∆ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that he will resign as leader of the Labour Party, paving the way for a new prime minister to take office before Parliament reconvenes in September.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Monday morning, Starmer said he had accepted his party’s verdict on his leadership and would step aside after concluding that he was no longer the best person to lead Labour into the next general election.
“The question my party has been asking is whether I am best placed to lead it into the next general election,” Starmer said.
“I have heard the answer to that question and accept that answer with good grace.”
He stressed that every decision he had taken while in office had been guided by what he believed was best for Britain.
Starmer revealed that he had informed King Charles III of his decision during a phone conversation earlier in the day.The King was at Highgrove House, his private estate in Gloucestershire, when the call took place.
The outgoing Labour leader said he had asked the party’s National Executive Committee to establish a timetable for the leadership contest, with nominations scheduled to open on July 9 and the process expected to conclude before Parliament’s summer recess.
