British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday after holding power for less than two years. His decision came amid repeated retreats from policy positions and a major fall in public support.
Starmer’s resignation puts Britain on course to get its seventh prime minister in a decade. In an emotional address in front of 10 Downing Street, Starmer said: ‘Every decision I took was to put the country I love first. That is why I have decided to step down as leader of the Labour Party.’
At one point in his speech he became emotional. He said the process of electing a new leader of the centre-left Labour Party would begin in July, and that he would remain prime minister until a successor was chosen.
The new leader will take charge before Parliament returns for its session in September, after the summer recess. Starmer’s main rival is the experienced politician Andy Burnham. ‘I will remain prime minister until the leadership election is over,’ Starmer said. ‘I will do my utmost to complete the transfer of power in an orderly manner.’
Under Starmer’s leadership, Labour won a big victory in the 2024 election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
His government later became embroiled in various controversies, however. From the decision to cut welfare benefits to criticism over defence-spending plans, his term came under strain for a range of reasons.
In March, the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, known as an associate of the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington pushed him almost to the brink of losing power.
In his resignation speech he said: ‘I will give my successor my full and unconditional support, because I know that he will take charge of a Britain that is much stronger and fairer than the Britain I took charge of two years ago.’
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