The resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sparked a political earthquake in the United Kingdom, after his early stepdown — less than two years after his historic victory — was the result of an internal rebellion in the Labour Party following heavy losses in local elections and exacerbated pressures related to internal and external files.
According to British reports, Andy Burnham is moving fast to succeed Starmer, after both Weiss Street and Angela Rayner were quick to announce their support for him, in a sign that the moderate and left-wing wings want to complete a disciplined transition of power and avoid the eruption of a new internal conflict, with a focus on restoring voter confidence ahead of the next general election.
Conservative leader Kimi Padenoch called Starmer a "failed prime minister", criticising leaving the country without a de facto leader all summer, amid calls from the opposition for an immediate general election that she said Britons would not accept a "new political push to Downing Street" without returning to the polls.
Trump blames him for NATO and oil
U.S. President Donald Trump slammed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday after the latter announced his resignation, saying he had "hurt himself a lot" over energy issues, immigration and his management of relations with Washington.
"I think he's a nice guy," Trump told reporters at the White House, before accusing Starmer of mismanaging British energy policy by not exploiting North Sea oil and allowing "windmills to be built everywhere."
"The UK imports a large part of its energy.. Do you know where you're from?. "The UK has a much larger share in the North Sea, but they don't want to exploit it for environmental reasons."
Trump, who predicted Starmer's departure days ago in a post on Truth Social, said the British leader was "kind of a friend of mine" but noted that he was not cooperative enough with the United States on NATO and the war against Iran.
Trump added that the decision on energy and oil remained "Britain's choice", but at the same time hinted at tensions in the relationship with Starmer at the NATO level, saying he "was not dealing with us in the best way" on the dossier.
Macron thanks Starmer after his resignation
French President Emmanuel Macron sent a message of thanks to Starmer, vowing to continue the path charted during their joint work.
Macron wrote on the X platform: "Working together in the fields of defence, nuclear energy, space and innovation, particularly during our Franco-British summit in July this year, testifies to this commitment. We will continue on this path for the good of our people and Europe."
Separately, Macron thanked Starmer for supporting the initiative to form a so-called "coalition of the willing" to provide assistance to the regime in Kiev in the war against Russia, and for "facilitating the restoration of relations between the UK and the EU".
Kremlin: Starmer has brought our relations to zero
The Kremlin declared that the resigned Starmer had always been a proponent of keeping relations between Britain and Russia at zero.
Commenting on Starmer's resignation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It is unlikely that anyone in the British political arena will adopt a different position on dialogue with Russia."
Peskov told reporters: "Keir Starmer has not shown any positivity in terms of Russian-British relations. He has always been in favor of keeping these relations at zero."
The Russian president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, described Starmer's resignation as "a signal to other warmongers in Europe."
Starmer announces his resignation
Keir Starmer announced on Monday his resignation from the leadership of the ruling party and the head of the British government, paving the way for a possible election to choose his replacement amid expectations that Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, would win, thus becoming the sixth British prime minister to resign in the past decade.
In a speech to the British people on Monday, he said he had vowed to ensure a new Labour leader was in place by the time parliament returns from summer recess in September.
He said he had already asked the Labour Party's National Executive Committee to set a timetable for internal elections to choose the party's new leader and government.
Nominations are due to begin on July 9, with Starmer remaining in office until the race is over and a new leader is chosen, pledging to "do everything in his power to ensure a smooth transition of power" and to give his "full and unequivocal support" to the next leader.
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