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CNN Headlines: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces His Resignation. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 22, 2026 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!

BECKY ANDERSON, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Breaking news from 10 Downing Street this morning. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is stepping down, announcing his resignation after intense pressure from his own lawmakers.

His resignation has set the country on the path for having a sixth leader in seven years. He will stay on as Prime Minister until his Labor Party anoints a new leader who will then be the Prime Minister. Here's what he said earlier this morning on the steps outside Downing Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: The question my party is asking now is whether I am 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 have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labor Party. I have spoken to his majesty the king this morning to inform him of my decision. I will ask the national executive committee of the Labor Party to set out a timetable with nominations opening on the 9th of July and completed by the Summer recess.

In the case of a contest, this will ensure a new leader is in place before parliament returns in September.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us outside the Prime Minister's residence there at 10 Downing Street. And Clare, why this decision and why now?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, this was a decision, this was a statement, Becky, that the Prime Minister did not want to be making. He has faced a lot of questions over the past weeks and months about his leadership.

He's faced questions from within his own party, which of course, in the U.K. system, it's not enough to have the support of the population. You have to have the support of your own party. But his public support has also been coming down in the two years that he's been in power.

But I think there are two key moments that we need to point out. One was the local elections that happened on May 7th. These are sort of municipal elections, local government elections, and this was a devastating turnout for Labor.

They lost some 1,500 council seats and reform. The right-wing populist party led by Nigel Farage absolutely soared in terms of the number of seats that they took in those elections.

[05:05:00]

It was -- it was a real wake-up call to the party. But Starmer still fought on after that. But at that point, Andy Burnham, who was then the mayor of Manchester, sort of came onto the scene as one of the most popular politicians, if not the most popular politician in the Labor Party.

A route was opened to -- for him to try to find a way back to parliament with the Makerfield byelection. The special election that was held in the northwest of England last week, and he won it, and won it decisively against that same far-right populist party reform, which is currently leading in national opinion polls.

And that, I think, was really sort of proof to the Labor Party that he had what it takes to end this malaise and to bring them round to be a party that could win another general election, which has to take place before the middle of 2029.

So, I think that was the key moment. It happened last Thursday. On Friday morning, the Prime Minister said that he was still going to run in any leadership contest, but he's had the weekend to think about it. And over the weekend, the noise is coming out of his -- from his allies whether he was really considering the political realities around him.

So, we have now arrived at this point, and it's not over yet! We're heading into another few weeks of uncertainty while we find out if there's going to be a contest, but there will be a new Prime Minister. Becky?

ANDERSON: Twenty-four thousand people voting for Andy Burnham in that key byelection, out of a population of some 60 million, of course, in the U.K.'s -- in the U.K., such are the sort of vagaries of --

SEBASTIAN: Yes --

ANDERSON: British politics. We await to see what happens next with regard who will lead the Labor Party. If you were a betting woman, will it be Andy Burnham at this point? Just explain.

SEBASTIAN: Look, I think the fact that everything was put on hold while we waited for the result of that byelection, which he won more decisively than any of the polls had suggested. I was there, Becky, on the night, and there was palpable surprise, not only from those watching, but from Burnham's own team, that he had done so well.

I think the fact that everyone was waiting means that no one really wanted to hold a leadership contest without him. And I think it will be a test of the feeling within the Labor Party that they want to really keep to that promise of stopping the chaos.

Does anyone really have the appetite right now for a leadership contest, with all the mudslinging against, you know, your party members, your fellow party members, that it would entail or would -- some kind of people are calling it here a coronation, perhaps be a more smooth transition?

What's going to happen next is we're going to wait to see if anyone else officially throws their hat into the ring when nominations open on July the 9th. We may get more commentary about this throughout the day.

Of course, Andy Burnham is expected back in London and back in parliament this afternoon to be officially sworn in as a member of parliament. So, we may expect -- we may be able to hear more from some of the people who have sort of said that they'd be willing to run in a leadership race.

But look, that's the question right now. Do they want a contest or do they want to have some kind of smooth transition that will strengthen the party and stabilize its grip on --

ANDERSON: Yes --

SEBASTIAN: Power? Becky.

ANDERSON: Can we just explain the significance to your mind of this decision by Keir Starmer, for him personally and for Britain?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, look, personally, it was very plain to see standing here in Downing Street. He got through the statement, which in a somewhat surreal fashion, included some loud music being played by a protester just outside Downing Street.

But he got to the end, and it was when he thanked his wife and talked about his children that he sort of teared up. And you could see that his wife was also tearing up. This obviously meant such a lot to him.

He's been a man who has succeeded so many times in his career. The director of Public Prosecutions, then going on to leader of the Labor Party quite soon, frankly after joining politics, he joined politics in later life and then finally becoming Prime Minister.

And as I said, he had wanted to hang on. So, the significance of this moment for him was enormous. He did not want to get to this point for the country. Look, this is a country where we've only had seven Labor Prime Ministers in history.

He was the seventh. The Labor Party had not been in power for 14 years before this. And they really want to seize this opportunity to sort of -- to make their mark, to get those five years and maybe another five years, I think for the country as well.

We're in this much more turbulent political landscape where it's no longer really a two-party system between Labor and Conservatives. But we're seeing this fracturing, this splintering more towards the extremities. We saw it up in Makerfield with the Reform right-wing party and even more right-wing party restore.

Britain has now come on to the scene. And so, they have now this responsibility, which Andy Burnham has called their last chance to really stabilize their grip on power and stabilize as they see it, the British political system, Becky.

[05:10:00]

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. More from Clare as we get it today. CNN's Nic Robertson; our international diplomatic editor joining us with more from Lucerne in Switzerland, where, of course, you've been reporting on the U.S.-Iran talks over the weekend.

And we can get to those momentarily. But Nic, you've been covering this beat for years. You know, British politics better than most. What do you make of Keir Starmer's resignation today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, there was an inevitability to it. Certainly, when Andy Burnham won that Makerfield by-election in the north, he's -- you know, he's been dubbed by some as the "king of the north".

I was up there a few weeks ago, and you certainly got that vibe around his campaign, and the vibe that he was giving off. You know, just look at his sort of northern charm as they will talk about it in the U.K.

He had charisma, and this is what Starmer lacked. And there's plenty of people in the Labor Party who say, look, Labor was doing the right things. You know, the economy was against them, but they were able to sort of make some shifts and move in a better direction.

But they just weren't able to sell it through Starmer. Starmer was seen as making unforced errors. Burnham is someone who has been tested on the national stage, in as much as he's been a minister before, he's been a shadow minister.

He's been around the sort of Westminster political scene for a long time, but he really made his sort of presence felt in the country, and was able to build his reputation out by being mayor of Greater Manchester. It gave him a big platform, a big -- enabled his charisma to grow into a big persona.

So, the question then becomes, as he switches into Downing Street, as seems likely, the "king of the north", people are talking about it as a coronation. If no one opposes him as leadership for the party as Clare was saying, the party doesn't want to tear itself apart over this. And I think that seems to be pretty -- but what this means is, the

moment that Andy Burnham; the charismatic politician from the north of England who really connects with his local constituents, and that's why he did so well in the local election, remembering just -- was saying in his constituency, reform had done so well -- was him, and this is what I got from people up there.

It was him that was able to make the difference. And if he can do that for Labor, then they can sort of head off this reform charge. But he will be saddled at the same time when he becomes Prime Minister -- international affairs of the world.

We're looking -- we're here in Lucerne because they're talking about Iran. You can be sure when and if Andy Burnham makes it behind the door of Number 10 and is in an office there -- the affairs of state that the Iran-U.S.-Mid-East Memorandum of Understanding.

Strait of Hormuz, Lebanese ceasefire, not ceasefire. All of that is going to be on his plate. He will be handling a lot of his time, these big international issues. And that's where he hasn't had the testing and grounding. But his previous experience in Westminster will help him.

Advisors of his I've talked to are already in place to bring that support, and it's going to be about who he puts around and to advise him on big foreign policy issues. Defense, defense spending in the U.K. Such again, a divisive issue, another one that really scuppered Prime Minister Starmer when his Defense Secretary resigned.

What was it? Just less than a week or so ago. Big issues to grapple with and where Burnham helped -- deals with them will shape where Britain stands on the international stage, not just domestically. So, he's going to inherit a lot more than he's been dealing with as a -- as a Greater Manchester mayor.

ANDERSON: Yes. Well, this will be Britain's seventh Prime Minister in the last ten years. What has gone so wrong here, and is the messiah of Manchester as many are calling him, really the right man for the job in stabilizing British politics and growing the British economy?

Will he have a mandate for change? And if so, what does that look like? A lot of big questions for Britain today. Nic, thank you. More from you on your reporting from there later as well, of course. We're going to take a very quick break, back after this.

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[05:15:00]

ANDERSON: Returning to our breaking news this hour. Keir Starmer is stepping down as U.K. Prime Minister. And it comes after intense pressure from lawmakers within his own party, who said -- he said are asking whether he is best-placed to lead them into the next general election.

Well, Starmer became emotional towards the end of what was his speech outside the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, as he thanked his wife. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STARMER: And when I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:20:00]

ANDERSON: Well, let's discuss this further with CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. And you can absolutely forgive Keir Starmer for being emotional as he delivered that speech, announcing that he is resigning.

There will be a period of time during which there will be a successor sought for him. But I think the sort of public kind of expected this resignation from Keir Starmer. Did you?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think it was clear after the local elections, and then after the period that unfolded with all the discussion around the by-election with Andy Burnham, that it was really not a by-election to elect a new member of parliament for that constituency.

It was very much about electing a new leader of the Labor Party. And I think that's why, at the end of the day, cooler heads prevailed, Reform was sidelined, and there was support for this -- for this new candidate.

And I think at the moment that, that happened, it was just a matter of time for Keir Starmer to just sort of come to terms with the fact that this high that he experienced with a huge electoral win in 2024 for the Labor Party, had now collapsed just two years later.

ANDERSON: And we can discuss whether you believe that this was a -- you know, a win, a vote for Andy Burnham recently, or a vote against the current Prime Minister, because I think it's pretty clear that this victory in this by-election for Andy Burnham has been the straw that broke the camel's back as it were.

And before we do that, Keir Starmer described a laundry list of what he says are his successes during his two years in office, some of which you would be hard-pressed to disagree with him on. So, where has it all gone wrong for Keir Starmer, to your mind?

THOMAS: Yes, well, I think that the first thing to remember is that in many ways, this huge electoral victory of the Labor Party was really on the heels of 14 years of Conservative Party rule, where people had just had enough of the succession of leaders, the unreliability of leaders like Boris Johnson, the sort of the terrible situation with Liz Truss. And so, so much of the vote for the Labor Party was simply against the

Conservative Party at that moment, at that juncture. Now the political landscape has changed a lot in the last two years with the emergence of new parties and the rise of far-right political parties.

But I think at the end of the day, what the Labor Party inherited was not a healthy -- it was not a healthy list of things to tackle. The economy, the post-Brexit period, lingering debates around immigration and a shifting global landscape with the return to the White House with President Trump.

Unfolding events in Iran and the ongoing situation with Ukraine, and I think much like Emmanuel Macron across the Channel. Keir Starmer found himself trying to balance very precarious and unstable economic conditions domestically with the demands of a shifting multi-national order on the international scene.

And I think that those two, in many ways, were overwhelming. And that the next person who comes to the helm as leader of the Labor Party, and therefore as Prime Minister, is going to inherit those, and simple change of leadership will not take away those problems, which Keir Starmer had to deal with himself. Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, whoever that is will be the seventh Prime Minister in ten years for Britain. That is not a story of stability or sort of consistency. And just explain the Andy Burnham in all of this, and whether you believe he will be the next Prime Minister.

THOMAS: I have absolutely no doubt. I'm not a betting person, but I would bet that Andy Burnham will be the new Prime Minister, it's just a matter of when that process unfolds. I think it's a challenging situation because of course, he will be selected yet again by a party and not by the general public.

And the big question will be whether he is able to harness that momentum and take it into an early general election. But I think that the broader political context, much like across the Channel once again, whether it be in Germany or in Italy or in France, that have different electoral systems, is that you have seen a substantial shift in the last ten years away from mainstream political parties.

It works in coalition systems like Germany, although it makes them volatile and precarious. The U.K. system is still struggling to think about the question of representation, and Andy Burnham has been a strong supporter of proportional representation.

[05:25:00]

And if anything is true about what's happened in the last two years, and of what we've seen in local elections, is we have seen the rise of the Green Party, the rise of the far-right, struggling Conservative Party, and a Labor Party at the helm.

There are a lot of significant political constituencies now in the U.K., and it's possible that a new parliamentary configuration could return a more representative parliament, and that would be something that Andy Burnham has to think about in terms of cabinet appointments now, future cabinet appointments down the road.

And I see something with Burnham as an opportunity here to open up a little bit more the configuration of his cabinet to something that better reflects the landscape of politics today in the U.K.

ANDERSON: Well, let's see. It's good to have you, Dominic, thank you very much indeed. And that is it for this breaking news out of London for the time-being, we'll be back at the top of the hour with "CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS".

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