Dozens of Labour lawmakers cheered loudly as Andy Burnham arrived for a first-day photo. They crowded onto the steps in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall in Parliament to greet their newly elected colleague and potential future leader.

Burnham posed for a group portrait and took selfies with some of the group that included rival-turned-supporter Wes Streeting and Treasury chief Rachel Reeves. She seems likely to lose her job once Starmer leaves office.

Andy Burnham has been sworn in as a lawmaker in Parliament, following his victory in a special election last week in northern England that triggered Starmer’s decision to resign.

Loud cheers broke out among lawmakers in the House of Commons as Burnham returned to Parliament after nearly a decade as mayor of Greater Manchester.

Only members of Parliament are eligible for the party leadership. Earlier Monday, Wes Streeting, another prominent Labour politician with ambitions for the top job, said he would back Burnham. That made it much more likely that Burnham will become the U.K’s next prime minister without a leadership contest.

About 50 journalists and photographers were waiting to greet Burnham as he arrived at London’s Euston station by train from Manchester, ahead of being sworn in as a lawmaker at Westminster.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester told reporters his “priority” for the day was to officially swear in as an lawmaker.

“It’s been very kind of sad for me today to leave Greater Manchester. The people have been brilliant to me over the last few years. I’ve loved every minute of the role,” he said.

To join the contest, candidates must win the support of a fifth, or 81, of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers.

Those candidates who reach that threshold of support would then have to receive the backing of 5% of local constituency parties, or at least three party affiliates — groups such as trade unions and cooperative societies.

Eligible members of the party and affiliates would then vote for the leader using an electoral system that ranks the candidates. The winner is the first candidate to secure more than 50% of the vote.

King Charles III would then invite the winner to become prime minister and form a government.

Starmer said he would stay in post as prime minister until his successor is in place and that Labour’s national executive committee will open nominations on July 9.

Should Burnham be the only candidate, then he could be confirmed as party leader a week or so later. However, if there is a contest, then the election would likely drag on into September.

Burnham has won the support of Wes Streeting, who quit as health secretary last month and had previously indicated he would throw his hat in the ring. Streeting said he would back Burnham for the Labour leadership, saying “he can win the fight of our lives against the forces of nationalism,” a reference to the anti-immigration Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, that has overtaken Labour in the opinion polls since the July 2024 general election.

Other potential candidates have yet to comment on Starmer’s announcement. They include Starmer’s former deputy, Angela Rayner, who resigned last September over an unpaid property tax, and Al Carns, who resigned last week as the armed forces minister over Starmer’s funding plans for national defense.

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Burnham is the frontrunner to succeed Starmer because many people see him as the best person to defeat the anti-immigrant Reform Party at the next election, said Olivia O’Sullivan, the director of the UK in the World Program at the Chatham House think tank.

Burnham’s greatest asset is that he appeals to Labour Party lawmakers who were frustrated by the way Starmer has governed, O’Sullivan said. The hope is that he will set out a “clearer vision” and connect with voters in parts of the country that are in danger of turning to the Reform Party, she said.

Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester, was elected to Parliament last week when he decisively defeated a Reform candidate in a special election.

“Keir, thank you for all our cooperation, your support, and the joint decisions that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.

“The United Kingdom has been, is, and will remain among the world’s leaders. Here in Ukraine, we deeply value Britain, and every meeting and every conversation we have had has always been filled with real substance. Thank you for always being in touch, always engaged, and always striving to do what is needed and what will truly help. I wish the United Kingdom and all British people every success as well as realisation of your national goals. We have confidence in Britain. Keir, you are always a welcome guest in Ukraine.”

Nigel Farage, who leads the anti-immigration party, wrote on X that “Reform demands an election, and we are ready to deliver radical change.”

“If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another thing coming,” he said.

Farage said Labour has betrayed voters’ trust, citing the Starmer government’s unpopular welfare and tax policies and illegal immigration as examples of the party’s failings.

Britain’s next national election doesn’t have to be held until 2029. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a general election.

“I respect the decision he has made,” Støre, a fellow center-left leader, said in a statement emailed by his office.

“I have greatly appreciated the open and close dialogue with Starmer since he became Prime Minister two years ago,” he added. “The United Kingdom is Norway’s close ally in Europe, and over the past two years our countries have grown even closer through important agreements on climate, and energy and not least through a historic defense agreement and our decision to purchase British frigates for the Norwegian Navy.”

He said that “we have worked closely together to strengthen security cooperation in Europe and to support Ukraine”

In a post on X, Andy Burnham thanked Starmer for his service and leadership.

He said Starmer’s decision to step down “marks the beginning of a transition and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way. I will put myself forward as part of this process.”
“The country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most and that is what it will get.”

He added: “People want to see progress on economic growth, cost of living, public services, housing and opportunities for the next generation. Political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people’s lives.”

Dutiful rather than dynamic, Keir Starmer was elected Britain’s prime minister to be a safe pair of hands who would end years of political chaos under the Conservatives.

His term is ending less than two years later after missteps, party infighting and one colossal error of judgment that indirectly ensnared him in the scandals surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, a man he had never met and whose sexual crimes he was not complicit in.

A trouncing for Starmer’s Labour Party in a midterm set of local and regional elections on May 7 proved the final straw. It triggered a series of government resignations and challenges that look set to sweep former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham into 10 Downing Street.

It’s a precipitous downfall from July 4, 2024, when Starmer brought the center-left Labour Party back to power after 14 years, winning 411 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

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Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed he will run to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.

He posted on social media that he will “put myself forward as part of this process.”

Wes Streeting, considered another leading contender, said he will back Burnham.

That makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Leader, said Starmer’s replacement would have to change “our broken politics.”

“The British people are sick of being let down by an endless merry-go-round of prime ministers while nothing really changes for them,” he said. “This time must be different. It can’t just be about changing who’s in No. 10, it has to be about changing our broken politics so we can fix our country.”

Zack Polanski, who leads the Green Party, echoed that the U.K. needs a “bold change of direction.” Referring to former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who many expect to become the next Labour leader, Polanski said: “The time for half measures and sticking plasters is long gone — if he becomes the next PM, Burnham must be bold or he will be bust.”

“The German government has always had in Keir Starmer a reliable and close partner in foreign policy questions, particularly regarding Ukraine,” Kornelius told reporters in Berlin. He declined to comment on the “internal motives in Britain.”

He said the government believes a meeting that Merz plans to host in Berlin Wednesday of the so-called “E5” – Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Poland – will go ahead as planned despite Starmer’s announcement. The meeting is meant as part of preparations for the upcoming NATO summit.

Keir Starmer said Monday he’ll step down as UK Labour Party leader, will remain UK prime minister until successor chosen.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood behind a lectern featuring a crest with a lion and a unicorn.

One is not native to the U.K., and the other is mythical.

Both have shared the distinction of being part of the royal coat of arms since the 17th century.

The lion, although it never lived in the wild in England, is its national animal. The unicorn, though fictional, is Scotland’s official animal.

The two became part of the crest when the two crowns were united in 1603, as King James I ascended the English throne; he was already King James VI in Scotland.

When he was elected in 2024 in a landslide victory for Labour, Starmer pledged to steady the ship and end years of political chaos under his predecessors, the Conservative Party.

Starmer had succeeded Rishi Sunak, who held the top job from 2022 to 2024.

Before Sunak, Liz Truss resigned only 45 days after becoming prime minister. Truss followed three other Conservative prime ministers: Boris Johnson (2019 to 2022), Theresa May (2016 to 2019), and David Cameron (2010 to 2016).

The formal contest to replace Starmer will begin in early July and could end in a matter of days.

Starmer said Monday that nominations will open on July 9 and close when Parliament breaks up for its summer recess, which is scheduled to begin July 16. The contest will be open to members of Parliament from the ruling Labour Party.

Former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is the leading candidate to replace Starmer. The question now is whether anyone will challenge him.

If there is no challenge, Burnham could become Labour leader and thus prime minister soon after nominations close. Even if there is a contest, Starmer said a successor would be selected by Sept. 1.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer’s legacy after news of his resignation in a post online on Monday.

“It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years,” she said on X. “European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.

Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following Burnham’ victory last week in a special election for a seat in Parliament. Burnham ran with the aim of challenging Starmer for leadership of the party and the country.

Burnham is due to be sworn in as a member of Parliament on Monday.

It’s unclear whether Burnham would face a coronation or a challenge, if Starmer steps aside. Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month to protest Starmer’s leadership, has said that he will run in a contest if there is one.

Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence, his voice choking with emotion near the end of the brief statement.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen in the next few weeks.

Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He has been in office since leading Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. In those two years his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.