LONDON, United Kingdom — Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would resign as Labour Party leader, setting off a contest to choose his successor and placing Britain on course for its seventh prime minister since 2016.
Speaking outside Downing Street on Monday, June 22, 2026, Starmer said he had concluded that he was no longer the right person to lead Labour 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 said he had informed the King of his decision and had asked Labour’s governing body to establish a timetable for the leadership contest.
Nominations are expected to open on July 9 and close before Parliament begins its summer recess on July 16.
He said he would remain prime minister until the contest was completed and pledged to support the transition.
He said he would “do everything” possible to ensure an “orderly” transfer of power and would give his successor “my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago”.
Starmer, who became Labour leader in April 2020, entered Downing Street on July 5, 2024, after Labour’s landslide general election victory.
His departure will make him the shortest-serving Labour prime minister in British history, though his tenure will exceed those of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, his two immediate Conservative predecessors.
Burnham Enters the Race
Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, announced on Monday that he would stand in the leadership contest, shortly before travelling to London to take his seat in Parliament.
Burnham won the Makerfield by-election last week, defeating his Reform UK rival and strengthening his position within Labour at a moment of renewed pressure on Starmer’s leadership.
Speaking to the BBC after arriving at Euston station, Burnham praised Starmer’s “dedication and service”.
Asked whether he would call a general election if he became prime minister, Burnham said: “You’re jumping several hurdles ahead. My priority is to be sworn in as the MP for Makerfield.”
After being formally sworn in in the House of Commons, Burnham was cheered by Labour MPs and heckled by some opposition members. One MP shouted: “He’s not the messiah.”
Burnham later joined about 200 Labour MPs in Westminster Hall for a group photograph.
Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, had previously been seen as a possible leadership contender, but said on Monday that he would support Burnham.
Streeting said he had “spoken at length with Andy in recent days” and urged Labour MPs to back him.
Streeting said Burnham was “committed to building an inclusive party that draws on the best of our political traditions” and could “win the fight of our lives against the force of nationalism”.
Pressure Inside Labour
Starmer had spent the weekend at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence in Buckinghamshire, considering his position after growing pressure from within his party.
Labour’s poor results in elections in England, Wales and Scotland in May had deepened dissatisfaction with his leadership.
His reversal of three major policies within a month, after pressure from Labour MPs, further strained his authority.
Questions were also raised over his judgment after he appointed Lord Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.
Mandelson was later dismissed after new information emerged about the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.
In his resignation statement, Starmer defended his record in office, pointing to his government’s work on employment rights, immigration and child poverty.
He also said he had changed Labour after taking over a party he described as “politically, financially and morally bankrupt”.
Accompanied by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer, he spoke from a lectern outside No 10 in bright sunshine. His voice broke as he described the role he would return to after leaving office.
“When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job: being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad; and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy,” he said.
As Starmer spoke, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” could be heard nearby, played by a protester.
Political Reaction
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, praised Starmer for helping to “build a stronger, more secure Britain”, saying they had “achieved a lot together to be proud of, and there is more to do”.
Angela Rayner, the former Labour deputy leader, said “history will remember not just the challenges he faced but the achievements he oversaw”, citing reforms to employment and leasehold legislation.
David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, told MPs that Starmer’s record on foreign policy was “second to none”. He described the prime minister as “principled, courageous and on the right side of history”.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, sharply criticised Starmer, calling him a “terrible prime minister” and attacking his government’s policies, including higher employer National Insurance contributions and its approach to welfare reform.
“But the problem isn’t just Starmer,” Badenoch wrote on X.
“Labour MPs only want higher taxes to hand out more benefits, as the welfare secretary has pointed out. These are Labour’s choices and their values, regardless of who is running the party.”
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said voters were “sick of being let down by an endless merry-go-round of prime ministers while nothing really changes”.
“This time must be different. It can’t just be about changing who’s in Number 10, it has to be about changing our broken politics so we can fix our country,” Davey said.
Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, called for a general election, saying: “If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another thing coming.”
Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, said Britain “needs a bold change of direction” and said Starmer had “lost the confidence of the country because of his abject failure to challenge the power and wealth of an establishment”.
