UK TO HAVE ITS SEVENTH PRIME MINISTER IN 10 YEARS

In a dramatic development at the start of business in London on Monday morning, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made the sombre announcement that he was resigning. It marked the culmination of several weeks of speculation, which peaked last weekend, that Mr Starmer’s days at the summit of British politics were numbered. Confirmation that he was quitting came in a voice that started out steadily as he listed his government’s achievements over the past two years in office, but it quivered with emotion as he spoke about his family’s support.

In a speech outside the Prime Minister’s Office at No. 10 Downing Street, Mr Starmer listed the achievements since he led the Labour Party to victory in the 2024 general election after 14 years in opposition. He described the Labour Party he took over as being “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and said he had turned it around by “restoring trust in the economy, defence and national security.” In announcing that he is stepping down, the soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister said: “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

Mr Starmer’s resignation sets the stage for the UK to have its seventh Prime Ministers in the past ten years. He will remain in office until September - if not before - when it is expected that a new leader of the Labour Party and British Prime Minister will be named. That person is highly likely to be Andy Burnham, the newly elected MP for the northern constituency of Makerfield, who decisively won the seat in a hastily arranged by-election last Thursday. The sitting MP stepped down in order for Mr Burnham to run.

In a social media post, shortly after the outgoing Prime Minister’s resignation statement, Mr Burnham gave his reaction: “His decision 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.”

MAKERFIELD MANOEUVRES

Although campaigning mainly on constituency issues, Mr Burnham had made it clear that his eyes were firmly fixed on dislodging Mr Starmer as Prime Minister. Popularly referred to as ‘the king of the north’, Andy Burnham has been a strong critic of Mr Starmer’s leadership, especially over economic policies and the Prime Minister’s judgment on several issues. He made a triumphant return to Westminster, the seat of the British government and Parliament, on Monday afternoon where he was sworn in as a Member of Parliament(House of Commons), at the same time stepping down as the Mayor of Manchester.

The brutal battle for survival that had ensnared the Prime Minister by his stalking-horse adversary has gripped the UK ever since Mr Burnham’s first bid to return to Parliament(House of Commons) in January this year. He was rejected by the Labour Party then, and there have been suggestions that the Prime Minister may have had a hand in that. Mr Starmer has strenuously denied the allegations, saying that the decision followed internal party processes. A former Minister of Health in the last UK government under Gordon Brown, Andy Burnham lost previous bids for leadership of the Labour Party and stood down as an MP in 2017 to run for Mayor of Manchester, which he won convincingly.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party will draw up a timetable, with nominations opening for the leadership on July 9. Candidates require 81 nominations each to be considered. Multiple nominations will mean that the formal selection process will ensue, with a new Labour Party leader and British Prime Minister named by September. If Andy Burnham is unchallenged, he will automatically be named as Labour leader and sworn in as Prime Minister in what could be seen as a political coronation. The British Parliament goes on summer recess from July 16 to September 1st.