London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer could on Monday outline a timetable for his departure, potentially beginning an orderly transfer of power to rival Andy Burnham. The move would put Britain on course for its seventh leader in a decade.
Leadership pressure grows
Less than two years after Starmer won a landslide election victory that had promised to bring an end to Britain’s political instability, one source said he had spent the weekend weighing whether to step aside or contest a leadership challenge.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Keir likes to think about things.”
Burnham’s return to Westminster
The pressure on Starmer, which had been building for months, intensified sharply on Friday when Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, won a parliamentary election to return to Westminster. He defeated a candidate from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has led national opinion polls for more than a year.
The result raised hopes among Labour lawmakers that Burnham, a career politician known for his communication skills, could improve the party’s position after it lost support under Starmer, whose popularity ratings have fallen to the lowest level recorded for a British leader.
Risks of a leadership change
A change in leadership is widely expected, but it carries risks.
Burnham has said the country needs fundamental change and lower living costs, but he has not yet set out a clear position on foreign affairs, the economy or defence.
Like Starmer, he could face limited room for action because of bond market investors opposed to more borrowing and an electorate that is angry and believes the country is not functioning properly.
Economic constraints and investor concerns
Britain has the highest borrowing costs among the Group of Seven wealthy nations because of its high debt and interest payments, years of weak economic growth, difficulties in cutting spending, and the need to invest in areas such as defence.
Investors interviewed by Reuters were divided on whether Burnham, who said last September that Britain needed to get “beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets,” would respect the need to reassure financial markets.