Keir Starmer has resigned from the post of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Monday. He also stepped down from the post of the leader of the governing Labour Party. Starmer announced his resignation in a statement outside 10 Downing Street.
Watch live: My statement. https://t.co/MX7ga3FRGq
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 22, 2026
Starmer stated that he would remain as the caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen in the next few weeks. He said that he has spoken to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to set out a timetable for transfer of power, with nominations opening on the July 9. He added on that he would do everything he can to ensure an orderly handover and that he would give his successor full support.
Starmer also said that he had spoken to King Charles III on Monday morning to inform him of the decision.
Starmer thanked his friends and colleagues in his address. He ended the address stating that he hopes to be the best husband to his wife Victoria Starmer, whom he described as his rock, and the best dad to his children, whom he described as his pride and joy.
Starmer led the centre-left Labour party to a landslide election win in 2024 but has become deeply unpopular after a series of scandals and policy U-turns that have given many voters an overall impression that he cannot deliver the improvement to their standards of living that he promised.
The threat to Starmer's position, which has been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when his rival Andy Burnham won a seat in parliament that would allow him to launch a formal leadership challenge.
(With inputs from AP via PTI & Reuters)
