Pressure mounts on Starmer to quit after Burnham’s by-election win

The Leadership Crisis

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is weighing whether to resign within days, according to media reports, amid mounting pressure from his own Labour Party following a decisive by-election win by his rival, Andy Burnham.

The By-election Result

Expectation is growing that Starmer could announce a resignation timetable as soon as Monday, the same day Burnham is sworn in as a lawmaker after winning Thursday’s vote by a wide margin – a result that has reportedly emboldened Labour figures, including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, to call for Starmer to step aside.

The Pressure on Starmer

A resignation would lead to the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade, a rapid rate of churn in the country’s modern history. Starmer has been under growing pressure to step down after months of declining popularity, policy missteps and scandals.

The Potential Successor

Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor since 2017, has made clear he intends to challenge to lead the slumping centre-left party, warning in his by-election victory speech that it had a “final chance to change”. If successful, he would become prime minister by default, given that the governing Labour has a huge parliamentary majority.

The Future Outlook

Starmer is deeply unpopular with voters, according to polling. YouGov reports that only 19 percent of British people have a positive opinion of the prime minister, and he ranks as the ninth most popular Labour politician. Starmer has insisted he will fight any attempt to oust him, but the emphatic nature of Burnham’s win has increased the internal pressure on Starmer to quit.