Keir Starmer has announced he will resign as prime minister, triggering a Labour leadership contest that is expected to be won by newly elected MP Andy Burnham.
Starmer confirmed he would remain in office until the party chooses a new leader, which he said would happen by the time parliament returns from recess in September. The appointment could come sooner if the party unites behind one candidate without a contest.
“Keir Starmer resigns as PM; Andy Burnham emerges as likely successor; Anas Sarwar says he is 'proud' of their work.”
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader who was the first major Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit, said he was “proud” of their work together. In February, Sarwar argued that “too many mistakes” had been made by the UK government.
“I will always be proud that together we got rid of the Tories after 14 years of misrule, that a Labour government helped end austerity, lifted half a million children out of poverty and secured shipbuilding on the Clyde for a generation,” Sarwar told BBC Scotland News. “That’s something that no-one can take away from Keir Starmer, that’s a legacy he can be proud of.”
Sarwar added: “Were there missteps? Yes, but I think Keir Starmer is always trying to act in what he thought was the best interest of the country.”
He called for the party to “move very quickly to focusing on the issues they were elected to do – and that’s delivering for the great people of this country”. Sarwar refused to back any potential leadership candidates, saying he would wait to see their proposals.
Burnham, who won the Makerfield by-election, is now in pole position to succeed Starmer. Shortly after Starmer’s statement, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander backed – the sentence was cut off in the source, but it suggests early endorsements.
Sarwar had called for Starmer to resign in the run-up to the Holyrood election, aiming to distance Scottish Labour from the unpopular Westminster administration. However, cabinet ministers rallied around Starmer at the time, and Scottish Labour subsequently endured a poor Holyrood election result. Sarwar refused to be drawn on whether he believed his party’s performance would have been better if the prime minister had stepped down earlier.
Sarwar repeatedly butted heads with Downing Street following Labour’s 2024 landslide general election victory, including disagreements over winter fuel payments for pensioners, Starmer’s comments about Israel, and the two-child benefits cap.