London, United Kingdom: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was considering his political future on Sunday after Andy Burnham’s parliamentary election win increased pressure inside the Labour Party.
A source said Starmer could decide as soon as Monday whether to step aside or fight a leadership contest against Burnham. The source said Starmer spent the weekend discussing his position with family.
Burnham won a parliamentary seat in Makerfield, northwestern England, on Friday. The scale of the victory prompted more Labour lawmakers and ministers to call privately for Starmer to set out a departure timetable.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is believed to be considering his political future after rival Andy Burnham's decisive election to Parliament intensified pressure on him to step aside https://t.co/5S0Nq4ZZEX pic.twitter.com/wQ4CLYwk75
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 21, 2026Starmer has struggled with some of the lowest popularity ratings for a British leader in modern political history. Labour’s heavy local election losses in May also exposed its political weakness.
US President Donald Trump added pressure by predicting on Truth Social that Starmer would resign as the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Trump also criticised Starmer over immigration and North Sea oil output.
Sky News reported that Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper had called on Starmer to stand down in a private weekend conversation. Her spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Business Minister Peter Kyle told LBC radio that Starmer was reflecting on the political challenges he faced. Kyle said he had spoken to Starmer on Friday and found him in “very difficult circumstances.”
Starmer said days earlier that he would stand in any formal Labour leadership contest. His team argues his 2024 landslide election win gives him a mandate to stay in office until 2029.
Read: UK Leadership Race Looms as Burnham Wins Makerfield
Burnham’s supporters said they were giving Starmer the weekend to consider an orderly transfer of power. Former minister Jess Phillips told the BBC that it felt Labour had reached “the end of the road.”
