British PM Keir Starmer announces resignation

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he would resign as leader of the Labour Party, with a new leader to be in place by the time Parliament returns in September.

In a statement outside No. 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he has asked the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to set out a timetable with nominations opening for the leadership on July 9 and the process completed by the summer recess.

He said a new leader would be in place before Parliament returns in September and that he would remain in post as prime minister in the meantime.

Starmer also said he had spoken to King Charles III earlier in the day to inform him of his decision.

Following Starmer's announcement of his resignation from his position as the leader of the Labour Party, Andy Burnham, the current member of parliament (MP) for Makerfield, has already confirmed that he would enter the race to succeed him.

"I will put myself forward as part of this process," he said, adding that the transition should be conducted in an orderly and responsible manner and become a period of renewal for Labour and the country.

Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is seen as the clear frontrunner among candidates to succeed Starmer.

Last week, he decisively won a parliamentary election to return to Westminster, ​beating a candidate from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, which has led national opinion polls for more than a year.

His victory gave Labour lawmakers hope that Burnham, known for his communication skills, could turn the party's fortunes around after it lost support under Starmer.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who had previously said he would stand in any leadership contest, announced that he would not run against Burnham and urged other senior Labour figures to support him.

"We can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our party and our country need," Streeting said.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage demanded a general election on the day. Writing on X, Farage said Reform UK "demands an election" and was "ready to deliver radical change."

Starmer's resignation marks the sixth time a UK Prime Minister has stepped down from the top job in the past decade.

The political instability in the country reflects the structural crises that the UK is currently facing both domestically and internationally, which include persistent low growth, high inflation, expanding fiscal deficit and the need to maintain its influence in the transatlantic alliance, according to Dong Yifan, an associate research fellow at the Academy of International and Regional Studies at the Beijing Language and Culture University.

These challenges will not be resolved simply by a change in leadership, but call for its leaders to look beyond short-term promises aimed at winning elections, Dong said.

(With input from agencies)