Starmer steps down as Labour leader and PM after two turbulent years; Burnham emerges as likely successor
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, bowing to party pressure after Labour’s heavy local election losses and a crushing by-election victory by Andy Burnham. Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, immediately launched his leadership bid and, with key endorsements, is widely expected to become the UK’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum.
Starmer steps down
Starmer announced outside 10 Downing Street on Monday that he had lost the confidence of his parliamentary party and would resign, pending the election of a new Labour leader. He will stay on as caretaker until a successor is chosen, pledging an orderly transition. The move comes after months of slumping poll ratings and an electoral drubbing in May's local contests, where Labour lost more than 1,400 councillors.
The question my party now asks itself is whether I am the right person to lead us into the next general elections. I have listened to the answer from my parliamentary group to that question and I accept it with gratitude.
Burnham’s by-election breakthrough
The catalyst for Starmer’s fall was the Makerfield by-election in north‑west England, where Andy Burnham swept to victory with 54.8% of the vote, beating his Reform UK rival by 20 points. The seat, vacated by a Labour incumbent, was a must‑win to become party leader. Burnham, who until last week was mayor of Greater Manchester, was sworn in as an MP hours after Starmer’s resignation and immediately launched his leadership bid.
Keir has done a great service to our country. His decision marks the beginning of a transition, and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible manner. I will stand as a candidate as part of this process.
Who is Andy Burnham?
Burnham, 56, was born in Aintree, near Liverpool, and raised in a working‑class Labour household. He joined the party at 14 after watching a TV drama about unemployment in the region. He read English at Cambridge, served as an MP for Leigh from 2001, and held ministerial posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. After losing leadership bids to Ed Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, he left Westminster to become mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017. There he championed bus reform, low fares and regional investment, earning the nickname “King of the North.” His approachability and roots in the north have made him the most popular Labour figure outside London, now seen as the party’s best hope to reconnect with disenchanted voters.
What comes next
The Labour leadership contest begins formally in July. With endorsements from former health secretary Wes Streeting and ex‑deputy leader Angela Rayner, Burnham faces no serious challenge. Some pundits, including University of Liverpool political scientist Jonathan Tonge, suggest he could be installed as prime minister as early as 16 July. If confirmed, he will become the UK’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum a decade ago, capping a period of extraordinary turnover: between 2016 and now, the country has seen David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss (49 days), Rishi Sunak, Starmer, and now Burnham. The next general election is not due until 2029, giving the new leader time to rebuild Labour’s standing before facing Reform UK and Nigel Farage at the polls.
