Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation as Prime Minister and the leader of the Labour Party, bowing to mounting pressure within the Labour Party after months of declining popularity and growing calls for a leadership change.
With Starmer's exit, the UK is set to get its seventh prime minister in just over a decade, marking the highest leadership turnover in nearly two centuries. Former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who recently won the crucial Makerfield by-election by a huge majority, is seen as the frontrunner for the next PM.
Resignation announcement
"Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party," he said, adding that he will remain in office until a successor is chosen. He made the remarks in a statement delivered outside 10 Downing Street.
Claims on government's record
Starmer also claimed his government had delivered the biggest improvement in workers' and renters' rights in a generation, the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War, and had lifted half a million children out of poverty through policy decisions, according to an India Today report.
Recalling his arrival at Downing Street two years ago, he said it was "the proudest moment" of his life and said he joined politics with the aim of changing the lives of millions of people.
