LONDON, June 22 — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in a speech outside No. 10 Downing Street on Monday that he would resign as leader of the governing Labour Party and set out a timetable for his departure from office.
Starmer said he had heard the answer of Labour lawmakers to the question of whether he was best placed to lead the party into the next general election. “I accept that answer with good grace,” he said.
Starmer said he would remain in office as prime minister until the Labour leadership contest is completed and would “do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.” He added that he would give his successor his “full and unequivocal support.”
Starmer said he would ask Labour’s National Executive Committee to set out a timetable, with nominations opening on July 9 and closing before Parliament’s summer recess.
If more than one candidate enters the race, the leadership contest will be completed in time for a new leader to be in place before Parliament returns in September. Starmer became prime minister in July 2024 after leading Labour to victory in the general election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
Campaigning under the slogan of “change,” Starmer pledged to revive economic growth, improve public services, curb irregular migration and restore stability after years of political turmoil in Britain.
His position had come under growing pressure amid criticism of the government’s migration and energy policies, the continuing controversy surrounding former British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, and mounting calls from within Labour for Starmer to step down.
Andy Burnham, then the mayor of Greater Manchester, won the Makerfield parliamentary by-election on June 19 and returned to the House of Commons, a development widely seen as the immediate trigger for Starmer’s resignation.
After Starmer announced his resignation, Burnham confirmed that he would enter the race to succeed him. “I will put myself forward as part of this process,” he said, adding that the transition should be conducted in an orderly and responsible manner and become a period of renewal for Labour and the country.
Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who had previously said he would stand in any leadership contest, announced that he would not run against Burnham and urged other senior Labour figures to support him. “We can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our party and our country need,” Streeting said.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch responded by reposting Burnham’s statement on X and writing: “If you’re not running, what are we waiting for?” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage demanded a general election on the day.
Writing on X, Farage said Reform UK “demands an election” and was “ready to deliver radical change.” “If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No. 10, it has another thing coming,” he said. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
