The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer Has Announced He Is Resigning After Less Than Two Years In Office
Speaking outside of 10 Downing Street on Monday, June 22, Starmer said he had spoken with King Charles III about his decision to resign.
Keir Starmer has announced he is resigning as UK prime minister and Labour Party leader after losing the support of his own lawmakers.
Starmer became prime minister in July 2024 after Labour won a landslide election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
In recent months, however, he has come under a lot of calls for him to resign.
The criticism grew after a scandal involving Labour politician Peter Mandelson, who turned out to have had a long-term relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but who Starmer had appointed as UK ambassador to the US in December 2024.
In February, Starmer claimed he didn’t know about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and that Mandelson had lied repeatedly during the vetting process for the job, adding the appointment had been a mistake.
The fallout cost Starmer two senior aides, who both resigned within a day of each other in February, and led members of his own party to publicly call for him to quit.
The pressure intensified after Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, returned to Parliament, making him a possible contender to replace Starmer.
Meanwhile, Labour was losing momentum after the local elections, as many councils lost Labour councillors, who were replaced mostly by the far-right Reform UK party or the Green party.
Speaking outside of 10 Downing Street on Monday, June 22, Starmer said he had spoken with King Charles III about his decision to resign.
In his speech, he defended his record, saying his government had grown the economy, cut waiting lists for the National Health Service (NHS), improved workers’ and renters’ rights, increased defense spending, supported Ukraine and rebuilt ties with Europe.
Starmer said nominations for the next Labour leader will open on July 9 and that a new leader should be in place before parliament returns from its summer recess in September.
He said he would support his successor and ensure an “orderly handover of power.”
He will remain prime minister during the handover; his resignation does not trigger a general election unless the party calls for one.
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