BREAKING NEWS: BRITISH PRIME MINISTER SIR KEIR STARMER HAS ANNOUNCED HE IS STEPPING DOWN AS PRIME MINISTER AND LEADER OF THE LABOUR PARTY, BRINGING AN ABRUPT END TO A PREMIERSHIP THAT BEGAN LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO.

Starmer made the announcement on Monday, 22 June 2026, leaving Downing Street to applause alongside his wife. He described walking up Downing Street two years ago as the proudest moment of his life, and said he had entered politics to improve the lives of millions of people. He went on to recall the path that carried Labour to power in July 2024.

Sir Keir Starmer has set out the timetable for his departure after confirming he will step down as prime minister and Labour leader. A new leader could be in place within weeks.https://GOOGLE.COM

The resignation follows weeks of mounting pressure within Labour ranks. The party suffered heavy losses in last month’s local elections and has trailed badly in national polling, while the recent Makerfield by-election victory of former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham further weakened Starmer’s grip on the party.

Starmer said he had already spoken with the King and would ask Labour’s National Executive Committee to open nominations on 9 July, with the process completed by the start of the summer recess on 16 July. Should a contest be required, the arrangement would put a new leader in place before parliament returns from its summer break on 1 September. Until the succession is settled, Starmer remains prime minister.

In his resignation speech, the outgoing prime minister said he had accepted that his party no longer believed he was best placed to lead it into the next general election. He had heard that judgement, he said, and accepted it “with good grace”. Starmer described becoming prime minister as the proudest moment of his life, recalling that he had inherited a Labour Party he considered “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and one he had repeatedly been told was finished.

He pledged an orderly handover and his full support for whoever succeeds him. Growing emotional toward the close, he said he would now turn to being the best husband and father he could to his wife and children, before embracing his wife and stepping back inside No 10.

Whether there will be a contest remains unclear. If a figure such as former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham were to stand unopposed when nominations open, Labour could confirm a new leader as soon as nominations close.

The departure makes Starmer the sixth British prime minister to leave office in a decade, an extraordinary rate of turnover for the United Kingdom. His exit had been widely anticipated after a period of speculation, including a weekend social media post by US President Donald Trump claiming the prime minister would resign.