MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Starmer weighs political future as pressure to resign mounts

Starmer would be the sixth head of government to leave office in a decade

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is weighing his political future as pressure grows within the Labour Party for him to announce his resignation, following Andy Burnham's victory in last week's Makerfield by-election.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said Sunday that Starmer was “reflecting on the political realities” he faces. Kyle, an ally of the prime minister, said he had spoken with him on Friday and was sure any decision would reflect “what's in the best interests of the country.” The prime minister spent the weekend at Chequers, the country residence of British heads of government, with his family.

Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, comfortably defeated the Reform UK candidate on Thursday and increased Labour's majority, reversing a run of electoral losses. Now eligible to sit as a lawmaker, he is positioned to formally challenge Starmer for the party leadership. He is due to be sworn in at Westminster on Monday.

Starmer initially insisted he would fight any attempt to remove him. “I will run, I will stand,” he said Friday, ruling out walking away. Several senior ministers, however, including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, have urged him to set out an exit timetable. Scores of Labour MPs have called on him to resign or fix a departure date.

US President Donald Trump weighed in Sunday on his Truth Social network, stating that Starmer “will resign” and accusing him of having “failed badly” on immigration and energy. Downing Street told the BBC the two leaders had not spoken over the weekend.

A formal contest, in which party members and affiliated unions choose the leader, could take weeks; the 2020 race that made Starmer leader lasted six. Some MPs fear a similar process would deepen divisions, create market uncertainty, and delay government decisions.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary and a potential rival, has said he would join any contest, arguing for a “battle of ideas” over the party's direction. Jess Phillips, who resigned as a minister last month, said a successor could not “just come and take over” without presenting their ideas to the parliamentary party.

Not everyone backs his departure. MP Toby Perkins said Starmer “deserves a bit of time” and warned that his resignation would give the country its “seventh prime minister in ten years,” noting reductions in NHS waiting times, net migration, and the asylum backlog. According to AP, Starmer would be the sixth head of government to leave office in a decade.