Starmer bids MPs goodbye as British PM and pledges to support his successor

Andy Burnham, who is set to replace Starmer on Monday, will become the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to give his “wholehearted support” to his successor, Andy Burnham, in an emotional appearance in the House of Commons as he prepares to hand over his premiership.

Facing his last session of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said he wanted to see the next leader of the Labour Party succeed.

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“I want this Labour government to be a success,” Starmer said. “I want our country to be a success. I shall give my support privately if asked for, not publicly when not asked for.”

Starmer announced his resignation last month after months of pressure to step down following a series of scandals, missteps and policy U-turns. He was prime minister for just two years despite having led his party to a resounding victory in the 2024 general election following Labour’s 14 years in opposition.

Burnham is expected to be named Labour leader on Friday before formally replacing Starmer on Monday. He secured overwhelming support from the party’s 403 MPs and from major trade unions. The party’s comfortable majority in the 650-seat House of Commons means he will automatically become the next prime minister.

MPs from all parties wished Starmer well at the weekly PMQs, thanking him for his public service and calling on him to ensure that England win Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal showdown against Argentina and go on to beat Spain in the final on Sunday.

The weekly PMQs session in the United Kingdom Parliament is traditionally a raucous affair with opposition parties trying to bait the prime minister. Wednesday’s session was gentler, but there were still some barbs exchanged.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch of the Conservative Party joked: “He spent a long time laughing that I’d lost control of my party. I think he should have been paying attention to his backbenchers instead of mine.”

“Changing the prime minister is not a silver bullet. Indeed, it may be that the Labour Party’s troubles are only just beginning,” she said. “Solving the fundamental problems in this country will require difficult decisions.”

Burnham, who was mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years, will become the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade. He is expected to meet King Charles III on Monday.

Most MPs applauded Starmer, and many gave him a standing ovation as he wished them an emphatic “goodbye” in the middle of the parliament floor, saying he had a date with his television at 8pm (19:00 GMT) for the World Cup semifinal.

“This is the end of my political journey,” he said. “In two years in government, I leave the country in better shape than I found it. I am proud of everything that we have achieved.”