*Reports hint at possible exit today
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
US President, Donald Trump, yesterday predicted that the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, “will resign” as prime minister, accusing him of “failing badly” on immigration and energy.
Trump’s intervention came as Starmer faces mounting pressure to set out a resignation timetable after Andy Burnham’s by-election win.
Writing on social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said: “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!”.
The post is thought to be based on media reports as the two have not spoken this weekend, a The Independent report said.
Starmer was not the only leader to face criticism from Trump at the weekend after he hit out at Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday. Trump said that Meloni was “doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity”, and accused her of not supporting US efforts to prevent Iran “from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon”.
Meloni retaliated on Instagram, saying the US president’s “constant, unprovoked attacks” were “senseless”. She added: “As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
But with speculation growing over Starmer’s position, UK Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, told broadcasters on Sunday that the Labour leader was reflecting on the “political realities” he now faces. Kyle has not spoken to the UK prime minister since Friday, when he said he had a “frank conversation” with him.
Asked about reports that the prime minister could set out a plan for his resignation as early as Monday, Kyle said: “I have nothing to believe that they are true. I’m seeing a lot of speculation out there. “The only thing I can say with fact is that the prime minister is hard at work, as he is every day,” he stressed.
No 10 said Starmer’s position remained unchanged from Friday, when he said he will not “walk away” from Downing Street and will stand in any potential contest.
However, British Prime Minister, Starmer, was said to be considering his political future on Sunday, after rival Andy Burnham’s decisive election victory to parliament prompted more ministers in the governing Labour Party to call for him to go.
Struggling with some of the lowest popularity ratings for any British leader in modern political history, Starmer could decide as soon as Monday whether to step aside or fight a leadership contest against Burnham, one source quoted by Reuters said.
The scale of victory Burnham won for a parliamentary seat in northwestern England on Friday has piled pressure on Starmer, with dozens of lawmakers and some ministers privately calling for him to set out a timetable for his departure to clear the way for the former Greater Manchester mayor.
A source with knowledge of the matter said Starmer was spending the weekend thinking about and discussing his position with his family but that an expected conversation with Burnham would clarify matters. “Keir likes to think about things,” the source said.
Starmer’s unpopularity was laid bare by Labour’s heavy losses in local elections in May, and polls of party members indicate Burnham would win a formal leadership contest.
It was understood that Foreign Minister, Yvette Cooper, had called on Starmer to stand down in a private conversation over the weekend. Her spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her apparent appeal, alongside other ministers and dozens of lawmakers, increased the sense that it is now a case of when, rather than if, Starmer would step aside.
Starmer said only a few days ago that he would stand in any formal Labour leadership contest that sought to replace him. While Starmer’s team believes his landslide national election win in 2024 gives him the mandate to stay in post until 2029, Business Minister Peter Kyle said the prime minister was reflecting on “the political challenges that he faces in this moment”.
Kyle said he had spoken to Starmer on Friday and had found a man who was questioning what “the country expected of him”. The conversation showed Starmer was in “very difficult circumstances”, the business minister said.
“So I’m not going to deny the political challenges that he faces at this moment, but what I’m also not going to do is say there is ever anything inevitable about the days ahead,” Kyle told LBC radio.
Burnham’s thumping win over the populist Reform UK party to take a parliamentary seat in Makerfield prompted more lawmakers and ministers to press the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure to avoid what could be a divisive leadership race.
The team supporting Burnham, a 56-year-old career politician, had said they were giving Starmer the weekend to consider his position in the hope that he would set out an orderly transfer of power. As yet, there was no indication the two had spoken.
Former minister Jess Phillips – who is a supporter of health secretary Wes Streeting, another potential challenger to Starmer – told the BBC that “it feels like we’ve come to the end of the road” and that it would be best for Starmer’s departure to be “as dignified as possible”.
It had been reported by The Observer newspaper that Starmer was thinking of announcing his intention to resign as Labour leader today (Monday).
