UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation this week.
His successor is widely expected to be former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who entered Parliament on Monday after a by-election last week.
This week also marks 10 years since the Brexit referendum, the results of which separated young from old, England from its UK neighbours Scotland and Northern Ireland, and another Prime Minister from his job.
Here’s what to know about a tumultuous week (and decade) in UK politics.
Brexit
On 23 June 2016, more than 30 million people went to the polls in the UK to vote on whether to leave or remain in the European Union.
While then-Prime Minister David Cameron had agreedto hold a referendum on the question, he campaigned to remain, alongside future PM Theresa May.
Nigel Farage, then leader of an anti-EU party called UKIP, led the charge to leave with future PM Boris Johnson.
The ‘leave’ vote won, but results were highly divided based on age and location.
Scotland, much of Northern Ireland, and London city and surrounds broadly voted to remain, while the rest of England and Wales broadly voted to leave.
Prime Ministers
Having campaigned to remain in the EU, Cameron immediately resigned as PM.
The Conservative party chose May as his replacement. She committed to carrying out Brexit, though she had also campaigned against it.
May was unable to secure a deal to progress Brexit, and after three years as PM she resigned in 2019.
Johnson then took over, promising to “get Brexit done”. He resigned in 2022 following a series of scandals, including holding parties at his official residence during COVID lockdowns.
Johnson was succeeded by Liz Truss, whose economic mismanagement saw her resign within 50 days.
The last Conservative PM to date was Rishi Sunak, who led the country up to the next election in July 2024 – which Labour won in a landslide, making party leader Keir Starmer the Prime Minister.
A little less than two years later, Starmer resigned this week, under pressure from his colleagues and in the face of a challenge from the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Wait, who’s Andy Burnham?
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Your details:
- Attended Cambridge University
- Won a Manchester-based seat in Parliament in 2001
- Ran for Labour leadership twice (unsuccessfully)
- Retired to become Manchester mayor in 2017
- Started hinting at a return to Parliament last year. Last month, a Labour MP stepped aside to intentionally trigger a by-election for Burnham to run in.
Starmer
Burnham’s by-election win last week was seen as the last straw in a series of failures for Starmer.
Political analysts in the UK say he was not an effective communicator, and had announced and then walked back several policies.
Starmer’s resignation was widely expected. When he announced he was stepping down as leader on Monday, Starmer said he had changed the Labour party for the better, and tried to do the same for the UK.
Next steps
In Australian political party leadership elections, MPs and Senators vote in secret and the new leader takes over immediately.
UK parties have more complicated processes.
Burnham’s Labour party requires leadership candidates to have the support of a certain number of MPs and party members across the country to get a nomination.
Once the nominees are confirmed, every registered party member can vote.
If several contenders emerge, the process can take several months. However, Burnham looks set to run unopposed.
Nominations for a new Labour leader will be open from 9-16 July.
Starmer will remain Prime Minister until his replacement is confirmed.
If no other challengers surface, Burnham could take office as early as 16 July.
