Keir Starmer has announced he will step down as UK prime minister and Labour leader less than two years after Labour’s 2024 landslide victory. His resignation follows heavy local election losses, collapsing public approval, internal pressure from Labour MPs, and growing concern that the party is losing ground to Reform UK. Labour’s May 2026 local election performance was especially damaging, with reports showing the party lost more than 1,200 English council seats and more than 30 councils. Starmer will remain in office as caretaker prime minister until Labour selects a new leader. Andy Burnham, who recently returned to Parliament after winning the Makerfield by-election, is widely viewed as the frontrunner to replace him.