UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has resigned amid an internal party crisis and demands that he step aside, barely two years after he assumed leadership of the country.

Mr Starmer, who led the Labour Party to a landslide electoral victory less in 2024, announced he is resigning in a broadcast on Monday.

“New leader will be in place before Parliament returns in September, I will remain in post until the contest is complete,” Mr Starmer said.

He added, “The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. 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.”

While over 100 Labour Party members of parliament are pushing for Mr Starmer’s ouster, the emergence of his arch-rival Andy Burnham as the winner of the June 19, 2026, Makerfield by-election is another major threat to his leadership of the party.

With Mr Burnham in parliament, Mr Starmer risks being challenged and humiliated out of his seat by party members calling for his resignation.

Mr Starmer’s popularity plummeted in recent months as he faced intense public criticism for appointing Lord Mandelson as the British ambassador to the U.S. despite intelligence reports exposing his past ties to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, child rape by grooming gang, UK immigration crisis, among other issues.