Keir Starmer resigns as Member of Parliament following premiership
Former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras, a seat he has held for 11 years.
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Keir Starmer, who stepped down as leader of the Labour Party in June and as Prime Minister in July, has now resigned from his position as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom.
In a statement on his X account, Starmer announced that he has resigned as the MP for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency in London, effective today. The former prime minister stated that following his 11-year tenure as an MP, he will focus on international relations and defense, as well as issues regarding violence against women and children.
Expressing pride in the work done for local issues in his constituency throughout his tenure, Starmer said that the Labour Party and volunteers had been by his side at every stage of his political career. Starmer also announced that he would give his full support to the Labour Party candidate who will run to succeed him.
Starmer had faced intense criticism over his economic policies, his appointment of Peter Mandelson—who has ties to Jeffrey Epstein—as Ambassador to Washington, and the defeat in the local elections in May. Following calls for him to step down during this period, he announced in June that he was resigning as leader of the Labour Party, and announced that he would continue to serve as Prime Minister until a new leader was elected.
The Labour Party announced on July 17 that Andy Burnham, the MP for Makerfield and former Mayor of Manchester, who ran as the sole candidate in the election, was the new leader. Starmer resigned as Prime Minister on July 20, and King Charles III granted the mandate to form a government and the premiership to Burnham on the same day.