LONDON — The British government is looking for a new leader as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation.
Starmer said he will remain in the position of caretaker prime minister until a successor is named, The Associated Press reported.
His announcement comes about two years after he won in a landslide to become the sixth prime minister in the past decade.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Starmer would resign, writing on social media nearly 24 hours before the announcement, “Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom,” and that, “I wish him well!,” according to CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Starmer for his support, saying that “the joint decisions that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger,” CNN reported.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian government “won’t remember him for anything remarkable during his tenure,” adding that “it’s unlikely anyone in the UK political scene will have a different position on our bilateral relations than Keir Starmer.”
Nominations will open on July 9 and will continue until Parliament goes on summer recess, which is scheduled to begin on July 16.
Members of Parliament from the Labor Party can run for the office.
So far, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has thrown his hat into the ring to replace Starmer.
They must have the support of at least 81 members of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers, the AP explained. After they meet that benchmark, they must have at least 5% support of local constituency parties or three-party affiliates.
Then, after meeting that threshold, party and affiliate members vote, and the person with more than 50% wins. Once the election is done and a winner is determined, King Charles III will invite them to become prime minister and to form a government, according to the AP.
If Burnham is the only candidate, he could be confirmed as the winner about a week after the election closes. If not, then the AP said the campaign could go to September.
Starmer replaced Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served from 2022 to 2024. Before Sunak, Liz Truss, who served a few weeks in 2022, Boris Johnson (2019-22), Theresa May (2016-19) and David Cameron (2010-16)
Truss was the shortest-serving prime minister, taking office on Sept. 6 and then resigning 45 days later, the BBC said.
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