UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that he is stepping down, saying he has fulfilled the goals he set for himself as head of government.
According to Sky News, Starmer made the announcement during his farewell speech before leaving office.
“My work is done,” Starmer said.
He said in his six and a half years as Labour leader he took the party “from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country, and won a landslide general election victory in 2024”.
He went on: “Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister, and I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
Starmer said his government has lifted children out of poverty, reduced immigration, put defence on a stronger footing, and enhanced the UK’s international reputation.
He also reaffirmed the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine, while stressing that preserving national unity remains one of the country’s most important tasks in a “world now where our enemies will stop at nothing to divide us.”
Concluding his speech, Starmer wished his successor, Andy Burnham, success in office.
“I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much,” he concluded.