Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to announce exit plan: UK media
Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his own Labour party to announce plans to step down as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Keir Starmer could
Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his own Labour party to announce plans to step down as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Keir Starmer could shortly announce a plan to step down, according to UK media reports, as his likely successor Andy Burnham is expected to be sworn in as a member of parliament. Government ministers said the Labour leader was reflecting on his political future over the weekend. Starmer could set out an exit timetable on Monday, conceding to pressure from his Labour Party to hand over the reins of power. The threat to the British leader, which has been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, 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.
That victory gave hope to Labour lawmakers that Burnham, a career politician known for his communication skills, could transform the fortunes of a party that has lost support under Starmer, whose popularity ratings have sunk. If Starmer does announce his exit, he will be the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure. 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”, The Guardian said. The BBC said “signs are growing” that Starmer could set out a plan to resign on Monday, while newspapers splashed with headlines like “Game Over”. But the widely expected change of leader is not without risk.
Beyond saying that the country needs fundamental change and to bring down the cost of living, Burnham has yet to make clear his approach to foreign affairs, the economy and defence. Like Starmer, he could find he has little room to manoeuvre, hemmed in by bond market investors opposed to any additional government borrowing, and confronted by an angry electorate who believe the country is not working properly. Starmer had pledged to fight Starmer had said on Friday he would stand in any formal Labour leadership contest that sought to replace him. While Starmer’s team believes his landslide national election win in 2024 gives him the mandate to stay in post until 2029, business minister Peter Kyle said on Sunday the prime minister was reflecting on “the political challenges that he faces in this moment”.
The BriefWire