As it happened: How Starmer resigned and when Streeting backed Burnham

Sir Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister.

The Labour leader said on Monday he “had heard the answer of the parliamentary party” that he was not the right person to lead the party into the next election.

He said nominations for a new leader will open on July 9, and if a contest goes ahead, a new leader will be in place by the end of summer recess.

It followed his grip on power slipping after several policy U-turns, the Mandelson scandal and a recent string of resignations.  

Hours after the resignation, former health secretary Wes Streeting – who had previously expressed interest in staging a run for Number 10 – threw his weight behind Andy Burnham for a leadership bid.

Streeting was the first Cabinet minister to resign, with defence secretary John Healey’s exit taking place last week following a row over defence spending.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, home secretary Shabana Mahmood, energy secretary Ed Miliband and Transport secretary Heidi Alexander are all understood to have called for Starmer to lay out a timetable for his departure.

On Sunday afternoon, President Trump posted a statement on Truth Social claiming “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister”.

He added: “He failed badly on two very important subjects – immigration and energy (open North Sea oil!). I wish him well!”

The resignation paves the way for the seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as well as the shortest-living Labour Prime Minister in history. 

Dire local election results in May for Labour, MPs’ backing for Burnham’s return to parliament and a row over funding for defence spending with the former Cabinet minister John Healey have added to the pressure on the Prime Minister. 

Burnham will officially take his post as the new MP for Makerfield following his by-election win last week, where he picked up more than half of the vote share.

In his victory speech Burnham urged his party to act now to change and win back support, saying there would be no second chance.

“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point,” he said.

In a direct warning to Labour MPs he said: “I do say to my own party: this is a final chance to change.”

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