Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he will resign as leader of the Labour Party, delivering a statement outside Downing Street that sets in motion a contest to choose his successor. Speaking at a podium as Prime Minister, he framed the decision around whether he was still the right person to lead his party into the next election.
Starmer said the question his party was now asking was whether he is best placed to lead it into the next general election. He then made the announcement directly, telling the country that this was why he would resign as leader of the Labour Party, drawing a line under a turbulent few days at the top of British politics.
He set out a clear timetable for the handover. Starmer said he would ask the Labour Party's National Executive Committee to open nominations on 9 July, with the process completed by the summer recess, so that a new leader can be in place when Parliament returns. He stressed that he wanted the transition to be carried out in an orderly way.
Crucially, the Prime Minister said he would not leave office immediately. He confirmed that he will remain in post as Prime Minister until the leadership contest is complete, and pledged to do everything he can to ensure an orderly handover of power once his successor has been chosen by the party.
Starmer used the speech to defend his record and to offer support to whoever follows him. He said his successor would inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one he inherited two years ago, pointing to an economy he described as stronger and going faster than its peers, and to values of dignity, respect and opportunity for all rather than just the privileged few. He promised his full and unequivocal support to the next leader.
The resignation follows a dramatic weekend in which support within the cabinet collapsed, and comes after Andy Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, won the Makerfield by-election on Friday with a large majority and headed to Westminster to be sworn in as a member of Parliament. Party insiders widely expect Burnham to be among the front-runners to succeed Starmer. Commentators described the address as a historic resignation speech, noting how rare it is for Labour to part with a leader who had won a landslide only two years earlier.