Trump Tells the World 'Keir Starmer Will Resign' Hours Before PM's Expected Monday Announcement

US President Donald Trump declared on social media on Sunday that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was on his way out of Downing Street, posting on Truth Social that '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 came hours before Starmer was widely expected to make a formal announcement.

It was reported on Saturday that Starmer had concluded his position was no longer tenable after a series of consultations with senior cabinet ministers, political advisers, party donors and trade union leaders. Downing Street has not issued any official confirmation, but pressure on the prime minister has been mounting for weeks.

A Collapse Long in the Making

Labour lost more than 1,100 council seats it had previously held in the 2026 local elections, while the right-wing populist Reform UK party gained more than 1,400 seats. The scale of the defeat triggered an immediate wave of calls for Starmer's resignation from within his own party.

Following the results, Starmer said the outcome was 'tough' but insisted he would not 'walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.' That stance has since shifted significantly, according to multiple senior Labour sources.

One Labour peer close to the Prime Minister told The Observer that Starmer would not 'walk away' from No 10, creating a vacuum, but would instead 'arrange a deliberate slow march in good order, as a matter of duty and dignity.' Another Labour grandee said the Prime Minister now appeared 'resigned' to stepping down after coming 'hard against the reality that the support isn't there.'

Burnham Waits in the Wings

Andy Burnham is due to be sworn in as an MP on Monday and to meet Starmer early in the week, with a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, won the Makerfield by-election last week and has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Starmer as Labour leader.

Burnham's supporters claim he has secured backing from more than 201 Labour MPs if Starmer refuses to step down voluntarily. Under Labour rules, a formal leadership challenge requires nominations from 20 per cent of Labour MPs, currently 81.

How Trump's Truth Social Post Landed in Westminster

Trump offered no sourcing or evidence in his post, though the declaration landed amid a flood of British media reports already pointing in the same direction. By Sunday, Starmer was widely reported to be weighing whether to announce his exit or face a direct leadership challenge from Burnham, who is set to be sworn in as an MP the following day.

The two nations have long been close allies, yet Trump has repeatedly turned his sights on Starmer in recent months. On a prior occasion, he drew a pointed contrast between the prime minister and Britain's wartime leader, saying 'This is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with.'

If Starmer officially steps down, the UK will head into its seventh prime minister in a single decade. The next leader will inherit a fractured political landscape, a cost-of-living squeeze, and a Labour Party scrambling to rebuild its credibility before the next general election, due no later than May 2029.