U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigns

British Prime Minister https://www.axios.com/2024/07/05/keir-starmer-election-uk-prime-minister" target="_blank">Keir Starmer resigned Monday after weeks of turmoil within his government, setting the country up to find its seventh leader in the last decade.

Why it matters: The Labour Party, which Starmer currently leads, must quickly choose a new leader as the U.K. https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/weo/2026/april/english/text.pdf" target="_blank">faces an https://www.axios.com/economy" target="_blank">economic crisis tied to the war in https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran.

• Starmer said he will continue as a caretaker until his successor is chosen, which he promised would happen by the opening of Parliament in September.

Driving the news: Starmer faced https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwpq1dg5q3o" target="_blank">calls from members of his party to resign after disastrous May local elections that saw Labour https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/wales-senedd-election-2026-results-map-seats-b2973724.html" target="_blank">lose control of Wales' Parliament, record its https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypgg10p83o" target="_blank">worst Scottish election results on record and drop over 1,200 seats in England.

• Following the heavy election losses, former Tony Blair-era government minister Andy Burnham announced plans to return to Parliament and was last week elected to a seat in northern England after https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JkZzDlaGc9A" target="_blank">declaring "a vote for me will be a vote to change Labour."

What they're saying: "The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election.

I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace," Starmer said https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2068974834676342973" target="_blank">outside 10 Downing Street.

State of play: Anger had been growing for months over several Starmer policies and controversies.

• Starmer's government did a U-turn on several proposals, including welfare cuts.
• The firing of https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/peter-mandelson-fired-epstein-birthday-book-uk" target="_blank">Peter Mandelson from his post as U.K. ambassador to the U.S. over his ties to https://www.axios.com/2026/02/03/epstein-files-scandal-major-takeaways" target="_blank">Jeffrey Epstein also generated backlash, and was promptly followed by news that Starmer had moved forward with Mandelson's appointment despite his https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17v2452vglo" target="_blank">failing security checks.

Zoom in: Starmer distanced himself from the revelations at the time and said he was "absolutely furious" that members of his government had advanced Mandelson's appointment in spite of the risk, calling it "unforgivable" and saying he had been unaware.

• Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17v2452vglo" target="_blank">called Starmer's claims "completely preposterous."
• Hundreds of https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/update-on-the-government-response-to-the-humble-address-motion?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=756bdf98-cf25-4445-b1f9-19a5446c228d&utm_content=immediately" target="_blank">pages related to Mandelson's appointment that were published on June 1 piled further pressure on Starmer.

  In one exchange, Mandelson told a minister that Starmer "lacks verve, as does the Cabinet as a whole."

Flashback: Starmer reportedly chose Mandelson despite his ties to Epstein because he believed Mandelson's trade expertise would help navigate President https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump's planned tariff policies.

• After details of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein emerged, Mandelson was fired in September 2025 and he was https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/peter-mandelson-ambassador-arrested-epstein-files" target="_blank">later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, including potentially leaking trade secrets to Epstein.
• He has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

By the numbers: Starmer's tenure as prime minister was among the https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-7-shortest-serving-uk-prime-ministers-in-modern-history" target="_blank">shortest in modern British history.

• Liz Truss lasted just 44 days in 2022.
• Rishi Sunak, elected in 2022, served for one year and eight months.
• Starmer, elected on July 5, 2024, served for just under two years.

What's next: Labour officials are expected to begin a leadership contest immediately, with Burnham viewed as the leading contender to replace Starmer.

• His odds of being the next PM topped 95% on multiple prediction markets Monday morning.

Go deeper: https://www.axios.com/2026/02/09/epstein-europe-starmer-us-quiet-reckoning" target="_blank">Europe confronts Epstein shame amid muted U.S. reckoning

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details about Burnham.