Keir Starmer’s resignation after less than two years in office leads every major paper on Tuesday, but across many front pages, images of the prime minister’s exit are relegated to second place, with the focus already turning to Andy Burnham the newly elected MP for Makerfield and leader-in-waiting.
The Guardian leads with an image of Starmer delivering his resignation speech, accompanied by the headline “Starmer bows out … as Burnham sweeps in”.
Jonathan Freedland looks at the rise and fall of the prime minister, and asks how a man that won a landslide victory in July 2024, could be pushed out less than two years later, “having started no illegal wars, having triggered no grave economic crises, having been accused of no scandalous act of corruption.”
“Out of time”, reads the Mirror headline, under an image of Starmer and his wife, Victoria.
“He stood up to Trump, lifted half a million kids out of poverty, protected workers and renters,” the front page reads, before conceding the “failures were glaring”.
“In the end a decent man tried his very best in an almost impossible job …”
The Times turns to Andy Burnham, and contrasts the image of Starmer at the podium outside No 10, with that of the newly elected MP for Makerfield taking a selfie in Westminster surrounded by the ranks of the parliamentary Labour party.
“Burnham angles for power”, the paper’s headline reads, adding that the former mayor of Manchester could be prime minister by “next month”.
The i takes a similar line, with the headline “Prime Minister in three weeks: Burnham arrives for coronation”.
“‘Messiah’ without a mandate”, reads the Mail’s headline, with the paper reporting on a poll of their own readers, 89% of whom say Burnham should “go to the ballot box” and call an early election.
The Telegraph describes Burnham’s ascent as a “coronation”, and reports on calls from Nigel Farage for an early election.
Writing below the main story, columnist Tim Stanley sketched out Burnham’s day in Westminster, under the headline “He’s not the Messiah, but a naughty boy is exactly what Labour wants”.
“Starmer’s exit clears way for Burnham”, is the splash on the Financial Times, but in a comment piece inside, the paper’s executive editor says “Burnham has done the easy part, but the challenges remain the same”.
The Sun notes that at the current schedule, Burnham could become prime minister on the eve of the World Cup final. Charecterising the day’s events as “Burnham’s No10 coup”, the paper runs the headline “He thinks it’s all over … an it definitely is for Starmer”.
The Express uses its front page to mark the 10th anniversary of Britain voting to leave the EU, with the headline “Give us a proper Brexit”.
Noting that the anniversary comes as the UK loses another prime minister, the paper calls on the country’s politician’s to “deliver the will of the people” and finally “believe in Brexit”.
Finally, Scotland’s Daily Record notes that Britain is set for its “seventh PM in just 10 years”, under the headline: “It all ends in Keirs”.
