Keir Starmer Expected to Announce Resignation as UK Prime Minister on Monday

Keir Starmer is expected to announce on Monday that he will step down as prime minister. The move follows pressure from Labour MPs who want Andy Burnham to take over as party leader. Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News on Sunday morning that Starmer was spending the weekend “making time to reflect on the political realities” he faces.

Downing Street denied that Starmer was planning to go and said his position was unchanged since Friday. ” Andy Burnham won the Makerfield byelection on Thursday with a majority of more than 9,000 votes and over 50 percent of the vote. Burnham’s team believed they had the support of around 200 Labour MPs after the result, and that number has increased since.

Ministers previously loyal to Starmer told him on Friday that he should set a timetable for departure by the end of the weekend or face being forced out, with an intervention at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting considered likely. Any candidate for Labour leader needs the backing of at least 20 percent of the parliamentary party, or 81 MPs.

Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary last week and has pledged to seek the leadership, saying he has sufficient backers.

Starmer led Labour to a general election victory with a majority of 174 seats two years ago. The chances of Starmer announcing his departure before July 1 have risen to 93 percent on the prediction market Kalshi, two sources reported.