Keir Starmer on Monday said he would resign as UK Prime Minister, ceding to pressure from within his Labour Party. "Every decision I have taken is about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign," Starmer, 63, said, becoming the sixth leader to step down in 10 years in a trend of a revolving door at No. 10.
Starmer stepped out of 10 Downing Street with his wife, Victoria, receiving cheers and applause, before delivering his resignation statement. He also recalled his arrival at Downing Street two years ago as "the proudest moment" of his life and said he entered politics with the aim of changing the lives of millions of people.
Reflecting on the Labour Party's landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Starmer highlighted what he described as the achievements of his government. He pointed to economic growth, rising wages, increased investment, infrastructure projects, falling NHS waiting lists, improved rights for workers and renters, higher defence spending, reduced small boat crossings and efforts to tackle child poverty.
"An economy that is stronger, going faster than our peers, wages rising faster than inflation in every single month since we came to power," Starmer said while listing his government's record.
He also claimed his government had delivered the biggest improvement in workers' and renters' rights in a generation, the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War, and had lifted half a million children out of poverty through policy decisions.
Starmer said he would ask Labour's governing bodies to begin the process of selecting a new leader, with nominations expected to open on July 9 and close later that month. If a contest is required, a new Labour leader and prime minister could be in place by September.
In his resignation speech, Starmer acknowledged that he no longer had the backing of enough Labour lawmakers to lead the party into the next general election, due in 2029.
"The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer from my parliamentary party to that question and I accept that answer with good grace," he said.
The announcement marked a dramatic reversal for Starmer, who had spent weeks insisting he would fight any challenge to his leadership. Reports suggested he spent the weekend at his country residence reflecting on his future as support within Labour continued to ebb away.
After detailing his government's achievements, Starmer became visibly emotional while thanking those closest to him. The Labour leader, often criticised by opponents as overly reserved and robotic, appeared to struggle to hold back tears as he spoke about his family.
"When I leave the biggest job in the country, I will 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," Starmer said before ending his speech and walking over to hug his wife.
Starmer's position had been under sustained pressure for months following a series of controversies, policy reversals and declining public support. Critics within and outside the Labour Party accused his government of failing to deliver the improvements in living standards promised during the 2024 election campaign.
The pressure intensified after Labour rival Andy Burnham returned to Westminster by winning a parliamentary seat, defeating a candidate from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. The result gave Burnham a national platform from which to challenge for the party leadership.
More than 100 Labour lawmakers, around a quarter of the party's representatives in the House of Commons, had publicly called for Starmer to resign or set a clear timeline for his departure.
Whoever replaces Starmer will become Britain's seventh prime minister since the 2016 Brexit referendum, which took place 10 years ago this week.
That level of turnover, the highest in Britain in nearly two centuries, reflects growing frustration among voters over successive governments' struggles to improve living standards, strengthen public services and tackle illegal immigration.
Source: India Today
