PM’s wife may hold key to Britain’s future

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Sir Keir Starmer spent the weekend in the equivalent of a black box. The British prime minister went to Chequers, his grace-and-favour residence, where he spoke to almost no one except his wife, Lady Starmer, and his closest allies.

He was weighing up whether there was any way he could stay on as prime minister or whether, put simply, the game was up.

Nearly the entire cabinet and most Labour MPs believe there is no point in equivocating: it is over. The choice, in their view, is no longer in his hands.

That certainly appeared to be the suggestion of Peter Kyle, the business secretary, who was asked to do an almost impossible media round. He appeared to be keen to avoid the pitfalls of Tory ministers before him, who defended Boris Johnson only to watch positions unravel within a matter of hours.

The prime minister, he said, was not “delusional” that forces were gathering against him. He was determined to “put the country first” and was taking the time to think through “what the political realities are today compared to last week”.

That “political reality”, as Kyle called it, has a name: Andy Burnham, the new Labour MP for Makerfield. The manner of his victory on Thursday provided the “proof of concept” that Labour MPs and ministers had been waiting for. It was spectacular on any measure.

In a seat that on paper should have been a straightforward victory for Reform, Burnham defied the odds, winning 54.8% of the vote and securing a 10,000 majority.

While Starmer said on Friday he would not “walk away”, his cabinet took another view. On Friday afternoon a succession of cabinet ministers, including Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, told him to set out a timeline for his departure.

Johnny Reynolds, the chief whip, explained that the sentiment of backbenchers had moved and that they were now in favour of an “orderly transition” of power.

Some cabinet ministers were brutal during the exchanges. As Starmer tried to make the case that Burnham would need to prove himself by helping Labour retain the Greater Manchester mayoralty he had just vacated, one responded by describing the prime minister as a “drag on the ticket”.

The minister said Starmer had lost the support of MPs and needed to go, adding: “No one supports you any more.”

All of which places Starmer in an almost impossible position. Ministers believe that unless he has set out a timeline for his departure by cabinet on Tuesday all hell will break loose.

His wife is a key figure in what comes next. When Starmer looked as if he was going to resign last month after a string of resignations from his government, it was his wife who was instrumental in persuading him to fight on. She was said to be angry about what she saw as the treachery of Burnham, and particularly Wes Streeting, who arranged for his key allies to step down to put maximum pressure on her husband.

One ally said her counsel in Starmer’s final decision should not be underestimated. “She has been the one urging him to fight it,” the ally said. “And she’s the one who’s with him.”

Another factor weighing on Starmer’s mind is his personal animus towards Burnham. He believes, with some justification, that ever since he became Labour leader Burnham has tried to undermine him at his weakest moments.

He also thinks Burnham is not a “substantive” politician, according to one ally, and that the Makerfield by-election has exposed his lack of plans for what to do if he were to reach No 10.

Tom Baldwin, Starmer’s biographer, told Times Radio there were “only two people who know what he’s going to do - one of them is Vic [Victoria, Lady Starmer] and the other one is the prime minister,” he said.

“I’ve absolutely no doubt that he is spending the weekend considering his future [and] he’ll be looking at what’s the right thing to do. The right thing for him, for his family, for his party, for his government and for his country and I think that last one will weigh very heavily on his mind.”

Burnham’s allies are blunt about the coronation he is seeking. They say a leadership contest will be a messy distraction that will come at a huge cost of more than £1 million (NZ$2.3m) to the party. His supporters say given the inevitability of the result - every poll of Labour members shows he will win against any rival by a significant margin - an 'orderly transition' will be the best way forward.

They want him in No 10 by September so he can use the Labour conference as the platform to launch his leadership before his first budget.

In the rush to “crown” Burnham as the next prime minister, senior Labour figures are concerned about the risk of handing over power with little to no idea of what he stands for.

Baroness Harman, Labour’s former deputy leader, told LBC that voters would question Burnham being allowed to enter No 10. “I think there will be a price to be paid for changing prime minister unless there can be some legitimacy established … If you have Keir Starmer going out the back door and Andy Burnham walking in the front door, it will be like: well, how did that happen?”

She added: “If you have no contest, if you have what’s called a coronation, only one candidate, then the question is: where is the legitimacy for Andy Burnham? I think what they need to be thinking is how can they be endorsed … I think some sort of hustings, or some sort of endorsement is necessary.”

Others questioned whether the former mayor would fall apart under the scrutiny of government, saying he has not put forward any solutions to the problems that have bedevilled Starmer.

“When the hype dies down, the problems in No 10 remain the same,” said John Slinger, who was elected as MP for Rugby in 2024. “Keir Starmer is already governing through them. [He] stabilised the economy, invested in our public services and he walks towards the problems, not away.”

This led to a rebuke from Karl Turner, a Labour MP who lost the whip under Starmer. “It’s over. It’s done. It’s dead,” he said. “Let it go and let’s move along. Let’s celebrate our successes, of which we’ve had a few, but let’s not pretend it’s been anything but chaotic.'

Turner also rebuked Mike Tapp, the immigration minister and Starmer ally, after he called for a change in the law to prevent the “constant churn” of prime ministers.

“If a change of leader is forced by its own party then a general election must be called,” Tapp said. “That would stop the constant churn and focus all politicians on delivery, instead of workplace politics. These endless ‘house of cards’ games would end and the country would benefit. Let’s legislate to focus minds.”

As it stands, Britain is on the cusp of its seventh prime minister in the space of 10 years. Whether Burnham fares any better than his multitude of recent predecessors remains to be seen.

- The Times