Keir Starmer
Resigned July 10 after unpopularity over National Insurance rises and Winter Fuel Allowance cuts. Endorsed Andy Burnham as successor, claimed a "sound foundation" for Labour's next term, and declared "this is the end of my political journey" at his final PMQs.
Keir Starmer resigned as prime minister on July 10, 2026, ending the shortest Labour premiership in history. His departure was driven by sustained unpopularity over National Insurance increases and Winter Fuel Allowance cuts, with critics pointing to the gap between his 2020 leadership pledges on public ownership and corporation tax and the centrist governance he delivered. He endorsed Andy Burnham as his successor, saying he was "proud to hand over the party in good shape" and claiming a "sound foundation" for Labour to win a second term.
His final weeks in office were packed with international and domestic action. At the July 13 Paris Coalition of the Willing summit, he committed the UK to the EU's €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan and joined a 10-nation anti-ballistic missile shield project, FREYJA, alongside Macron and Zelenskyy. At the NATO Ankara summit days earlier, he met Erdoğan to sign a Security and Defence Partnership covering defense industry, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, and space cooperation. He signed a £2.4 billion maritime partnership with Dutch PM Rob Jetten commissioning eight amphibious transport ships built in British shipyards, and launched a $50 billion, 12-nation "Deep Precision Strike" missile partnership to reduce European reliance on US weapons.
On Iran, Starmer co-proposed a multinational naval mission with Macron and Oman to secure the Strait of Hormuz, meeting Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in London on July 2 before announcing the deployment. He continued pressing for safe transit even as Iran's IRGC attacked tankers, calling it "a matter of global concern." Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi warned the UK and France directly, and Trump criticized the move as unhelpful during the US-Iran conflict.
Domestically, Starmer announced over £250 million for Jewish community protection, deploying 500-plus additional officers after a surge in antisemitic attacks including a Manchester synagogue car ramming and a Golders Green stabbing. He said tackling antisemitism had been central to his leadership from day one. He presided over scrapping the two-child benefit cap and expanding the Warm Home Discount to all Universal Credit households, claiming these measures would lift half a million children from poverty. He responded to the murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe by emphasizing politician security and calling for cross-party unity, working alongside Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
His exit carried friction. At his final PMQs on July 15, he clashed with Jeremy Corbyn after claiming Labour had been institutionally antisemitic under Corbyn's leadership, drawing a sharp rebuke from the former leader. Kemi Badenoch praised his Ukraine support but warned that "changing prime minister is not a silver bullet" and that "Labour's problems may only just be beginning." Louise Haigh publicly accused Starmer and former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney of running a sexist "boys' club" that deliberately undermined female ministers including Haigh, Rayner, Phillipson, Nandy, and Sue Gray. His nomination of 26 life peers including Sadiq Khan and Gen Patrick Sanders drew criticism from Reform UK's Nigel Farage and Conservative Shadow Minister Gareth Bacon for cronyism and for excluding Reform from the list.
Burnham is already moving to repudiate parts of Starmer's legacy, reversing his opposition to North Sea oil and gas drilling by directing civil service approvals for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, and apologizing for Labour being "too slow to call for a ceasefire" in Gaza while pledging tougher sanctions on Israel.
On their plate
Starmer resigned as PM on July 10, 2026, driven by unpopularity over National Insurance increases and Winter Fuel Allowance cuts. He endorsed Andy Burnham as successor, claiming a "sound foundation" for Labour to win a second term, while Burnham pledged a "distinctively Labour" agenda of reindustrialization and decentralization.
At his final PMQs on July 15, Starmer declared "this is the end of my political journey," defended his economic record, and claimed he left the country in better shape. He clashed with Jeremy Corbyn over his assertion that Labour was institutionally antisemitic under Corbyn, and faced warnings from Kemi Badenoch that Labour's problems may only be beginning.
At the NATO Ankara summit, Starmer signed a Security and Defence Partnership with Türkiye, a £2.4 billion maritime partnership with the Netherlands, and launched a $50 billion Deep Precision Strike missile partnership across 12 nations. At the July 13 Paris summit, he committed the UK to the EU's €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan and joined the FREYJA anti-ballistic missile shield project.
Starmer met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman in London on July 2 to discuss Hormuz security, then co-announced a multinational military mission with Macron to secure freedom of navigation. He continued advocating for safe transit even as Iran's IRGC attacked tankers, drawing a direct warning from Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and criticism from Trump.
Starmer announced over £250 million for Jewish community protection after antisemitic attacks, deployed 500-plus additional officers, and said tackling antisemitism was central to his leadership from day one. He scrapped the two-child benefit cap and expanded the Warm Home Discount, claiming the measures would lift half a million children from poverty. He also nominated 26 life peers including Sadiq Khan and Gen Patrick Sanders, drawing cronyism criticism from Farage and Bacon.
Key relationships
Starmer endorsed Burnham as his successor, claiming he was proud to hand over the party in good shape. Burnham is already repudiating parts of Starmer's legacy on Gaza and North Sea drilling.
Badenoch praised Starmer's Ukraine support at his final PMQs but warned that changing prime minister is not a silver bullet and that Labour's problems may only be beginning. She also criticized his benefit expansions as favoring claimants over workers.
Farage criticized Starmer's 26 life peerage nominations as cronyism and for excluding Reform UK from the list.
Starmer met Erdoğan at the NATO Ankara summit to sign a Security and Defence Partnership covering defense industry, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, and space cooperation.
Starmer clashed with Corbyn at his final PMQs after claiming Labour was institutionally antisemitic under Corbyn's leadership, drawing a sharp rebuke from the former leader.
Haigh publicly accused Starmer and his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney of running a sexist boys' club that deliberately undermined female ministers.
Keep reading in the app
Where they stand, in full, free in the app.
Coming soonGoogle Play