Keir Starmer expected to announce departure timetable as Andy Burnham emerges as front-runner: Here's what we know

Kier Starmer’s days as UK prime minister appear to be numbered as he is expected to soon announce the timetable for his departure from 10 Downing Street, clearing the way for the country’s seventh prime minister in a decade.

The move will also clear the way for Andy Burnham to replace Starmer in the UK premiere.

People familiar with the matter said Starmer spent the weekend considering whether to step down and allow Burnham to take over.

Pressure mount on Starmer

The British prime minister is under pressure after Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, decisively won the general election to return to Westminster, defeating Reform UK candidate Nigel Farage, who had led national opinion polls for more than a year.

Burnham’s victory has given Labor leaders hope that the party, which has lost support under the current prime minister, will regain some of its ground if he, a career politician known for his communication skills, succeeds in becoming prime minister. Notably, Starmer’s popularity rating has fallen to the lowest level of any UK leader.

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But there is a risk of a widely expected leadership change in London. In addition to saying the country needs major change and lower living costs, Burnham has yet to clarify his approach to foreign affairs, the economy and defense. Like Starmer, he could find he has little room to manoeuvre, surrounded by bond market investors who oppose any further borrowing and confronted by an angry electorate who believe the country is not working properly.

The transition comes at a time when the UK has the highest borrowing costs of any G7 country due to high debt and interest payments, coupled with years of marginal economic growth and spending cuts, as well as the need to invest in areas such as defence.

“In our view, a Burnham premiership would inherit a precarious fiscal situation with few tools to achieve meaningful change,” Citibank economists told Reuters on Friday.

“Logically the best thing for both Andy and Keir would be for it to happen in September,” one government minister told The Guardian, adding, . “Andy has no team ready to go to Downing Street and needs time to prepare. It would also allow Keir to set a flight path for his departure.”

Downing Street is also likely to be frustrated with US President Donald Trump, who, in his usual style of disrespecting foreign leaders, said on Truth Social on Sunday: “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of the UK. He has failed miserably on two very important issues – IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN North Sea oil!). I wish him well!”

British Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who is loyal to Starmer, was dispatched to issue a statement on behalf of the government on Sunday. Even he had to admit that Starmer’s days as British Prime Minister seemed numbered.

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“I don’t want to come here and be under the illusion that there’s no process, no forces at work to challenge the prime minister as a leader. That’s a clear case,” Kyle told the BBC.

He also said that Starmer himself “looked very much after the interests of the country”.

He said of the Labor Party: “We’re a tight-knit group of people and we’re facing a period of political uncertainty now and we’ve got to find a way to get through that to put the country first. That’s what we’re trying to do.”