Starmer expected to resign on Monday: report

Keir Starmer is expected to set out a timetable to stand down as prime minister as early as Monday, according to reports, after Labour’s defeat in last week’s Makerfield by-election intensified pressure on his leadership.

Government insiders cited by the BBC said the mood in Whitehall had shifted sharply over the past 48 hours, with several now believing the Prime Minister could announce a plan to quit within days.

Starmer has consistently maintained that he would not walk away and would fight any leadership challenge.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC on Sunday that the prime minister would do “what is in the best interests of the country”, adding that Starmer was weighing the challenges he faced and the political realities confronting him.

The Makerfield result is regarded as the decisive blow. Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, won the seat comfortably, beating Reform UK and handing rebellious Labour MPs a leadership contender with a record of defeating Nigel Farage’s party at the ballot box.

Dozens of Labour MPs had already called on Starmer to resign, and that number has grown since Thursday, with senior cabinet ministers adding their voices in private. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander are understood to have told the prime minister to go while remaining in post.

The pressure was compounded on Sunday by an intervention from US President Donald Trump, who wrote on Truth Social that Starmer “will resign”.

Trump said the Prime Minister had “failed badly” on immigration and energy, urged the UK to open North Sea oil, and signed off: “I wish him well!”

Relations between the two leaders had deteriorated over Starmer’s reluctance to back US military action against Iran, with Trump previously branding him “no Winston Churchill”.

Burnham is now the overwhelming favourite to succeed Starmer. Should the prime minister resign, attention will turn to whether there is any leadership contest at all.

Under Labour rules, any challenger needs the backing of 20% of the parliamentary party — 81 MPs — to reach the ballot.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, has long said he would stand. His allies now say there should be discussions between potential candidates about the party’s direction, prompting speculation that a deal could be struck to avoid a drawn-out contest.

There is disagreement among Labour MPs over the timing of any handover. Some in Burnham’s camp favour a transition around the party’s annual conference in late September, arguing it would give him time to prepare for government. Others warn that a three-month gap would stall government and fuel constant speculation.

Speculation has also turned to who Burnham would appoint as chancellor. The role had been seen as a contest between Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Mahmood, though the home secretary is now expected to remain in her post.

The prospect of Miliband as chancellor has alarmed MPs on the right of the party, with one predicting around 100 would be “furious” at the appointment. Sharon Graham, General Secretary of the Unite union, has publicly urged Burnham not to give Miliband the job.

Starmer’s departure would set the UK on course for its seventh prime minister in a decade, just two years after he led Labour to a general election majority of 174. The party has since slumped in the polls, with Reform UK leading more than 300 consecutive national surveys.

Burnham and his allies have kept a low profile over the weekend, having said they wanted to give Starmer time to reach his own decision following the Makerfield defeat.

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