What’s next in London?

Labor in the sand

Starmer in crisis: what happens next in London?

Prime Minister Starmer’s British government cannot escape the crisis. After the election debacle, a minister resigned. But the greatest danger for the head of government lurks elsewhere.

Things are getting tight for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The pressure on the leader of the social democratic Labor Party has been growing for months – and now it is greater than ever before. The prime minister stubbornly refuses to resign. And whether he can be overthrown is uncertain. But the crisis is getting worse. And names of possible successors are circulating.

A week after the devastating result in local and regional elections, Health Minister Wes Streeting resigned in protest against the Prime Minister. The biggest threat to Starmer could come from his intra-party rival Andy Burnham, who is seen as a challenger to the wavering party leader. The mayor of Manchester announced that he would take the plunge into parliament. A party colleague had previously announced that he would resign his seat in the Makerfield constituency near Manchester in order to pave the way for Burnham.

It was expected that with his resignation Streeting would directly challenge the Prime Minister for the party leadership, but that initially did not happen – and then came the news of Burnham’s possible return to Parliament.

Starmer still seems to be successfully clinging to his office. But if further ministers resign, that could become difficult.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Minister Ed Miliband, who, according to media reports, are said to have spoken out in favor of the Prime Minister’s early resignation, are seen as possible threats to him. If the Home Secretary were to resign, it would probably mean the end of the Starmer era.

Starmer’s “big, big problem” is that he cannot do government work because of a lack of support in his group, analyzed Sky News reporter Sam Coates. “This can’t go on much longer.” The legislative proposals presented on Wednesday at the opening of the new session of Parliament could not be implemented without the support of his group. Starmer is increasingly heading a “zombie government”.

Burnham has been considered the darling of the moderate-left wing of the party for months. As mayor of Manchester, the 56-year-old has earned a reputation as a down-to-earth doer. In contrast to Starmer, he is seen as a courageous visionary. Burnham left parliament almost ten years ago after a failed attempt to become the party leader. Now he’s pushing back.

At the last Labor Party conference in September 2025 – Starmer was already under criticism at the time – the politician now known as the “King of the North” was the secret star.