Politics in the UK > Starmer announces he will step down, but will it make any difference?

 

U.K.’s Keir Starmer announces he is resigning as prime minister

By Jill Lawless  The Associated Press

Posted June 22, 2026 5:23 am

 Updated June 22, 2026 6:54 am

 4 min read

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he will resign, forced out by his own party after missteps and mistakes soured voters’ goodwill for a prime minister who won a landslide election victory two years ago on a promise of steady leadership and economic growth.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until his Labour party chooses a new leader — with expectations growing that it will be former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Burnham confirmed in a social media post that “I will put myself forward as part of this process.” Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival for the top job, said he will back Burnham.

It was Burnham’s victory in a special parliamentary election last week that triggered Starmer’s decision to resign. After nearly a decade out of Parliament as the mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham returns to Westminster and will be sworn in as a lawmaker later on Monday.

Only members of Parliament can stand for the party leadership.

5:13

Former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham clear frontrunner to succeed outgoing U.K.’s Starme

Streeting’s statement makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure. His statement comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

A new leader in place within weeks

Starmer made the announcement outside his official 10 Downing St. residence, the spot where he delivered his first speech as prime minister two years ago.

His voice choked with emotion near the end of the brief statement, which was watched by a group of staff, Cabinet ministers and scores of journalists.

2:13

Protests erupt across London as PM Starmer’s political turmoil deepens

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

He said he spoke to King Charles III, Britain’s constitutional monarch, to inform him of the decision.

Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following Burnham’s special election victory.

It’s unclear whether Burnham, who is due to be sworn in as a member of Parliament on Monday, will now face a coronation or a challenge. Starmer said nominations for a leadership contest will open on July 9, and the new leader will be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

If Burnham is the only candidate, the change could come by mid-July.

Starmer struggled to fulfill election pledges

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in even before an announcement, linking Starmer’s potential exit to two of his recurring bugbears: immigration and renewable energy.

8:41

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s political future in doubt

“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well! President DJT,” Trump posted on his social media platform.

Starmer’s initially warm relationship with the president has soured in recent months over issues including the Iran war, which the U.K. didn’t join.

He won praise on the world stage

In contrast to missteps on the domestic front, Starmer has won praise for his international role, notably in rallying European support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and working to mitigate the economic and political turmoil unleashed by the Iran conflict.

A NATO summit in Turkey next month may be his last foray on the world stage as Britain’s leader.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer’s legacy.

“It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years,” she said on X. “European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

While many Labour lawmakers have rallied behind Burnham, some have said that Starmer had been treated unfairly. London legislator Neil Coyle railed on X against “the prospect of an utter stitch-up & the media circus being rewarded.

“When the next leader cannot change Trump, Iran, Ukraine, Putin, Musk, broadcast editorial & algorithm bias overnight they’ll bay for his blood too. Better keep that guillotine sharp,” he wrote.

================================================================================================

Antisemitism in political UK and USA > One Mayor resigns, the other remains

 

UK: Mayor Who Claimed Jews Set Fire to Ambulances of Jewish Emergency Services Resigns

Apr 1, 2026 4:00 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald16 Comments

Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish emergency services group Hatzalah were set on fire in Golders Green, London on March 23. The mayor of Bath, a certain Bharat Pankhania, shared on X his belief that it was Jews themselves who had set the ambulances on fire to collect the insurance money. More on his charge, and the fallout from it, can be found here:

Bath, UK mayor resigns after amplifying idea that Jewish ambulance arson was ‘false flag’ attack

by Jackie Hajdenberg, JTA, April 1, 2026:

Screenshot

The mayor of Bath, in southwestern England, resigned from his post Monday after drawing criticism for amplifying the idea that the London arson of ambulances owned by a Jewish emergency service was a “false flag” attack.

“I have been made aware that I have reposted or replied to some posts which have never aligned to my values and beliefs, and which are abhorrent,” Bharat Pankhania said in a statement issued last week, prior to his resignation from the honorary role. “I am incredibly apologetic that I have not lived up to the standards I set myself. I have, of course, deleted them, and I wish to apologize unreservedly.”

Days after the Mar. 23 torching of four Hatzola ambulances in London’s Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green, Pankhania shared comments and posts on X/Twitter that suggested the fires were set by members of the Jewish community and an instance of insurance fraud, multiple British outlets reported. Law enforcement has deemed the fires an antisemitic attack.

A “false flag” operation is staged to look like an attack in order to garner sympathy for the victim or attribute blame to another party. Accusations that antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents are false flags have surged as such incidents have grown more commonplace….

After an investigation, the local branch of Pankhania’s political party, the Liberal Democrats, suspended him last week. On Monday, the group said he had resigned from both the mayoralty and the political group.

He had political ambitions beyond the honorary role of mayor; Pankhania’s resignation and his mea maxima culpa apology spell their end.

“Cllr Pankhania again apologized for his interactions on X, and reiterated that he has spent his life working with all communities, whilst acknowledging the hurt he had caused. In resigning, Cllr Pankhania is taking clear personal responsibility for his actions,” the group said.

“As a group and as a party, we reject discrimination wherever it occurs and reiterate our stance against antisemitism,” it added….

A good result. Pankhania’s vicious and idiotic charge that Jews set fire to their own ambulances to win sympathy and obtain insurance money was roundly criticized. As a result, he felt compelled to issue a mea-maxima-culpa apology, resign from his own party, the Liberal Democrats, and — the unkindest cut of all — had also to resign from his honorary role as mayor of Bath. His incipient political career is likely at an end.

But other officeholders who have accused Jews of staging “false flag” attacks on themselves have managed to remain in power. The most egregious example of this was in California, where the mayor of Richmond, California, Eduardo Martinez made claims similar to those of Bharat Pankhania regarding the Bondi Beach jihad massacre at a Hanukkah event, but was not compelled to resign.

This was a much graver offense that that of Bath Mayor Pankhania. Mayor Eduardo Martinez was accusing Jews not of arson, but of being responsible for faking the story of a mass murder of Jews on Bondi Beach in Australia. In that terror attack, that took place at the Archer Park area of Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, where a Hanukkah party was being held, fourteen Jews were murdered — 11 men, 3 women, and a 10-year-old girl. There were two gunmen; one was shot dead by police and the other was apprehended. Yet despite the eyewitnesses, despite the dead Jews, despite the police statements and the apprehended Muslim terrorist, Mayor Eduardo Martinez made his charge of a “false flag” operation. After a firestorm of protest from the Jewish community and others, he made an apology, not nearly as contrite as that of Bharat Pankhania, but he neither offered to, nor was asked to, resign. Despite his outrageous remark, he remains the mayor of Richmond.

Canadian Convulsions > Rachel Marsden Nails Trudeau Right-on

 

Trudeau’s term as PM was a boon for Canada, but not the way he expected

The outgoing leader managed to unite his nation, most of which now hates him

By Rachel Marsden, a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.

rachelmarsden.com

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. ©  Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Another one bites the dust. Before he can get pushed into it. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came back from a rough Christmas break and promptly resigned. During his holiday downtime, he headed over to the westernmost province of British Columbia for some skiing, where he was caught on camera being welcomed by a local, who said as he went over to shake her hand, “Mr. Prime Minister, please get the f**k out of BC. You suck!” A growing chorus of homegrown profanity has followed Trudeau wherever he ends up going.

Merely days later, on January 6, he stood in front of the press at his Rideau Cottage residence and announced that he was stepping down, citing the desire to offer Canadians a “real choice.” Like he was sacrificing himself for the greater good of the country. In reality, he was just battering himself up and tossing himself on the barbecue before his own party did – which they were expected to do just two days later at a caucus meeting.

During his announcement, Trudeau demonstrated that he’s suffering from an incurable case of woke mind virus. He underscored his commitment to Ukraine, to “truth and reconciliation” with natives, and to climate change. Meanwhile, Canadians of all political stripes and backgrounds are more focused now on how to save their own behinds from impending economic doom, exacerbated by the carbon tax imposed by Trudeau, than they are with the abstract notion that by slitting their fiscal wrists for the planet, they can control its temperature.

Immigration has exploded under Trudeau to the point where it’s affecting housing and jobs, while also treating Canadians to a taste of various global conflicts right at home. You used to have to actually go abroad for that, but now you can have it Ubered right to your door. Literally. “Why do so many ‘skilled’ Indian migrants work as drivers in Canada?” someone asked on Quora, for instance.

There’s also the ongoing traveling roadshow of gunplay between Khalistani Sikh separatists and their opponents. And the Israel-Palestine protests and counterprotests, one of which saw a participant threaten her opponents with another Holocaust, then asking if they needed clarification on what that was because she’d gladly explain it. Canadians – always polite and helpful.

The NATO-backed Ukrainian conflict with Russia also culminated at home in Team Trudeau celebrating an honored Canadian guest during a visit from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky – who also happened to be a bona fide World War II-era Ukrainian Nazi who had served in Heinrich Himmler’s Waffen-SS.

Read more

 Canada’s Justin Trudeau resigns

If Trudeau wanted to bring the country together, he’s finally succeeded. Not through any contrived “truth and reconciliation” initiatives, but rather organically by virtue of the fact that Canadians now overwhelmingly agree that he sucks. All but 20 percent of the population, according to the latest polling. If that still seems like a lot, it is. Like, who are these people?

It’s worth remembering that there’s a significant chunk of the Canadian electorate that would reflexively vote for the self-styled “natural governing party” of Liberals even if they were lobotomized. Which they might be. After all, when Trudeau marginalized those who opted to pass on the Covid shots, they willingly fell into line and picked fights with friends and family.

“When people see that we are in lockdowns or serious public health restrictions right now because of the risk posed to all of us by unvaccinated people, people get angry,” Trudeau said three years ago, blaming the pro-choice for his own government’s draconian diktats.  And when Trudeau blamed Russian disinformation for the fact that everyone was laughing at him applauding a Nazi, some Canadians actually listened and complied, with all the power that their remaining functional neurons could muster.

But one could also say that these credulous Canadians are victims, too. After all, under Team Trudeau during the Covid fiasco, the military used social media to deploy weapons-grade propaganda honed on the battlefield of Afghanistan to enforce establishment narratives, as the Ottawa Citizen reported in 2021.

Then there are Canadians who fear the so-called scary “fascist” (but actually frustratingly centrist) Conservatives more than they do the guy whose party actually blocked bank accounts of honking Covid-era anti-mandate Freedom Convoy Protesters, and actually have to be told in a ruling by a federal judge that he overshot his authority.

But in announcing his exit, Trudeau has also joined the many other Western establishment leaders trying to save their shared establishment agenda from voter wrath, particularly of the populist kind, as they seek to purge their national leadership of anyone considered even remotely involved with the mess made.

Read more

 Trump reacts to Canadian leader’s resignation

Romania simply cancelled an election when a populist won the first round. Austria has tried (and failed) to form a coalition without the winning populist party. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is impossibly trying to govern the country to the total exclusion from government of the right-wing populist party that won the most votes and the left-wing populists that won the most seats, even after colluding openly with the latter in a desperate attempt to block a right-win parliamentary victory.

Trudeau’s gambit now involves suspending the Canadian parliament rather than dissolving it in favor of an immediate election. With parliament prorogued until March 24, it gives the Liberals time to find a new leader and then simply plop him into Trudeau’s role when parliament resumes with a new throne speech and a new direction. Like nothing ever happened.

Hardly the “real choice” that Trudeau just said that “Canadians deserve.” That would require an election. Which has to be held sometime before the Fall anyway, but a new Liberal leader might buy the party some time to try clawing back some of that 24-point lead that the Conservatives now enjoy. A lead that could result in a landslide victory and a long odyssey across the political desert for the establishment Liberals who’ve long thought that they own the place.

The Western establishment has repeatedly proven that when faced with a democratic reckoning that risks rendering a verdict against their status quo, they’ll pull any and every lever they can in an attempt to prevent it. US President-elect Trump reacted to Trudeau’s announcement by suggesting yet again that Canada merge with the US.  No doubt in jest, but the Trudeau-led Canadian establishment trying to subvert democracy by sprinkling glitter on a dumpster fire in a last-ditch effort to cling to power sounds more like a typical justification for the kind of full-blown Western regime change that they love.

================================================================================================