Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that he will resign as leader of the Labour Party. In a statement delivered from a podium outside Number 10 Downing Street, Starmer said that everything he had done had been about putting the country he loves first, and that this was why he would step down as leader, paving the way for a contest to choose his successor.
Setting out how the transition will work, Starmer said he would ask the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to draw up a timetable, with nominations opening on the 9th of July and the process completed by the summer recess. In the event of a contest, he said, this would ensure a new leader is in place before Parliament returns in September.
Crucially, Starmer confirmed he will remain in post as Prime Minister until the contest is complete, rather than leaving office immediately. He pledged to do everything he could to ensure an orderly handover of power, and promised to give his successor his full and unequivocal support once they take over.
Reflecting on his time in office, Starmer described walking up Downing Street two years ago as the proudest moment of his life, marking the first Labour government in 14 years. He recalled inheriting a party he said was politically, financially and morally bankrupt six years ago, and spoke of having ripped out what he called the poison of antisemitism and restored trust on the economy, defence and national security.
The outgoing leader used the speech to defend his record, pointing to an economy he said was stronger and growing faster than its peers, wages rising faster than inflation every month since Labour took power, and an end to austerity. He cited the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, the biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War, falling small boat crossings, the closure of asylum hotels and half a million children lifted out of poverty.
Starmer said his successor would inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one he took on, better prepared for the challenges ahead. He thanked the Labour Party, the Number 10 staff and the civil service, and signalled he would now spend more time on what he called the most important job, away from the demands of leading the country.
The announcement follows intense pressure on Starmer in recent days. According to Sky News, a sizeable number of cabinet ministers and more than 100 Labour MPs had urged him to go, while Andy Burnham's emphatic victory in the Makerfield by-election strengthened the case for change and made him the figure many in the party now look to as a potential successor.