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LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was reflecting this weekend on the “political realities” that he faces, a senior minister said on Sunday, amid media reports the premier would resign within days.
It follows veteran Labour politician and rival Andy Burnham’s victory in a by-election on Friday, which paves the way for the 56-year-old to challenge the beleaguered Starmer to be party leader and prime minister.
Any Labour leadership candidate must be a member of parliament. Burnham is expected to be sworn in as an MP on Monday. If successful in ousting Starmer, Burnham would become PM by default, given that ruling Labour has a huge parliamentary majority.
If Starmer does leave office this year, Britain will get its seventh prime minister in a decade — an unprecedented rate of churn in its modern history.
Trump wishes UK’s premier well while declaring he’ll quit
US President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on Sunday in typically blunt fashion, writing on his Truth Social platform that ‘Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom’. “He failed badly on two very important subjects — IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well!”
‘Frank’ talks
Starmer, who is deeply unpopular with voters according to polling, insisted he would fight any attempt to oust him.
But the emphatic nature of Burnham’s win in the Makerfield constituency in northwest England, where he nearly doubled Labour’s majority, has increased the internal pressure on Starmer to quit.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Sunday that Starmer was “making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in”.
“He has been engaging in conversations with a wide, wide range of people,” Kyle told Sky News broadcaster after having what he said was a “frank” conversation with Starmer on Friday.
The Observer, The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph newspapers all reported Starmer was preparing to resign as soon as Monday. The Observer said he would “set out a timetable for his departure”, noting he had been holding weekend talks from Chequers.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was among the senior ministers telling her boss to stand down, Sky News reported.
Local elections fallout
Starmer, who took office in July 2024, was nearly forced out in March, over his ill-fated decision to appoint ex-Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
Labour’s drubbing in local and regional polls in England, Scotland and Wales last month once again intensified the pressure on him.
The fallout from the polls saw Makerfield’s previous Labour MP quit in order to allow Burnham to stand there. From the so-called soft-left wing of Labour, Burnham reinforced his reputation as the party’s most popular figure by easily beating the hard-right populist Reform UK party’s candidate in this week’s by-election.
While Burnham has provided little detail about his plans for government if he wins power, UK media reported he intends to replace finance minister Rachel Reeves, while keeping interior minister Shabana Mahmood in post.
Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2026
