The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party is forecasting months of “chaos” as Prime Minister Keir Starmer prepares to resign, saying the premier is “definitely not in power” while his presumed successor prepares to jump in his grave.Tory leader Kemi Badenoch made the grim prognostication on Monday at a Westminster press conference, where she complained that Starmer has given up while Andy Burnham is making dramatic promises without taking any questions.“Britain is heading for a summer of chaos. We have a caretaker prime minister, barely in office, definitely not in power,” Badenoch said, acknowledging that “Burnham is already the prime minister in everything but name.”
British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaks during a press conference in London, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)
Starmer announced his intention to resign last week following months of collapse and vocal detraction within the Labour Party, even from his own ministers.Burnham, member of parliament for Makerfield and former mayor of Greater Manchester, is currently positioning himself as the next leader of the Labour Party and, ex officio, the next premier. His campaign is so far uncontested.Badenoch — who previously dismissed Burnham as a “pair of eyelashes and a fancy T-shirt” — said Labour members were asleep at the wheel as they turn their attention to “which jobs they will be getting in the new government.”“All major policy and spending decisions have been put on hold,” she warned. “The government is descending into chaos, and no one is dealing with the serious and urgent threats that this country faces.”When Starmer announced he would be stepping down, Burnham came flying out of the gates — grabbing a train to London and beginning a press blitz to court the faith of disaffected Labour voters feeling burned by the Starmer government.No. 10 North
