Sir Keir Starmer could announce his resignation as Labour Party leader and Prime Minister as soon as Monday, according to reports. The Prime Minister faces immense pressure from his MPs and the broader party to step down following Andy Burnham’s decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election.
Pressure mounts on Starmer
Starmer spent the weekend with his wife Victoria at Chequers, his official country residence, and is expected to meet Burnham early this week. It is thought the now former Mayor of Greater Manchester will urge Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street during those talks.
The Observer reported that a ‘clear statement’ from the Prime Minister to that effect may come on Monday, with an anonymous Labour peer telling the newspaper Starmer wants to ‘arrange a deliberate slow march’. Such a move would contrast with the PM’s statement immediately after Burnham’s by-election win, in which he vowed to stand in any leadership race.
Starmer's earlier defiance
He told reporters in North London on Friday: ‘If there is a contest, just to be clear with you, then yes, I will run, I will stand and I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that.’ If Starmer did decide to run against Burnham, it could lead to lengthy uncertainty over who will be running the country.
The PM has come under further pressure since his initial statement, with even previously loyal MPs such as Southport’s Patrick Hurley saying it is time for him to go. BBC News reported that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander are among the Cabinet members who have privately urged him to set a timetable following Makerfield.
Cabinet divisions and leadership contest
But others have warned against a coronation of Burnham, arguing anyone hoping to become the UK’s leader should be publicly tested. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who resigned from his post in the wake of last month’s elections, has said he wants a ‘battle of ideas’ about the future direction of the party.
Burnham remains the overwhelming favourite to win any contest, after demonstrating his ability to defeat Reform in Thursday’s by-election. The so-called ‘King of the North’ took 55% of the vote in the constituency south of Wigan, coming a full 20 points ahead of Reform candidate Rob Kenyon. He will be sworn into Parliament on Monday, and it is believed he would easily obtain the backing of the 81 MPs needed to begin a leadership contest.
Burnham's backing and Starmer's fall
According to the New Statesman magazine, Burnham’s team is aiming to get the backing of as many as 200 other MPs – half of the Parliamentary Labour Party – to secure his position as the natural successor. If Keir Starmer does announce his resignation in the coming days, it would represent a staggering fall from grace for a leader who won a huge majority in Parliament less than two years ago.
Starmer’s popularity plummeted shortly after he took office, while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party rose to a consistent ten-point lead in voting intention polls. Nerves from Labour figures after two disastrous sets of English local elections and a collapse in party support in Wales last month led to questions over whether a new leader could be required to avoid oblivion.
