Main Points Keir Starmer has this morning announced his decision to resign as British prime minister The move likely clears the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister by the autumnFormer mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham comfortably took a seat in the Makerfield byelection, defeating a Reform candidate Burnham will be formally sworn in as an MP today Key Reads Analysis: Can Andy Burnham be a better prime minister than Keir Starmer?Órla Ryan - 8 minutes agoAt the end of his speech, Starmer thanked his colleagues and family for their support.Becoming emotional, he said after “leaving the biggest job in the country”, he will “spend more time on the most important job: being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic - who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad - and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy”.Órla Ryan - 15 minutes agoStarmer expected to remain in post until SeptemberStarmer said he will likely remain in post until September.Wes Streeting may mount a challenge against frontrunner Andy Burnham, but there is mounting speculation it will be a one-horse race and the latter will succeed Starmer without an election contest. “I will remain in post as prime minister until the contest is complete, and I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power,” Starmer said.“I will also give my successor my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago, better prepared for the challenges ahead and better able to ensure the Labour Party secures a second term in office.”Órla Ryan - 23 minutes agoStarmer ‘not the best person to lead Labour forward’Starmer said, of late, the Labour Party has been asking if he is “best placed to lead us into the next general election”.“I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.“Every decision I’ve taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party.“I have spoken to his majesty the king this morning to inform him of my decision.”Órla Ryan - 28 minutes agoStarmer says 2024 Labour victory was ‘proudest moment of my life’In his speech, Starmer spoke about Labour’s resounding election win in July 2024.“Walking up this street two years ago was the proudest moment of my life. A new Labour government, the first in 14 years, a page in our country’s history turned after years of disappointment and despair. The chance to change the lives of millions of people for the better,” he said.“The journey to that point was not easy. Six years ago, I inherited a Labour Party that was politically, financially and morally bankrupt. I was told time and time again that my party was finished, that we were consigned to history, that a majority at the general election, let alone a landslide majority, was impossible, but we proved those people wrong.”Starmer said, in the last two years, Labour had reduced NHS waiting lists, restored trust in the economy, defence and national security, and become a party “that once again stood proudly with, not against, our national flag”.While delivering his speech, an anti-Brexit protester blasted Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from a loudspeaker in the background. Órla Ryan - 31 minutes agoStarmer resignsBritain's prime minister Keir Starmer plans to step down with a new leader expected to be in place by September. Photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images Keir Starmer has announced that he plans to step down as leader of the Labour Party, paving the way for a new British prime minister. Nominations for a new leader will open on July 9th. “In the case of a contest, this will ensure a new leader is in place before parliament returns in September,” Starmer said.Órla Ryan - 33 minutes agoMost of the cabinet have now assembled on Downing Street, Mark Paul reports. They are outside the door of Number 11 - an indicator that the prime minister will walk out at any minute to make an announcement. It seems like the end is nigh. Órla Ryan - 48 minutes agoMembers of staff bring the lectern outside Number 10 Downing Street. Photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images There is a frisson now among the press pack and UK government press handlers on Downing Street, which may be indicative that something may happen shortly, Mark Paul reports.Some of the prime minister’s officials are out marshalling the broadcast press while there is a flurry of activity among the sound and visual engineers.Keir Starmer, it seems, is now close to making the announcement that everyone expects: that he is resigning as prime minister and setting out a timetable for his exit.We will keep you updated from Downing Street as this happens.Órla Ryan - 56 minutes agoVaradkar says it’s ‘a shame’ Starmer didn’t get more time Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he feels sorry for Starmer, if his time as prime minister is indeed up.“If the reports are true, and prime minister Starmer is going to resign, I think that’s something very sad,” Varadkar told Sky News on Monday.Varadkar said, since gaining power two years ago, Starmer was “very successful at resetting” Britain’s relationship with the EU after “difficult” Brexit negotiations and “disagreements around Northern Ireland”.He said it was “a shame” Starmer didn’t get more time in office.Órla Ryan - 59 minutes agoWill there be a leadership race?One obvious uncertainty in relation to future leader of the Labour Party is whether Burnham will be the only candidate or if other challengers will emerge and gain the necessary support, Mark Paul and Jack Horgan-Jones report.Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last month amid efforts to push Starmer to quit, said last week he would stand in any contest and had the necessary backing of 81 MPs to do so, with allies saying over the weekend that this was still the plan.Some MPs say they would welcome a contest to allow Burnham’s platform to be tested.There is, however, an increasing presumption that Streeting will not compete, either because he does not have the MPs needed or because he would almost certainly lose a vote of Labour MPs and would be wary of derailing preparations for the next government.Órla Ryan - 1 hour agoAnnouncement could be imminentMore from Mark Paul on Downing Street: Officially Downing Street is confirming nothing, but sources inside the building are also not dissuading the hordes of press outside from the belief that an announcement may be relatively imminent.Another sign that something big is happening is that the heavily armed Downing Street security services have set up a marquee just inside the entrance for arriving press to be searched, instead of their usual little hut.The sun is out, a heatwave is on the way in London, and the temperature is also rising in Whitehall for what promises to be another dramatic day in UK politics.1 hour agoLarry the cat sits on the doorstep of number 10 Downing Street on Monday morning. Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire Larry the cat has also been spotted outside Number 10. Larry, who has already worked alongside six prime ministers, is expected to keep his role in the cabinet reshuffle.1 hour agoNo sign of the famous lectern yetMembers of the media outside Number 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire Our London Correspondent Mark Paul has the latest from Downing Street: There is no sign yet of the famous lectern being pulled outside the door of Number 10, but there is an expectation among the gathered press pack that today is the day,.UK prime minister Keir Starmer is believed to be about to resign, possibly this morning but certainly today before his internal rival Andy Burnham is sworn in as an MP. Starmer spent the weekend holed up at his Chequers with his wife Victoria, contemplating his future after Burnham’s thumping victory last Friday morning in the Makerfield by-election. It is believed the prime minister has accepted his fate, and may lay out a timetable for his exit this morning. In another grand British political tradition, there is a heckler for the resigning prime minister at the gates of Downing Street. A supporter of hard right party Restore Britain is being loquacious with a loudhailer, urging Starmer to quit. He may get his wish. 1 hour agoStarmer expected to announce exit planEmbattled British prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce a timetable for his departure imminently, putting the UK on course for its seventh premier in a decade.It is understood Starmer will set out his intentions outside 10 Downing Street on Monday morning.The move would clear the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister by the autumn.The expected announcement follows a thumping victory by Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, in last week’s Makerfield byelection, near Wigan. Burnham, who will returned to the House of Commons after nine years in the regional role, said his defeat of Reform UK in the contest represented the “last chance” for Labour to seize the moment for change.