For months, he tried desperately to avoid this moment.
But on Monday, Keir Starmer finally announced his resignation as prime minister, bowing to a long-simmering mutiny inside his Labour Party. The decision very likely paves the way for Andy Burnham, a popular former mayor, to become the country’s next leader.
Mr. Starmer, who vowed as recently as Friday not to “walk away” from his job, said that he would only remain in office until a new party leader was selected. His decision to depart will usher in Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, extending a period of political turmoil in the country since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
“Every decision I’ve taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party,” Mr. Starmer said in front of No. 10 Downing Street. His voice broke with emotion as he thanked his wife Victoria for being “a rock by my side.”
His departure will mark a bitter milestone for a party that made a remarkable comeback in 2024 after nearly a decade-and-a-half in the political wilderness. With Mr. Starmer at Labour’s helm, the party won a large parliamentary majority and put an end to 14 years of Conservative Party government and its unpopular agenda of fiscal austerity.
But in an ominous sign for Mr. Starmer at the time, his Labour Party earned a record-low vote share of 34 percent in that general election, prompting many analysts to call the victory a “loveless landslide” that made his position inherently fragile from the start.
In office, Mr. Starmer increased military spending, raised investment in the National Health Service and reduced illegal immigration. But he increased some taxes to pay for his government spending and flip-flopped on welfare changes and home heating subsidies. His time in office was increasingly defined by political decline, which left him looking weak, indecisive and not in command of his own party.
His standing was further damaged this year by revelations about his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite Mr. Mandelson’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Devastating losses for Labour in municipal elections in May were the final straw for many in the party.
Waiting in the wings was Mr. Burnham, who had made little secret of his ambition to replace Mr. Starmer for the better part of a year. But it was not until last month that a path to Downing Street became clear, when the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, in northwest England, Josh Simons, said he would resign for the sole purpose of allowing Mr. Burnham to enter Parliament and challenge Mr. Starmer.
Mr. Burnham’s victory last week in that special election energized his bid to become prime minister. His standing in the party was bolstered by his resounding defeat of the candidate for Reform U.K., the populist right-wing party led by Nigel Farage, which has led opinion polls for more than a year.
Mr. Burnham said on social media on Monday that he would formally seek to replace Mr. Starmer, calling the upcoming transition of power “a positive process of renewal for our party and our country.” Moments later, he received the endorsement of Wes Streeting, a former health secretary and another potential challenger in Labour’s leadership race — meaning the party will most likely avoid a bruising contest.
“We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our party and our country needs,” Mr. Streeting wrote in a statement, referring to Mr. Burnham.
Mr. Burnham made his way by train on Monday from Manchester to London, where he was treated like a celebrity, with television crews filming his arrival from helicopters. His official swearing-in ceremony as the member of Parliament from Makerfield capped an extraordinary month of deft political maneuvering that appears likely to culminate in his claiming the premiership.
“People want to see progress on economic growth, cost of living, public services, housing and opportunities for the next generation,” Mr. Burnham wrote on social media on Monday.
It was not immediately clear when Mr. Starmer might leave Downing Street. He said that formal nominations to replace him would open on July 9 and close when Parliament breaks for summer, usually a week or two later. A new Labour leader would then be elected by September and become prime minister. But if Mr. Burnham is the only candidate, he could take over as early as July.
Many members of the Labour Party are hopeful that Mr. Burnham will be the fresh start the party needs, allowing it to reverse some of the low poll ratings that have plagued Mr. Starmer. During his brief campaign, Mr. Burnham talked repeatedly about the need for change.
In a speech the day after he won, he vowed to bring down water and energy bills, cut rail fares, end trickle-down economics and promote re-industrialization, especially in northern England.
But if Mr. Burnham takes over as the next prime minister as widely expected, he will inherit many of the same challenges that proved so difficult for Mr. Starmer to surmount.
The economy has proved sluggish in the last two years, thanks in part to Russia’s war in Ukraine and, more recently the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Britain continues to suffer an economic hangover from Brexit, according to analysts. That, combined with stubborn inflation, has required tough tax and spending choices that have angered many British voters.
The next prime minister will have to decide whether to accept Mr. Starmer’s planned budget for military spending over the next three years, which prompted the resignation of the country’s defense minister just under two weeks ago. But increased spending on the armed forces would likely mean cuts to services or higher taxes, or both.
And the leader of Britain’s Labour Party will face the continued presence of Reform and a new far-right party, Restore Britain. Polls suggest that Mr. Starmer has done little to dampen the embrace of a nativist, anti-immigrant ideology in some parts of the country, even though immigration numbers have fallen steeply in the past two years.
Mr. Burnham is not a blank political slate. He served as a member of Parliament for a decade in an earlier period of his life, becoming culture minister and later health minister. And as mayor of Manchester, he brought the area’s transport system back under public control, added affordable housing and oversaw a rise in private investment.
He has pledged to abide by the Labour Party’s 2024 campaign promises. But Mr. Burnham has not yet detailed the specific priorities he would pursue if he becomes prime minister.
On Monday, many party leaders said it was time to focus on Mr. Starmer’s legacy. David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, called him “a good man: principled, decent” and said after Mr. Starmer’s resignation speech that “We’ve seen in his resignation this morning the character of the man.”
Mr. Starmer was a frequent presence on the global stage and a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia. Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, said on social media that it “has been a privilege to work alongside Sir Keir Starmer as he has led international efforts to support Ukraine through the Coalition of the Willing.”
In his early days in office, Mr. Starmer worked hard to secure a good personal relationship with President Trump, betting accurately that this would lead to beneficial deals on trade.
But that relationship soured this year, when Mr. Starmer refused to allow British military bases to be used by American forces for Mr. Trump’s war against Iran. Mr. Starmer proudly declared that he would not yield on the issue, even as the president accused him on social media of cowardice.
In the end, Mr. Starmer appeared to accept the political reality that came with being one of the least popular prime ministers in modern British history.
“I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power,” he said on Monday. “I will also give my successor my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago.”
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