UK PM Keir Starmer resigns after internal party pressure

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, following weeks of mounting pressure from within the Labour Party after heavy losses in local elections in May and growing dissent over his leadership style and policy agenda. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street just after 9:30 a.m. local time in London, Starmer confirmed he would stay on until the conclusion of the leadership contest, which he said would guarantee a smooth transition of power.

"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," he said. Starmer's resignation arrives less than two years after he secured a landslide victory for Labour in the 2024 general election, delivering one of the party's biggest parliamentary majorities in history.

Labour’s former Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, who won a decisive victory in a special election on June 18, has emerged as the obvious favorite to take over. Nominations for Starmer's replacement will open on July 9. Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves have struggled to contain internal discontent over economic policy, while controversial welfare changes and the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, who has ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the United States have further strained relations within the party.

Public opinion appears to have turned decisively against the prime minister. An Ipsos poll released on Friday showed that 52% of Britons believe Starmer should resign, a five-point increase from May, while just 35% think he ought to remain in office. Starmer's departure will pave the way for Britain to have its seventh prime minister in a decade, marking a dramatic turn for a government that came to power promising stability after years of political upheaval.

According to a report by Press TV, Starmer confirmed on Monday that nominations for his replacement will open on July 9. The report added that Burnham's victory in the special election positions him as a strong contender for both the party leadership and ultimately the premiership.