Nigel Farage has called for a general election immediately following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader. Starmer stepped out of No 10 this morning to confirm his departure, which comes days after Andy Burnham's landslide victory in the Makerfield by-election. Starmer stated that a new Prime Minister would be in place by September.
Farage's Demand for Immediate Election
Farage, leader of Reform UK, wasted no time in demanding that the decision be put to the public. In a post on his Substack blog, he said: “Starmer isn’t the first Prime Minister I’ve deposed, and he won’t be the last. David Cameron. Theresa May. Rishi Sunak. And next up – Andy Burnham. The reason each leader has failed is the same.”
He added: “What the political class fails to understand is that the electorate won’t accept being taken for fools. They cannot continue to take the votes of the people who supported them for granted, only to betray them upon having gained power. Politics is about trust.”
Farage continued: “That is why I am calling for a general election at the soonest possible date. You know as well as I do that the country cannot afford to waste another week drifting from crisis to crisis. That’s why millions of you turned out in the local elections to vote for Reform councillors, and it’s why we have led in more than 300 opinion polls for well over a year.”
Starmer's Resignation Speech
In his resignation speech, Starmer reflected on his tenure: “Six years ago I inherited a Labour Party that was politically, financially and morally bankrupt. I was told time and time again that my party was finished. That we were consigned to history. That a majority at the general election let alone a landslide majority was impossible.”
He added: “But we proved those people wrong. Because we changed our party. Ripping out the poison of anti-Semitism, restoring trust on the economy, defence and national security and becoming a party that once again stood proudly with not against our national flag.”
Starmer acknowledged the pressure from his party: “I know the question being asked of us now is not who was best-placed to change the Labour Party to take us into power and to begin the vital work of improving lives for millions of people. Those questions have been answered. The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party loud and clear and I accept that answer with good grace.”
Impact and Next Steps
The resignation has thrown British politics into turmoil, with Farage's Reform UK gaining momentum. The call for a general election echoes the sentiment of many voters who feel betrayed by successive governments. The coming weeks will determine whether a snap election is called or if a new Labour leader will be appointed to serve until the next scheduled election.
