Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce his resignation after a weekend of reflection at Chequers, following Andy Burnham's thumping victory in the Makerfield byelection and mounting pressure from his own cabinet. The shift in Starmer's stance became evident on Sunday when Business Secretary Peter Kyle acknowledged on the BBC that there were forces challenging Starmer's leadership.
From Defiance to Acceptance
On Friday, as Burnham secured a majority of nearly 10,000 votes, Starmer was defiant, stating, "I have said repeatedly, I am not going to walk away." However, by Sunday, his allies were coming to terms with the fact that he was about to announce his resignation, leading the country towards its seventh prime minister in 10 years. A No 10 source had predicted, "I suspect Keir's resistance will fade quickly if Andy wins so big that it looks like he could save dozens of colleagues' jobs at a general election."
Pressure from Cabinet and Inner Circle
Over the weekend, seven cabinet ministers—Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Shabana Mahmood, Heidi Alexander, Douglas Alexander, and Jonathan Reynolds—privately told the prime minister to set a date for his departure. One cabinet minister noted, "There was a view that resignations would be required if Keir's public view—that he'd fight any challenge—remained his private view. But in the last 12 to 14 hours, a shift appears to have taken place in his mind. No one wants rolling resignations."
Drafting the Resignation Statement
By Saturday, Starmer was so certain he would be leaving office that he began drafting his resignation statement with the help of his inner circle, including his wife Victoria. Despite his earlier belief that he could beat Burnham in a contest, it became clear that the contest had been all but decided before it began. Burnham's allies claimed 300 MP supporters—nearly the entire parliamentary Labour Party.
Uncertainty Over Timetable
By Sunday night, it was still unclear exactly what timetable Starmer would set out or whether his succession would be decided by a coronation or contest. One senior government aide said, "It's remarkable how little anyone does know for certain, as it is all seeming very tight around the prime minister. But the expectation is that things are moving in one direction only, and that's an orderly timetable." Even Starmer's closest allies had stopped talking about the importance of not walking away.
