British Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside No. 10 Downing Street on Monday as he announces his resignation, pending the selection of a replacement. That will take between three and 10 weeks depending on whether there is more than one candidate. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA
June 22 (UPI) -- Keir Starmer announced Monday that he was standing down as British Prime Minister, saying he had heard the message from his own party that he wasn't the right person to lead them into the next general election.
"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," he said in a televised address outside No. 10 Downing Street in London shortly after 9 a.m. local time.
Starmer said he had instructed the Labour Party National Executive to draw up a timetable to select his replacement with a 7-day nomination period starting on July 9 -- which, provided there is more than one challenger -- fires the starting gun on a race that would see a new leader and prime minister in place by Sept. 1 at the latest.
It could be much sooner if the party throws its support behind a single candidate.
