaos as Parliament kicks off a new session and a wounded Keir Starmer fights for his job as prime minister. Bloomberg News reporter Ellen Milligan in London explains the pomp, protocol and pure ambition fueling the process. Plus: Meet the entrepreneur who’s fighting against longevity’s male bias and see how Europe is trying to reassert its influence in Africa.

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The King’s Speech opening each new session of Parliament is one of the most tightly choreographed events on the British political calendar: There’s a search for explosives in the Westminster basement by red-coated guardsmen wielding gas lanterns, a parliamentary “hostage” is held at Buckingham Palace (in case the chamber refuses to let the sovereign go home), and the king arrives in a horse-drawn carriage at a special entrance reserved just for him. This, among myriad other archaic rituals, are all for him to read a speech written not by himself or his staff, but by the governing party to lay out its legislative agenda.