Keir Starmer expected to announce departure as prime minister on Monday

Keir Starmer is expected to announce on Monday that he will resign as prime minister, after intense pressure from Labour MPs to allow Andy Burnham to take over as party leader. For weeks, Starmer and his allies insisted he would fight any leadership challenge, including from Burnham, who recently returned to Parliament by winning the Makerfield by-election. However, on Sunday morning, Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News that Starmer was spending the weekend "making time to reflect on the political realities" he faces. Kyle declined to confirm Starmer's intentions or whether he planned to resign on Monday, but he did not push back on the idea that a change in No. 10 was imminent after Burnham's decisive victory on Thursday. Downing Street denied that Starmer was planning to leave, stating his position had not changed since Friday, when he told reporters he would run in any contest, warning it would "plunge us into chaos." Nevertheless, ministers who were previously loyal to Starmer told him on Friday to set a departure timetable by the end of the weekend or face being forced out. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, won the Makerfield by-election with a majority of over 9,000 votes and more than 50% of the vote. His team believes around 200 Labour MPs—roughly half the parliamentary party—support him, and that number has since grown. Burnham is increasingly confident of a coronation without a contest. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who resigned last week due to frustrations with Starmer's leadership, has also declared his candidacy but faces skepticism from Starmer and Burnham allies. Starmer's departure would make him the seventh prime minister in ten years, just two years after he led Labour to a landslide general election victory with a majority of 174 seats. His premiership has been battered by controversies and U-turns, including cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners and the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington. Labour has slumped in the polls, with Reform UK leading more than 300 consecutive national polls, convincing many Labour MPs that without a leadership change, Nigel Farage could become the next prime minister.