Starmer Resigns, Burnham Rises

Keir Starmer said he will resign as British prime minister after losing the confidence of Labour MPs and cabinet ministers less than two years after his 2024 landslide victory. In a Downing Street statement, he said he had heard his party’s doubts about whether he was best placed to lead Labour into the next election and promised an orderly transition, with a successor expected by September and possibly sooner. Andy Burnham, newly returned to Parliament as MP for Makerfield after a decade as Greater Manchester mayor, emerged as the overwhelming favorite to take over and become Britain’s seventh prime minister in 10 years. Starmer’s fall followed local election losses, weak public approval, economic stagnation and pressure inside Labour over whether his government had delivered quickly enough.