Keir Starmer resigns as UK Prime Minister, paving the way for the country`s seventh leader in a decade

ArmInfo. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, opening the way for the country's seventh leader in a decade after facing a rebellion within his center-left Labour Party.

Starmer's likely successor is Andy Burnham, the popular former Mayor of Greater Manchester, who secured a return to parliament last week.

Starmer said he had informed King Charles III of his decision but would remain in office as acting prime minister until a new leader is elected.

"The question my party is now asking is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election," Starmer said, speaking to supporters and a crowd of journalists outside No. 10 Downing Street on a hot summer morning. "I have heard my parliamentary party's answer to that question, and I accept it with dignity."

Starmer's decision marked a stunning downfall for a leader who led his party to a landslide election victory in 2024, riding a wave of public discontent with 14 years of right-wing Conservative rule.

Calls for Starmer's resignation had intensified since May when, after two years in power, he led his party to one of its worst-ever results in local and regional elections, while the far-right Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, made historic gains.

The leader's key rival within the party is Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester. "Now is the moment for change," he said early Friday morning after his by-election victory. "We have a chance to turn the tide, to make the country feel like it works again, to show that politics can bring positive change, to make people feel hope again." (NBC NEWS)