British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced he will be resigning as Prime Minister and unveiled a dramatic exit plan after pressure reached boiling point inside Labour, with his time in Downing Street to soon be all over, Daily Star reports.
Starmer said he will remain in office until the autumn, paving the way for a successor to take charge before Labour’s annual conference at the end of September. In a statement outside Downing Street, Starmer said he accepted his fate with good grace.
He added that he has asked Labour’s National Executive Committee to set out a timetable for a Labour leadership contest, with nominations opening on July 9. He says this will ensure there is a new Labour leader by the time parliament returns in September.
Starmer started his statement by going through a list of “successes” throughout his leadership. He said: “An economy that is stronger, going faster than our peers, wages rising, faster than inflation in every single month since we came to power.
“Investment secured, infrastructure being built, an end to austerity with the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, the biggest improvement in rights for workers and renters in a generation.
“The biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War. Small boat crossings falling, asylum hotels closing, protecting young people from social media and half a million children being lifted out of poverty because of the choices that I made.”
The crisis deepened overnight after Donald Trump delivered a savage intervention from across the Atlantic. In a post on Truth Social, the US President declared: “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom.” Trump went on to accuse the Labour leader of failing on “IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY” before adding: “I wish him well!”
The message landed as Starmer spent the weekend at Chequers after intense speculation about his future. Senior Labour figures are said to have concluded that the party needs a fresh face to take the fight to its political rivals after months of internal turmoil and disappointing electoral performances.
At the centre of the drama is Andy Burnham, whose stunning political resurgence has transformed him into the overwhelming favourite to inherit the Labour crown.
Insiders believe a managed transition would allow Burnham or another contender time to unite MPs and activists before the party gathers for its crucial conference season.
Publicly, Starmer has repeatedly insisted he would not quit. Yet the mood inside Labour has darkened dramatically in recent weeks, with reports of growing Cabinet unease and private conversations about how an orderly handover could work.
Credit: Daily Star
