United Kingdom: Starmer resigns. Burnham set to lead the country and the Labour Party

Brussels – “I am resigning as leader of the Labour Party. I spoke to the King this morning to inform him of my decision.” A brief but comprehensive announcement: Keir Starmer is stepping down. The British Prime Minister is relinquishing his role, bowing to internal party pressure and stepping down as leader of both the government and his party. For weeks, Labour MPs had been calling for a change of leadership, and Andy Burnham’s victory in the by-election for a parliamentary seat has accelerated a process that was already underway.

Starmer is paying the price for the results of the local elections in early May, which saw the rise of the populist right-wing Reform UK, with Labour coming second but closely followed by the Liberal Democrats. In the same election, Burnham, mayor of Manchester from 2017 to 2026 and widely praised for the way he has managed and transformed the city, won by a landslide. Burnham has effectively launched his leadership bid, backed by a significant section of the Labour Party, and Starmer is taking note of the changed situation. Burnham himself is poised to succeed him at Downing Street. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, is calling for a snap election in light of the Prime Minister’s resignation.

If Starmer steps down as Prime Minister, he will remain at the helm of the party until a new leader is appointed. The appointment process will begin on 9 July and is expected to be completed this summer, before the September party conference.

Starmer’s departure highlights the political weakness of a country which, from June 2016 to the present day—since the result of the referendum that led to Brexit—has seen five prime ministers (Starmer’s successor will be the sixth) and seven governments (two May governments, two Johnson governments, the Truss government, the Sunak government and the Starmer government). The next one will therefore be the sixth prime minister and the eighth government in ten years.

Meanwhile, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has expressed her gratitude for the cooperation she has received over the past two years: “The security of Europe and Ukraine has been strengthened thanks to you,” writes the President of the European Commission on her X account, to recall and emphasise the role played by the United Kingdom on the international stage under the leadership of the outgoing Prime Minister.