UK Heads for Its 7th PM in a Decade as Starmer Quits

Keir Starmer resigned today, Monday 22 June 2026, as UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader, ending a turbulent premiership less than two years after Labour's 2024 landslide. He stepped down after weeks of mounting pressure, triggered by a disastrous May local election round and a looming leadership challenge from rival Andy Burnham, the former Manchester mayor who recently won a seat in Parliament to position himself for the job. Conceding that his party no longer saw him as best placed to lead it into the next election, Starmer said he accepted that answer "with good grace." He will leave office after a Labour leadership contest — with Burnham and Wes Streeting expected to run — that will produce Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade.