British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he was resigning as leader of the Labour Party, ending his tenure as the country's leader less than two years after his party swept to power in a national election.
Starmer made the announcement outside 10 Downing Street in London. According to CBS News, the decision came after former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham made clear he would challenge the prime minister for his job. Burnham won a seat last week as a Member of Parliament for his local constituency, a necessary step since British prime ministers have long been chosen from among sitting members of the House of Commons.
"The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next election. I have heard the answer… and I accept that answer with good grace. Every decision I have made has been about putting the country I love first," Starmer said in his statement. He added: "I will resign as leader of the Labour Party."
According to BBC News, pressure on Starmer had been building for months. His position was destabilized earlier this year after the release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice reignited a scandal over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador. A by-election defeat in February, where Labour lost a formerly safe seat to the Greens after Starmer blocked Burnham from standing, set the stage for a broader reckoning. The results of May local elections were described as devastating, even worse than many in the party feared. Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned following those results, along with several junior ministers. Defence Secretary John Healey also resigned earlier this month over a row about defence spending.
Burnham's decisive victory at the Makerfield by-election last week, where he held off a challenge from Reform UK, cleared a path for him to return to Westminster and launch a formal leadership bid. After Burnham's election, Starmer initially insisted he would contest any leadership challenge before concluding over the weekend that Labour MPs wanted someone else to lead them into the next general election.
Starmer said he would ask Labour's ruling National Executive Committee to open nominations for a new leader on July 9, with nominations closing July 16 when Parliament begins its summer recess. Under Labour's rules, contenders must be nominated by 81 Labour MPs to stand, which limits the potential pool of candidates to four. They must also win support from at least 32 of Labour's 634 local branches, or three affiliated organizations including two trade unions.
If a leadership contest proceeds, a new leader is expected to be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on September 1. If the party unites around one candidate without a contest, Starmer could be out of the premiership by July.
Starmer appeared to choke up toward the end of his remarks as he spoke about his children. He said that after stepping down from the "biggest job in the country," he would spend 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."
On Sunday, President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Starmer had "failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well!"
