Mon 22 June 2026:
Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation as UK prime minister and Labour Party leader amid mounting pressure following poor results in last month’s local elections.
“I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision,” Starmer announced in a statement outside 10 Downing Street, his official residence.
He noted that his resignation came in response to his party’s question whether he is “best placed” to lead them 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,” he said.
Starmer noted that he will ask the National Executive Committee of his party to set out a timetable with nominations opening on July 9 and completed by the summer recess.
“In the case of a contest, this will ensure a new leader is in place before parliament returns in September. 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,” he added.
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Andy Burnham announces he will run as UK prime minister
UK member of parliament for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, says he will run as a leader of the governing Labour Party.
Thanking Starmer for his “huge service”, he said in a post on X that he plans to become the country’s leader.
“The country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most and that is what it will get,” he said. “As we move forward, our priority must be to work together to get the country back to where we all want it to be.”
“People want to see progress on economic growth, cost of living, public services, housing and opportunities for the next generation. Political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people’s lives,” he added.
Burnham also said the Labour movement “will make sure this transition is a positive process of renewal for our party and our country”.
Starmer had ‘no choice but to go’
Patrick Diamond, professor of public policy at Queen Mary University of London, says Keir Starmer’s resignation marks “a really dramatic day in British politics”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera after Starmer announced he would step down as Labour leader, Diamond said the prime minister had concluded he could no longer command support inside his own party.
“Ultimately, I think he’s determined that he does not have the support any longer in the parliamentary Labour Party for his position as prime minister and is therefore in no… has no choice but to go,” Diamond said.
He added that Starmer’s position weakened further because Labour now has an obvious alternative in Andy Burnham.
“Now there is an alternative; Keir Starmer’s position was always going to be very weak, and now we see that coming to fruition with his resignation,” he said.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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