According to British media, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is likely to soon announce his resignation plans, following the swearing-in of potential successor Andy Burnham as a Member of Parliament. Government ministers said the Labour leader has been reflecting on his political future throughout the weekend.
Starmer is expected to set out a roadmap for leaving Downing Street on Monday (June 22), yielding to pressure from the Labour Party to hand over power. The threat to the UK leader, which has been building for months, intensified after Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, won a decisive by-election victory on Friday, defeating the Reform UK candidate backed by Nigel Farage.
The victory has fueled hope among Labour MPs that Burnham, a seasoned politician with strong communication skills, can reverse the party's declining support under Starmer. If Starmer announces his departure, he would become the sixth UK prime minister in a decade to leave office early.
The Guardian reports that the embattled leader is "expected to announce on Monday that he will resign as prime minister after overwhelming pressure from Labour MPs to make way for Andy Burnham." The BBC said "the signs are increasingly clear" that Starmer may outline his resignation plan on Monday, with newspapers running headlines such as "Endgame."
However, the widely anticipated leadership change is not without risks. Beyond calling for fundamental change and lowering the cost of living, Burnham has yet to clarify his stance on foreign, economic, and defense policy. Like Starmer, he may find little room to maneuver, squeezed by bond investors opposed to further government borrowing and facing an electorate frustrated by the country's direction.
Earlier, on Friday, Starmer stated he would participate in any official Labour leadership contest to replace him. While Starmer's team believes his landslide victory in the 2024 general election allows him to stay in power until 2029, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said Sunday that the prime minister is reflecting on "the political challenges he now faces."
If Starmer does step down, it remains unclear whether Burnham will face a contested leadership vote or a coronation. Wes Streeting, who resigned as Health Secretary last month in protest of Starmer's leadership, declared he would run if a contest were held. If successful, Burnham would become the UK's seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum a decade ago. This turnover—the highest in the UK in nearly two centuries—underscores the struggle to maintain voter support amid persistent failures to improve living standards, public services, and address illegal immigration.
