Starmer expected to resign on Monday as growing numbers of MPs back Burnham for PM – UK politics live | Politics
Keir Starmer is expected to announce he will step down as prime minister on Monday
Peter Walker
The Guardian’s senior political correspondent Peter Walker explains more about the prime minister’s intentions going forward:
Keir Starmer is expected to announce he will resign as prime minister on Monday, following overwhelming pressure from Labor MPs to replace Andy Burnham as Labor leader.
The Prime Minister and his allies had insisted for weeks that Burnham or someone else would enter the leadership challenge ahead of the Makerfield by-election, in which Burnham hopes to secure his return to Westminster.
But on Sunday morning, business secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News that Starmer had spent the weekend “taking time to reflect on the political realities” he faced.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Kyle refused to say what he thought Starmer’s plans were or what he wanted the Prime Minister to do. You can read the full story here:
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Cabinet minister says Starmer is reflecting on the ‘political realities and challenges’ he now faces
Trade and Commerce Minister Peter Kyle told Sky News that he had not spoken to Starmer since Friday but that he had had a “very detailed conversation” with Starmer at the time and that it was “private” and “personal”.
“The Prime Minister was calm. He was thoughtful. He led the conversation,” Kyle told Trevor Philips.
“The Prime Minister asked about the country many times, but not once during this long meeting did he ask about his personal interests; it was always about the country. I think that was the tone of my conversation with him.
“He was outspoken.and I think that’s the mindset the prime minister is in as we go into this weekend; As prime minister, he works very hard, as always. but I also try to take time to reflect on current political challenges.”
Kyle continued Starmer’s “Taking time to reflect on political realities, The challenges and opportunities he finds himself inOver the weekend, the prime minister was spending time with his wife Victoria in his home town of Chequers.
Starmer is reportedly expected to resign on Monday as a growing number of MPs back Andy Burnham for the Prime Ministership
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. UK prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to resign on Monday and is preparing to set out a timetable for an orderly exit from No 10. According to the Observer.
The newspaper reports that Starmer, who emphasized that he will fight against any leadership challenge, has now accepted that his position is untenable after meetings with cabinet ministers, party donors and union leaders in the last few days.
“He was faced harshly with the fact that the support wasn’t there,” a source told the Observer. “The truth is that everyone knows this is no longer a tenable proposition. There is sadness in that, of course, but sometimes there is inevitability in politics and, as Boris Johnson said, ‘When the herd moves, it moves’.”
No 10 denied reports that Starmer was about to resign and said he would continue as prime minister.
The number of MPs backing Andy Burnham for the Labor leadership has increased following his triumphant byelection victory in Mankerfield last week, which showed he could challenge Reform in the general election.
The mayor of Greater Manchester is expected to be in Westminster on Monday to be sworn in in the House of Commons. He then reportedly plans to speak to Starmer and present a list of supporters – said to be aiming to reach 200 – in a bid to pressure him to resign and begin a transition process.
Burnham’s allies prefer to wait longer to prepare to govern, which could mean Starmer could remain prime minister for months.
The number of Labor MPs publicly calling for Starmer to go has surpassed 100 (just under a quarter of the party’s MPs) and includes many who want a transition of power without a potentially messy leadership race.
Starmer is under pressure to reveal his plans ahead of a tough cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where some ministers are expected to tell him his time is up.
