U.K. Labour Leader Keir Starmer Resigns After Party Losses and Report

U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer announced his resignation on June 22, 2026, hours after President Donald Trump criticized the British government on immigration and energy policy. Starmer said the party had decided he was not the best person to lead it into the next general election.

He told reporters he had informed the King of his decision and asked the National Executive Committee to open nominations on July 9.

Background to the Resignation Starmer had faced months of internal pressure after the party lost 1,229 local council seats in recent elections. Ninety-six Labour members of parliament had called for his departure. A 219-page report on grooming gangs was released days before the announcement. Labour politicians had voted against a national inquiry into the gangs in January 2025.

UK leader Nigel Farage said Starmer had become the most incompetent prime minister in modern times. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had previously stated that Starmer was in office but not in power. Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe said history would not remember Starmer kindly and accused him of accelerating the destruction of Britain.

The Free Speech Union said Starmer had led the most authoritarian government in more than a generation through an assault on free speech. Starmer defended his record, saying the party had removed anti-Semitism, restored trust on the economy and defense, and stood with the national flag.

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won a special election on June 18, 2026, giving him a seat in parliament and positioning him as the leading candidate to replace Starmer. A leadership vote is expected before Parliament returns in September. Starmer said he would remain in office until a new leader is chosen.