Taoiseach praises Starmer following his resignation

An Taoiseach Micheal Martin has paid tribute to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, following the announcement of his resignation as prime minister and leader of the British Labour Party on Monday.

Starmer made the announcement in an emotional press conference outside 10 Downing Street, London.

He said the question of whether he was the right person to lead the Labour Party in the next general election had been answered by his parliamentary party, and he was accepting that answer “with good grace”.

Martin said Starmer had played a significant role in resetting Irish-British, as well as UK-European Union relations, which had deteriorated since the UK’s vote to leave the bloc in 2016.

“Since Keir took office two years ago, he has worked with us to set a new direction and depth in the relationship between Ireland and the UK, for the benefit of all our citizens, north-south and east-west,” said Martin.

He highlighted what he called the “important step forward” in putting in place a framework to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

“Keir is a person of great ability, decency and honour and I want to wish him, his wife Victoria, and their family, very well in their next chapter,” he said.

Starmer’s resignation comes in the wake of the return to Westminster of his Labour Party rival Andy Burnham.

Burnham stepped down as Mayor of Manchester to contest a by-election in the constituency of Makersfield in the Greater Manchester area, where he won a landslide victory with 55% of the vote, more than all of the other candidates combined.

Calls immediately came from within the Labour Party for Starmer to resign to make way for Burnham as Prime Minister.

Nominations for the leadership role are to open on 9 July. If the election is contested, a new leader, and prime minister, is expected to be in the role by September. Starmer has indicated he will remain in the role until a successor is chosen, and he will ensure an "orderly" transition.