Sir Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as prime minister and Labour leader, bringing down the curtain on a premiership that was ended, in the space of a single weekend, by the return of Andy Burnham to Parliament.
In a statement in Downing Street this morning, Sir Keir said that having listened to the party he had realised he was no longer the man to lead it into the next general election, which is due by 2029. He will remain in office until a successor is chosen, and has asked the National Executive Committee to set the timetable for the contest.
That timetable is now clear. Nominations will open on 9 July and close on 16 July, with the contest to be concluded before the summer recess. The compressed schedule reflects the party's desire to avoid a prolonged campaign and to give the new leader the autumn in which to establish themselves.
The by-election that broke the dam
The chain of events began in Makerfield, where the sitting MP Josh Simons resigned his seat specifically to give Mr Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, a route back to Parliament. It was the first time an MP had stood aside in this way since the Leyton by-election of 1965, and the manoeuvre was as controversial as it was effective.
Voters went to the polls on 18 June, and on 19 June Mr Burnham was declared the winner, defeating Reform UK's Robert Kenyon by 9,231 votes. Within hours, the question consuming Westminster was not whether Sir Keir could survive but when he would go. Weekend media reports said he was expected to quit; this morning, he did.
The resignation had been coming. Labour's heavy losses in May's elections shattered the authority Sir Keir had won in 2024. Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary on 14 May, saying he had lost confidence in the Prime Minister. John Healey quit as defence secretary on 11 June in a dispute over defence spending, and was replaced by Dan Jarvis.
The Forty Eight Hours
- On 18 June Josh Simons resigned the Makerfield seat to give Andy Burnham a route back to Parliament, the first such manoeuvre since the 1965 Leyton by-election.
- Mr Burnham won the by-election on 19 June, defeating Reform UK's Robert Kenyon by 9,231 votes.
- Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary on 14 May; John Healey quit as defence secretary on 11 June and was replaced by Dan Jarvis.
- On 12 June Sir Keir told the BBC it was his "duty" to stay on.
- Nominations for the Labour leadership open on 9 July and close on 16 July, with the contest concluding before the summer recess.
Duty, and the end
Only ten days ago, on 12 June, Sir Keir told the BBC it was his duty to stay on, and his allies briefed that he would fight any challenge. The Makerfield result changed the arithmetic and the mood. A party that had lost its health secretary, its defence secretary and its electoral momentum in five weeks was not prepared to wait for a formal challenge.
The manner of Mr Burnham's return will be debated for years. Standing aside for a favoured successor was last attempted at Leyton in 1965, and critics have asked whether voters should be treated as instruments of party management. Makerfield's electors, at least, appeared untroubled: they delivered Mr Burnham a five figure margin.
Sir Keir leaves office with the next general election due by 2029 and his party facing a choice about what kind of opposition, or government, it wishes to be. In the end, the premiership was not ended by a rival's knife but by a colleague's return. The contest to succeed him begins in earnest next month. Until it concludes, Sir Keir remains in office in a caretaker capacity, and the Cabinet is expected to stay in place while the race runs its course.