Last week, Keir Starmer was forced into sitting and standing downwind of Donald Trump at the G7 Summit in France. Soon after, the British and American media confirmed that Starmer would announce his phased resignation as Britain’s prime minister. That’s what happened today. Keir Starmer exited Downing Street with his wife Victoria and announced that he will step down as PM in September, which is when a new Labour Party leader would be declared at the big Labour conference. July 4th is the two-year anniversary of Labour’s landslide victory, but it’s been all downhill for Starmer and Labour since then.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain announced his resignation on Monday, bowing to a mutiny inside his party and a challenge to his leadership of the country.
Mr. Starmer said he would remain as prime minister until a new party leader is selected, by September, rather than fight to remain in the job he won almost two years ago. His decision clears the way for Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, extending a period of political turmoil for the country since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr. Starmer said in brief remarks in front of No. 10 Downing Street, his voice breaking with emotion at times.
“I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace,” he said. “That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision.”
The most likely replacement for Mr. Starmer is Andy Burnham, whose resounding victory last week in a special election energized his bid to oust the prime minister. Mr. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and one of Labour’s most popular politicians, received almost 55 percent of the vote in the Makerfield district.
Mr. Starmer’s tenure as prime minister began in 2024 when Labour won a large parliamentary majority and put an end to 14 years of Conservative Party government. But Labour earned a record-low vote share of 34 percent in that election, prompting analysts to call the victory a “loveless landslide.”
In his remarks, Mr. Starmer defended his record, citing economic improvement, investment in health care, increased military spending, falling illegal immigration and other legislative accomplishments. It was, he said, “change promised by a Labour government, change fought for by a Labour government, change delivered by a Labour government.”
But the prime minister’s time in office was increasingly defined by political decline, which left him looking weak, indecisive and not in command of his own party. In recent weeks, Mr. Starmer had repeatedly vowed to fight any challenge to his position — from Mr. Burnham or anyone else — saying he was unwilling to walk away from his responsibility to Britain. In the end, he appeared to accept the political reality that came with being one of the least popular prime ministers in modern British history.
David Cameron really put a curse on Downing Street or perhaps a curse on modern British politics. Cameron’s prime ministership lasted six years, but he left office because of the Brexit vote. It’s been chaos ever since – from Cameron, the UK had Theresa May, then Boris Johnson, then poor Liz Truss/lettuce, then Rishi Sunak, and now Starmer. Someone said seven prime ministers in a decade shows that Britain is a failed state. I think it shows that the British media has grown much too influential – while there is legitimate criticism of Starmer and Labour, Britain’s media and pale-and-stale political class had their knives out for Starmer from the start.
One of the final indignities was that Donald Trump “announced” Starmer’s resignation on Sunday too, before Starmer even got to make his speech today.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says Keir Starmer will resign as PM after he “failed badly” on immigration and energy pic.twitter.com/Y2NmHNePYi
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 21, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
