Yesterday (June 22), in a statement outside Downing Street, Sir Keir acknowledged he was “not best placed” to take Labour into the next general election.
He will continue as prime minister while the party selects a new leader.
Nominations are set to open on July 9 and close on July 16.
Attention has quickly shifted to Andy Burnham, who is widely regarded as the frontrunner to succeed him.
With that in mind, Your Local Guardian is asking readers in south London: would you vote Labour if Andy Burnham became leader of the party?
Burnham, former Mayor of Greater Manchester, secured a decisive by-election victory in Makerfield on Thursday (June 18), winning 55 per cent of the vote and beating Reform UK by more than 9,000 votes.
The result intensified pressure on Sir Keir and paved the way for Mr Burnham to launch a leadership bid.
Following his win, Mr Burnham said: “This is a final chance to change.
“There will be no second chance.”
A former health secretary and long-standing Labour figure, Mr Burnham is one of the party’s most recognisable politicians outside Westminster.
He earned the nickname “King of the North” during clashes with the Conservative government over Covid-19 restrictions.
As Mayor of Greater Manchester, he oversaw the launch of the Bee Network, bringing buses back under public control and creating the first integrated transport system of its kind outside London.
Wes Streeting, the Ilford North MP and former health secretary, had been considered Mr Burnham’s main rival.
In May, he confirmed plans to run in any leadership contest after resigning from the cabinet, saying the party needed “a proper contest with the best candidates in the field”.
However, on the same day Sir Keir resigned, Mr Streeting announced he would not stand and instead backed Mr Burnham.
Mr Streeting said: “We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help him deliver the change our party and country needs.”
Now, we want to hear from south Londoners.
Would you vote Labour if Andy Burnham became leader and prime minister?
Have your say in our poll and share your views in the comments.
