Keir Starmer hit by resignation rumors as allies deny he is stepping down
Pressure on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer grew after Andy Burnham won a parliamentary seat, paving the way for a potential Labour leadership challenge.
Former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer walks with Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, as they visit a housing development in north London, Friday, June 19, 2026. (Peter Macdiarmid/Pool Photo via AP) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce his resignation on Monday (Jun 22) and set out a timetable for his departure, according to Britain’s newspaper The Observer.
The report stated that the pressure on the British PM intensified after his Labour Party rival Andy Burnham won a seat in parliament on Friday (Jun 19). This victory could enable Burnham to launch a formal leadership challenge.
News agency Reuters, citing The Observer, further reported that Starmer was discussing the matter with his wife at his Chequers country residence, before taking a final call, but the senior Labour leadership was expecting a statement on his political future as early as Monday.
However, a government source, according to the report, pushed back on the claim, stating that Starmer “remained focused on getting on with the job of governing.”
Starmer, on Friday, vowed to fight any challenge to his leadership and urged Labour not to tear itself apart with internal disputes.
“If there is a contest … I will stand, and I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away,” Starmer told reporters in London.
Starmer’s popularity witnesses sharp decline
Despite Starmer securing a landslide election win in the 2024 elections, his popularity witnessed a sharp decline following a series of scandals and policy U-turns, giving voters the impression that he cannot deliver the promised improvement to their standards of living.
If Starmer leaves office, Britain would see its seventh prime minister in just over a decade, the highest turnover in nearly two centuries.
Over 100 elected lawmakers in Starmer’s party, roughly a quarter of all Labour representatives in the House of Commons, publicly called for him to step down or set out a clear timetable for his departure.
The report stated that Starmer had reached the view that his position had become increasingly difficult to sustain, following consultations with cabinet ministers, advisers, donors and trade union leaders.
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