Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as Labour leader and UK prime minister, saying he accepts his MPs’ verdict. Labour will set a timetable for a leadership contest.
In a speech on June 22, Starmer said the debate about whether he was the right person to return Labour to power had already been answered, but attention had shifted to whether he remained the best figure to lead the party into the next general election.
“I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question. And I accept that answer with good grace,” he said, signalling a swift end to the internal struggle that has increasingly dominated Labour’s political agenda.
Starmer defended his record in office, saying his decisions had been rooted in public service rather than party advantage. “Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first,” he stated.
The outgoing leader said he had already notified the monarch of his intention to leave office. “I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision,” Starmer said.
His resignation comes less than two years after he led Labour to a landslide election victory that ended 14 years of Conservative rule, a turnaround that initially raised expectations of stable leadership through the next electoral cycle.
Labour to set timetable for successor
Starmer said he will ask Labour’s National Executive Committee to establish the timetable for choosing a new leader, with nominations expected to open on July 9 and conclude before Parliament’s summer recess.
The decision sets up a leadership contest that will determine both the next Labour leader and Britain’s next prime minister.
Potential successors are expected to emerge in the coming weeks as the party begins the process of selecting a new figure to steer the government and prepare for the next general election.
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