Keir Starmer, on Monday announced his resignation as British Prime Minister, after less than two years in office in a term characterised by policy U-turns.
Starmer’s decision to announce his departure will now start a race among Labour MPs to become the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years, with Burnham in pole position to win. If he is uncontested, he could be in Downing Street within weeks.
Speaking from a podium outside Downing Street on Monday, Starmer said: “The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election.
“I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace. Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first, that is why I will resign as leader of the Labour party.”
Starmer said the process of picking a new leader for the centre-left party would be launched in July and he would remain as prime minister until his successor is chosen, to be in place before parliament returns from the summer recess in September.
Starmer’s main rival, veteran politician Andy Burnham, is due to be sworn in as a member of parliament on Monday after winning a crucial special election on Thursday, allowing him to return to parliament and clearing his path to run for party leader.
“I will remain in post as prime minister until the contest is complete, and I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power,” Starmer added.
Until the weekend, Starmer had insisted he would fight on and remain as prime minister as he faced off challenges and calls to step down.
He has clung to that position for months after multiple scandals and high-profile resignations that piled the pressure on him and his Labour party.
But Britain is now set to get its seventh prime minister in a decade.
Starmer’s widely anticipated announcement comes a day before the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which triggered the UK’s exit from the European Union and an unprecedented churn of prime ministers.
Starmer has been credited with reshaping Labor into an election-winning party, which clinched a decisive victory in 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
But his term was derailed by missteps ranging from benefit cuts to criticism over defense spending plans.
He was nearly ousted in March over his ill-fated decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a known associate of the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
He has also struggled to fight off the rapid rise of the far-right, anti-immigration Reform UK party — which defeated Labour in local elections in May, further weakening Starmer’s position.
“I will also give my successor my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago,” Starmer said in his resignation speech.
“When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy,” he said.
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