Sir Keir Starmer stood outside Downing Street on Monday morning, his voice cracking and tears in his eyes, as he announced he would stand down as prime minister. The resignation, which cuts short a premiership that began just two years ago with a historic landslide, followed months of plummeting poll numbers and a final internal party mutiny triggered by the sudden Westminster return of his chief rival, Andy Burnham.
Within hours, Donald Trump delivered a brutal verdict from the Oval Office. The US president declared that the British public “did not like” Starmer’s refusal to be drawn into the war against Iran – a conflict that had unravelled what the BBC described as a once-close friendship between the two leaders. Trump called Starmer “a very nice man” and “sort of a friend of mine”, but added: “This is not Winston Churchill.”
“Keir Starmer resigns in tears after Trump blasts his Iran stance, calling him 'not Winston Churchill'.”
The rift over Iran proved fatal. Starmer refused to grant the US access to British military bases for its bombing campaign, though limited authorisation was later given for defensive strikes. Tensions deepened during the subsequent standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington lambasting the UK response. The row over UK military spending also prompted John Healey to recently resign as defence secretary, heaping further pressure on the already beleaguered prime minister.
Trump also claimed Starmer had “hurt himself very, very badly” over his positions on immigration and energy. The president, who is due to meet Nato chief Mark Rutte this week, insisted America had borne the burden of defending Europe: “We paid trillions of dollars over the years, not billions, trillions over the years to protect Europe.”
Starmer’s downfall had been building for months. According to the New Statesman, at day 670 of governing, he stood as the least liked of all recent premiers to have made it that far – five points below Rishi Sunak, 20 below Boris Johnson, and even nine below Gordon Brown. Only 15 per cent of voters thought he could speak for the nation. Channel 4 News noted that his exit followed the return of his chief rival Andy Burnham, who won the Makerfield by-election by a massive margin, clearing his path to enter Parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy paid tribute in the House of Commons, saying Starmer had been “principled, courageous and on the right side of history” for refusing to jump “headfirst into another war in the Middle East”. Lammy added: “Keir Starmer stood strong, stood firm, and said ‘No, this is not our war.’”
Starmer said he had spoken to the King earlier that morning and informed him of his intention. A new Labour leader will be in place before September, with nominations opening on 9 July. Burnham, who is due to be sworn in as an MP on Monday, is now seen as the clear favourite to be the next occupant of 10 Downing Street – a successor Starmer promised would have his “unequivocal backing”.
The Mirror reported that Victoria Starmer embraced her husband in an emotional moment outside Number 10 as he ended his premiership. For a leader who once promised “calm after chaos”, the exit was anything but calm.