Beleaguered Keir Starmer reflecting ‘political realities,’ senior minister says

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to face a leadership challenge from veteran Labour politician Andy Burnham after his by-election win. Photo by Jack Taylor/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was reflecting this weekend on the “political realities” that he faces, a senior minister said on Sunday, amid media reports the premier would resign within days.

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It follows veteran Labour politician and rival Andy Burnham’s victory in a crunch by-election on Friday, which paves the way for the 56-year-old to challenge the beleaguered Starmer to be party leader and prime minister.

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Any Labour leadership candidate must be a member of parliament.

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If Starmer does leave office this year, Britain will get its seventh prime minister in a decade — an unprecedented rate of churn in its modern history.

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Burnham — Greater Manchester mayor since 2017 — has made clear he intends to bid to lead the slumping centre-left party, warning in his by-election victory speech that it had a “final chance to change.”

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If successful, he would become prime minister by default, given that the ruling Labour Party has a huge parliamentary majority.

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Starmer, who is deeply unpopular with voters according to polling, has insisted he will fight any attempt to oust him.

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But the emphatic nature of Burnham’s win in the Makerfield constituency in northwest England — where he nearly doubled Labour’s majority — has increased the internal pressure on Starmer to quit.

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Business Secretary Peter Kyle said on Sunday that Starmer was “making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in.”

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“He has been engaging in conversations with a wide, wide range of people,” Kyle told Sky News broadcaster after having what he said was a “frank” conversation with Starmer on Friday.

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Odds on contenders to be Britain’s next Labour Party leader and prime minister. Photo by Brook Mitchell /AFP

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‘Ready to resign’

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The Observer newspaper headlined on its cover on Sunday that Starmer was “expected to resign” the following day, while the Sunday Telegraph also reported he was “ready” to go, citing allies of the embattled British leader.

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The Observer said Starmer would “set out a timetable for his departure,” noting he had been holding weekend talks from Chequers, the countryside retreat for prime ministers.

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Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was among the senior ministers telling her boss to stand down, Sky News reported.

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Starmer, who took office in July 2024, has been clinging to power for months after a tenure littered with missteps, policy U-turns, scandals and ministerial resignations.

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He was nearly forced out in March, over his ill-fated decision to appoint ex-Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson as the U.K.’s ambassador to Washington.

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Labour’s drubbing in local and regional polls in England, Scotland and Wales last month once again intensified the pressure on him.

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The fallout from the polls saw Makerfield’s previous Labour MP quit in order to allow Burnham to stand there.