Keir Starmer said on Monday that he will resign as the prime minister and leader of the Labour Party after seeking his party's view on whether he should continue as leader into the next general election.
Starmer said he asked his party whether he remained the right person to lead them into the next general election. He said he "heard their response and accepts it with good grace."
"I will resign as leader of the Labour Party," Starmer said, adding that every decision he made was about putting the country first.
He told King Charles of his decision during a conversation on Monday morning. Starmer asked the party's National Executive Committee to set a timetable for the leadership transition. Under the schedule he requested, nominations will open on July 9 and the process will conclude before Parliament's summer recess. That timetable is intended to ensure a new leader takes office before Parliament reconvenes in September.
Starmer pledged to help ensure an orderly transfer of power and said he will give full backing to his successor. He also said the incoming prime minister would inherit a Britain that is stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.
The outgoing prime minister will remain in post until a new Labour leader has been selected. He expressed thanks to colleagues who supported him during his six years in the role, and to staff at 10 Downing Street and the civil service.
This announcement sets a specific calendar for the party's leadership contest - nominations on July 9 and completion before the summer recess - and confirms continuity in office until a successor is chosen, while signalling a formal handover process involving the party's National Executive Committee and the monarch.