Starmer resigns, making way for seventh UK prime minister in a decade

Keir Starmer announced his intention to step down as Britain’s prime minister on Monday, succumbing to intense party pressure as his popularity plummeted and rivals have manoeuvred to challenge him.

Starmer made the announcement on the same day his likely successor, Andy Burnham, was due to be sworn in as an MP after winning a pivotal vote last Friday.

For months, political buzz has been building around 56-year-old Labour Party veteran Burnham, who is widely known across the UK as the “King of the North”, and who served as the mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years.

Burnham’s path to Parliament was made possible by a strategic by-election last week in Makerfield as his national prominence has risen.

Wes Streeting, who resigned as UK health secretary last month, has also emerged as a prominent contender.

Starmer, who led the Labour Party to a landslide victory in July 2024 to end 14 years of Conservative rule, becomes the sixth British prime minister in a decade to exit before serving a full parliamentary term. Those Conservative predecessors are David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Truss famously lasted a disastrous 44 days in office before she was forced to resign.