Farage Makes PM Pitch as Starmer Steps Down

With Keir Starmer resigning, the U.K. is about to have its seventh prime minister in a decade, and Nigel Farage wants the position.

Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, which came as a surprise to no one who’s been paying attention to U.K. politics. Pressure for Starmer to step down had been building from within his party since May’s elections, when the Labour Party was trounced while Reform performed very well.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said on Monday outside Downing St. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.… Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign.”

Starmer became prime minister just two years ago. “The formal contest to replace Starmer will begin in early July and could end in a matter of days,” the Associated Press reported. “Starmer said Monday that nominations will open on July 9 and close when Parliament breaks up for its summer recess, which is scheduled to begin July 16.”

The contest for PM is open to members of Parliament from the ruling Labour Party. Britain’s parliamentary system says that the governing party can replace its leader and prime minister. The leading contender to step into the PM position is Andy Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester.

New Direction

But some leading U.K. figures are saying the country needs to break with convention and allow the people to elect completely new leadership to reflect their wishes for fundamental changes. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, is calling for a general election. He wrote in a Substack published on Monday:

The British public have made their voices clear in May this year and last: Britain is broken and they want a radical reforming government that will fundamentally fix our country. But instead, Westminster wants to crown Andy Burnham off the back of a single by-election.

Farage is calling for a general election “at the soonest possible date.” And he makes no effort to hide that he wants the position. “I’m not frightened of Andy Burnham or any of the other Labour Party stooges,” he says. “The truth is that they are frightened of us. That’s why they band together at every by-election to attempt to block us from victory, why they tried to cancel the local elections and why they’ll try their very hardest to hold off on a general election for as long as possible.”

Bashing Burnham

Farage takes shots at Burnham, as if he’s already campaigning. “It’s ridiculous to pretend that Andy Burnham has any kind of meaningful mandate to lead the country,” he says, adding that Burnham has no “actual solutions to the problems plaguing the country.” Getting rid of a “failing leader,” says Farage, “only to replace him with another one — without a public vote or even an open discussion — is not a fair deal for the British people.”

He then rattles off a list of Labour’s bad governing decisions:

The party started by trying to steal from pensioners, while simultaneously refusing to take action against welfare cheats. Rachel Reeves raided your pay packet to throw money towards public sector fat cats. Promises to “smash the gangs” were hollow, as illegal migration through the Channel hit record highs. Digital ID was to be foisted upon people regardless of their wishes. Hardened criminals were released from prisons back onto your streets. The Chagos Islands were nearly handed over at a cost to the taxpayer, and farmers were hit by a death tax.

Reform Pitch

Farage then makes his pitch. The Reform Party will “take back control of our borders,” he says. It will end green policies “and the war on motorists.” Reform “restore order to your streets by jailing criminals.” And it will work to benefit small businesses. He concludes: “And it is my pledge to you that Britons will never again be used as a piggy bank to cover up the mistakes of the political class.”

Britain needs change, Farage points out, “real change, not another washed-up has-been shoved into place by the uniparty.”

The U.K. is on edge. It has seen riots and protests recently. The people are clearly upset as they watch their country devolve into something unrecognizable. The next few weeks will be pivotal.