Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on Monday, paving the way for Britain to have its seventh prime minister in just over a decade after mounting pressure over his government's declining popularity.
Starmer said the process of picking a new Labour Party leader would be launched in July and he would remain as prime minister until his successor is chosen, to be in place in September.
"Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party," Starmer said as he choked up in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street.
"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 of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace," he said.
Reacting to Starmer's resignation, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised his legacy and support for Ukraine.
"It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years... European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir," she said in a post on X.
Starmer, 63, swept to power in a landslide election victory in July 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. But a series of political missteps eroded his credibility, while both his approval ratings and Labour's popularity have fallen sharply over the past two years, during a term marked by policy U-turns and deep public discontent.
Andy Burnham, 56, the mayor of Greater Manchester, emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Starmer as Labour Party leader and Britain's next prime minister after winning the parliamentary by-election in Makerfield last week. Burnham, who is nicknamed the "King of the North", is expected to be sworn in as a member of parliament later on Monday.
However, Starmer insisted he would resist any attempt to oust him. "Yes, I will run, I will stand, if there is a Labour leadership contest," he said.
"I've said repeatedly I'm not going to walk away from that."
It’s unclear whether Burnham would face a coronation or a challenge, if Starmer steps aside. Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month to protest Starmer’s leadership, has said that he will run in a contest if there is one.
Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure. It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.
Discontent with the prime minister has been building for months, with Labour lawmakers desperate to reverse the government’s decline in popularity since Starmer led the center-left party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK ambassador to the United States.
Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.