Prime Minister announces timetable for resignation
By Connor Steel
SIR KEIR STARMER has announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister before the summer recess as he ended intense speculation regarding his future during an ‘address to the nation’ on Downing Street early on Monday morning (June 22); the Labour Leader setting out the timetable for this departure after twenty-three months leading the country.
He first entered Downing Street back in July 2024 after earning a massive election victory with over four hundred MPs under his leadership, thus marking this party’s first such success since 2005 under Tony Blair. This proved a crowning moment for the Labour leader who was first appointed back in 2020 after a crushing loss in the 2019 General Election.
But several ‘policy errors’ and the Peter Mandelson scandals ultimately made his position untenable as Prime Minister with over one hundred backbenchers openly calling for him to quit. Their calls earnt momentum after the local election on May 7 as Labour lost multiple Government seats in Wales and Scotland, along with 1400+ councillors and councils.
This last turning point was Andy Burnham’s large success in the Makerfield by-election on Thursday; the former Mayor of Manchester being the favourite to become Prime Minister. Ex-Health Secretary Wes Streeting and ex-Deputy leader Angela Rayner are also likely to be contenders in any leadership content as well as the Energy Secretary Ed Milliband.
It was then confirmed that nominations for next Labour Leader will open on July 9 and the winner should be in post by the start of the parliamentary summer recess. which is set from around July 23. This means that the new British Prime Minister will be in Downing Street by early September and further lead the Labour Party conference during the autumn.
Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that he will remain in post until the successor is elected and will attend the 2026 NATO summit in Turkey next month. During the speech the PM also listed the achievements including a UK “economy that is stronger, going faster than our peers, wages rising faster than inflation in every single month” since coming into power.
He admitted that he had “heard the answer of my parliamentary party” to the question of whether he’s “best placed” to lead Labour into the next general election and stated that he did accept “that answer with good grace”. He soon spoke about the intentions to spend time with his family and wife Victoria before emotionally finishing a seven minute speech.
The announcement means that the United Kingdom will have a seventh Prime Minister in 10 years since June 2016, a run that began with the resignation of David Cameron after his Brexit loss. Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak further resigned over a period of seven years before Sir Keir Starmer took over office back on July 4 2024.
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PICTURED BY ALAMY (3ETBA6D): Sir Keir Starmer stands at lectern to announce the resignation on Monday (22/06).
