Key facts
- Keir Starmer has resigned as UK Prime Minister after 23 months.
- Labour experienced record local election losses.
- Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election is seen as a trigger for Starmer's resignation.
- Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned over defence spending allocation.
- A Labour leadership election will now take place.
Sir Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister after 23 months in power, following significant local election losses and mounting pressure from within the Labour Party. His resignation comes in the wake of Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election, which many in Labour view as proof that Burnham can defeat Reform UK in a way Starmer could not.
Starmer took office in July 2024 after a general election victory but has since overseen a decline in the government's popularity. The Makerfield by-election result, where Burnham defeated Reform UK's Robert Kenyon, is seen as the final trigger for Starmer's departure. Burnham's allies have called for him to take over leadership.
Further pressure mounted on Starmer with the resignations of Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns. They reportedly quit over the decision to allocate only £10 billion to the Defence Investment Plan, instead of the £23 billion sought, at a time of global instability. This occurred despite a NATO warning about potential conflict with Russia within five years.
Labour's local election results were disastrous, with the party losing 1,496 councillors across England and control of 38 councils. Reform UK gained significantly, winning 1,451 seats and 14 councils. In Scotland, Labour's leader Anas Sarwar attributed the poor performance to "national dissatisfaction" with the Prime Minister.