Ololade Adeyanju/
Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Labour Party, bowing to growing pressure from within his party less than two years after leading Labour to a historic general election victory.
In an emotional statement outside 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he had accepted that many within Labour no longer believed he was the right person to lead the party into the next general election.
“Every decision I’ve made has been about putting the country I love first,” Starmer said, adding that he had “heard the answer” from his party on whether he remained the best person to lead it and accepted that verdict “with good grace”.
The outgoing Prime Minister said he had already informed King Charles III of his decision during a telephone conversation earlier on Monday.
Starmer confirmed he would remain in office until Labour elects a new leader, which he said he had asked the party to complete before Parliament returns from its summer recess in September.
He pledged to support his successor and ensure an orderly transition of power.
The resignation marks a dramatic end to a premiership that began with enormous promise after Labour’s landslide election victory in 2024, which returned the party to power after more than a decade in opposition.
Starmer became only the fourth Labour leader in British history to win a general election.
A visibly emotional Starmer reflected on his journey from Labour leader to Prime Minister, describing his elevation to Britain’s highest political office as the “proudest moment” of his life.
He said he inherited a Labour Party that was “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and had been repeatedly written off by critics before leading it back to government.
Towards the end of his speech, Starmer paid tribute to his wife, Victoria, whom he described as his “rock”, and said he now looked forward to being the best husband and father he could be to his family.
Starmer’s resignation follows months of internal unrest within Labour after disappointing local election results, falling personal approval ratings and growing concerns among MPs that the party was losing support to rival political movements.
Several ministers and parliamentary aides resigned in recent weeks as pressure mounted on his leadership.
Reports indicate that senior Labour figures increasingly concluded that a leadership change was necessary if the party hoped to remain competitive at the next general election.
Attention has already shifted to who will succeed Starmer.
One of the leading contenders is Andy Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, who recently returned to Westminster after winning the Makerfield by-election.
Burnham is widely regarded as the frontrunner in any forthcoming Labour leadership contest.
Other names being mentioned in British political circles include senior Labour figures such as Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, and several Cabinet ministers, although no formal contest has yet begun.
Responding to the announcement, Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said British voters were tired of frequent changes of leadership.
“The British people are sick of being let down by an endless merry-go-round of prime ministers while nothing really changes,” Davey wrote on social media, arguing that the country needed broader political reform rather than simply another change at Number 10.
Starmer’s resignation opens a new chapter in British politics and sets the stage for what is expected to be a closely watched Labour leadership contest over the coming weeks.
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