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It’s neatly ironic that the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote should have been marked this week by yet another prime ministerial resignation.

The two things aren’t directly related – the intense pressure put on Keir Starmer to step down was partly down to his own political flaws. But the rise in the polls of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s populist rightwing party that morphed out of the Brexit-obsessed Ukip, was a key factor.

The fact that the country is now set for its seventh prime minister in the decade since Brexit speaks volumes. The vote in 2016 to leave the European Union deeply fractured Britain, a country that remains volatile and impatient for change to this day.

Change has come to the UK as a result of Brexit – only not for the better, as senior economics correspondent Richard Partington explains for our special report this week. We revisit the buildup to the vote as key figures at the time recall how it shook the country’s politics. And there’s even a quiz to test your memory of the more arcane sideshows of it all.

As for Starmer, it looks almost certain that he will soon be replaced by Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester. If you haven’t yet heard much of him, you will do soon – Alexandra Topping’s piece for us this week on the man known as the “king of the north” for his success in regional politics is a great place to start.

And if you’re wondering how it all went wrong for Starmer, look no further than Jonathan Freedland’s excellent long read in the magazine.

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Five essential reads in this week’s edition

Spotlight | Iran’s regime survived the war. Will it make peace with its people?
If the conflict with the US and Israel triggered a rare moment of solidarity in the divided country, many doubt it will be used for reform, reports Saeed Shah

Spotlight | Why did Somali children become targets of US drone strikes?
Six months ago, at least 12 people, including eight children, died during a US attack. The US has never admitted the civilian deaths. Mark Townsend pieces together what happened that day

Environment | The online archive sharing scientific knowledge with everyone
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt. Donna Ferguson reports

Opinion | There is still hope for international law
Even in this age of global rupture, do not despair: developments in Ukraine and Iran show that the military superpowers are not getting it all their own way, argues Nathalie Tocci

Culture | Why time is still on Keith Richards’ side
At 82, the Rolling Stones guitarist is still hale and hearty, enjoying life as a great-grandad and jousting with Mick Jagger like old times. Ahead of a new Stones album launch, Alexis Petridis caught up with him

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What else we’ve been reading

• Armenia is one of those places Guardian Weekly catches up with rarely and only for big events, as we did with the elections recently. Fortunately Pjotr Sauer could stay on to write this salutary and comic tale of vanity, ambition and the likely descent into failure of one of the re-elected PM Nikol Pashinyan’s rivals. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor

• With so many video games – both big and indie – being released all the time, I find it difficult to keep track of which ones are worth my time and money. This is a really good article to keep an eye on to know which games are worth the investment. Richard Butler, print sales data and systems manager

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Other highlights from the Guardian website

• Audio | Football Weekly’s World Cup Daily

• Video | Burnham’s Britain: six days in the place that just changed our politics

• Picture essay | The changing face of Mongolia as, beneath the grass, permafrost thaws

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