LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging
fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.
Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence, his voice choking with emotion near the end of the brief statement.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure. It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.
Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following Burnham' victory last week in a special election for a seat in Parliament. Burnham ran with the aim of challenging Starmer for leadership of the party and the country.
Burnham is due to be sworn in as a member of Parliament on Monday.
Scores of journalists gathered in the street outside the famous black door of No. 10 Downing St. on Monday morning, primed for an announcement that had not been confirmed.
It’s unclear whether Burnham would face a coronation or a challenge, if Starmer steps aside. Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month to protest Starmer’s leadership, has said that he will run in a contest if there is one.
Discontent with the prime minister has been building for months, with Labour lawmakers desperate to reverse the government’s decline in popularity since Starmer led the center-left party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to the United States.
Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.
U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in even before an announcement, linking Starmer’s potential exit to two of his recurring bugbears: immigration and renewable energy.
“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well! President DJT,” Trump posted on his social media platform.
It was unclear whether Trump was responding to media reports about Starmer’s plans. The two leaders didn’t speak over the weekend.
Starmer’s initially warm relationship with the president has soured in recent months over issues including the Iran war, which the U.K. didn’t join.
In contrast to missteps on the domestic front, Starmer has won praise for his international role, notably in rallying European support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and working to mitigate the economic and political turmoil unleashed by the Iran conflict.
While many Labour lawmakers have rallied behind Burnham, some have said that Starmer had been treated unfairly. London legislator Neil Coyle railed on X against “the prospect of an utter stitch-up & the media circus being rewarded.
“When the next leader cannot change Trump, Iran, Ukraine, Putin, Musk, broadcast editorial & algorithm bias overnight they’ll bay for his blood too. Better keep that guillotine sharp,” he wrote.
