Sir Keir Starmer has announced he will resign as Prime Minister.
On the verge of tears outside No 10 this morning, the Prime Minister said a new leader would be in place by September.
His voice was notably shaky as he paid tribute to his wife and their children, saying: “When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy.”
Sir Keir said entering Downing Street had been the “proudest moment of my life”, but added that he had accepted his time in office was over.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” he said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
“Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party.”
Sir Keir said he would remain in No 10 until a leadership challenge was complete to “ensure an orderly handover of power”.
Andy Burnham, the front-runner to replace him, is on his way to Westminster to be sworn in as an MP after his decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election.
Farage demands election after Starmer resigns
Nigel Farage has demanded a general election after Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation.
The Reform UK leader said voters “won’t accept being taken for fools” as he called on the Prime Minister’s successor to hold a new national poll.
In a post on his Substack blog, Mr Farage said: “Starmer isn’t the first prime minister I’ve deposed, and he won’t be the last. David Cameron. Theresa May. Rishi Sunak. And next up – Andy Burnham. The reason each leader has failed is the same.
“What the political class fails to understand is that the electorate won’t accept being taken for fools. They cannot continue to take the votes of the people who supported them for granted, only to betray them upon having gained power. Politics is about trust.
“That is why I am calling for a general election at the soonest possible date. You know as well as I do that the country cannot afford to waste another week drifting from crisis to crisis. That’s why millions of you turned out in the local elections to vote for Reform councillors, and it’s why we have led in more than 300 opinion polls for well over a year.”
