Sir Keir Starmer will remain in Downing Street on a caretaker basis until Labour elects a new leader, with the handover expected to take place before Parliament’s summer recess, after he announced his resignation as Labour leader and Prime Minister on 22 June.
Starmer made the announcement outside Downing Street following mounting pressure from within his own party, driven by disappointing local election results and growing unrest among Labour MPs. He will continue to serve as Prime Minister until a successor is formally in place.
Labour has published a leadership timetable showing nominations will open on 9 July, with the contest expected to conclude before the summer recess begins around 16 July. The new Labour leader is anticipated to be in place before MPs return to Westminster in September. The precise date of the handover remains dependent on the outcome of the leadership process, and could come sooner if a clear frontrunner — widely expected to be Andy Burnham — secures sufficient support quickly.
Our sources claim that Starmer will specifically step down on 20 July, but there is no official confirmation of that date from Downing Street or the Labour Party. The figure appears to have been drawn from the broader summer handover window rather than any formal announcement.
Starmer’s departure will make him the latest in a series of short-lived Prime Ministers during one of the most turbulent periods in British political history. The coming weeks will be dominated by the contest to succeed him and determine who leads both the Labour Party and the country into the next phase of government.
