British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could set out plans to step down as soon as Monday, UK media have reported, the same day his likely successor is expected to be sworn in as a member of parliament.
According to government officials, the Labour leader spent the weekend contemplating his political destiny.
As the press gathered outside 10 Downing Street on Monday morning, it was unclear whether he had made a decision, and Starmer’s office was unable to confirm the timing of a planned press conference.
“I do not know if he has (made a decision). I know that… he has been thinking really hard about what is best for the country,” junior education minister Jacqui Smith told Sky News.
“I trust him to make the right decision,” Smith added.
Speculation that Starmer was about to retire came as veteran politician Andy Burnham was set to take up his place in parliament, days after winning a crucial by-election and setting the way for an expected leadership challenge.
According to Labour’s rules, the head of the centre-left party must be a member of parliament.
If Starmer leaves power this year, Britain would have its seventh prime minister in a decade, an unprecedented rate of turnover in modern history.
The 63-year-old ex-lawyer had insisted he would fight any attempt to oust him, but the emphatic nature of Burnham’s victory in last week’s northwest Makerfield constituency vote appears to have prompted a weekend rethink.
The beleaguered leader “is expected to announce on Monday that he will step down as prime minister after overwhelming pressure from Labour MPs to make way for Andy Burnham”, according to The Guardian.
The BBC stated that “signs are growing” that Starmer may announce his resignation on Monday, while newspapers splashed headlines like “Game Over”.
Even US President Donald Trump predicted Starmer’s exit from Downing Street, stating on Sunday on his Truth Social platform: “Keir Starmer will resign”.
The American leader, who had an excellent rapport with Starmer before the Iran conflict soured their relationship, claimed Starmer had failed on immigration and energy issues.
Burnham, Greater Manchester’s mayor since 2017, has made it obvious that he plans to run for Labour leader, saying in his by-election victory speech that the ruling party had a “final chance to change”.
If successful, the 56-year-old might become prime minister by default unless there are any other candidates for the position, given Labour’s large parliamentary majority.
Starmer, who is very unpopular with people, reportedly spent the weekend with his family at Chequers, the prime ministers’ countryside residence, having meetings with allies.
On Sunday, Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News that Starmer was “making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges, and opportunities that he finds himself in”.
The Guardian stated that Starmer and his inner group were preparing his resignation speech.
It stated that the most likely timeline would see Starmer remain in office until after the summer, with the new leader being hailed at the party conference in late September.
According to Sky News, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was among the senior ministers who told her boss to resign, while more than 100 of Labour’s 403 MPs also urged him to do so.
Starmer, who took office in July 2024, has been clinging to power for months following a turbulent tenure marked by missteps, policy reversals, scandals, and ministerial resignations.
In March, he faced criticism for appointing Peter Mandelson, a known associate of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
Last month’s drubbing in local and regional polls in England, Scotland, and Wales added to the pressure.
Following the May polls, Makerfield’s previous Labour MP resigned, giving Burnham a path to becoming an MP and challenging Starmer for the party leadership.
Burnham, a former MP and government minister from the 2000s, defied national trends by easily defeating the candidate of the hard-right, populist Reform UK party.
Burnham, a member of Labour’s so-called soft-left side, has given few details about his administration plans if elected.
According to UK media, he plans to replace Finance Minister Rachel Reeves while maintaining Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood.
