Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has repeated his call for an early general election, comparing Westminster to "Italian-style farce politics".

He says "whoever becomes the prime minsiter will not have been voted for by the British public", and adds that Andy Burnham did not stand at the last general election on Labour's manifesto.

Farage adds: "I really do think that my call for there to be a general election as soon as is possible - I think you'll find a lot of support for that."

Katie Thompson
Reporting from West Bromwich town centre

Sandwell Council flipped from Labour to Reform in last month's local elections, ending the party’s 47-year spell in control.

This is the kind of place the new prime minister will need to win at the next election in order for Labour to stay in power.

The response to Keir Starmer's resignation has been largely positive in West Bromwich town centre, with the majority of people saying it’s overdue.

Dave Holmes says it was right for Starmer to go, adding it was his u-turn on the winter fuel allowance that did it for him.

“About time. He’s useless. He says one thing then changes his mind,” he says, adding: “He’s bad, I don’t like him. I've not seen much integrity from him. But it’s not good to keep changing the prime minister. Let them have their five years."

Mandy Wood, 71, says it's “brilliant” news, and adds: “But nothing is going to change. I don’t like Labour, I don’t like Keir Starmer. His policies, he’s just turn around, turn around all the while.”

Sara Guest says: “We need a total change of government. He’s a weak leader but I don’t think Andy Bunham is going to be any better to be fair. In some ways we think he’s going to be worse, as he’s even more to the left than Keir Starmer is.”

Image source, ITN Pool

We've now heard more from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on today's developments. She says: "There are critical decisions that need to be made and the prime minister is setting out his farewell tour while Andy Burnham wants a summer holiday.

"It is really, really important that we ensure the country is being governed."

She adds that "whatever happens now we need to make sure that national security is the number one agenda", but that the next Labour leader will "still have the same problem - those Labour backbenchers who are not interested in defence and refuse to bring down the welfare bill".

David Deans
BBC Wales political reporter

Image source, PA Media / Welsh government

Wales' first minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has wished Sir Keir Starmer well after his resignation, but has called for a "new relationship" with his successor.

Ap Iorwerth said he was "disappointed that the Welsh government's ability to engage with the UK prime minister on issues which matter to the people of Wales" was "being hampered by the turmoil in Westminster".

Starmer had promised to meet the first minister and leaders of Scotland and Northern Ireland's governments in June, but the meeting failed to materialise.

Ap Iorwerth says: "I would like to see his successor recognising that Wales needs a new relationship with Westminster, with a focus on greater powers, fair funding, and respect for the democratic mandate delivered by the people of Wales.

"My government and I will always seek a constructive relationship with whoever is in No 10, but we have clear expectations that the respect agenda must work both ways."

Meanwhile, the interim leader of Welsh Labour Ken Skates praised Sir Keir, saying he "brought our party back from oblivion and delivered one of the greatest victories the Labour Party has seen".

More now from Andy Burnham's comments to reporters as he arrived at Euston.

First, Burnham reiterates his statement from earlier this morning - praising Keir Starmer's time in office and confirming he will stand to replace him as Labour leader and prime minister.

As we mentioned in our previous post, Burnham is then asked about a 2022 tweet, in which he called for a general election on the day Liz Truss resigned as prime minister (see screenshot above).

"I think you're jumping several hurdles ahead there - my priority today is to be sworn is as the MP for Makerfield," he says.

He says it has been "very sad" to leave Greater Manchester, where he was the mayor - saying he hopes he has left the region in a "better place".

Burnham is due to be sworn in as the new MP for Makerfield in the House of Commons this afternoon.

Andy Burnham tells the BBC that it is "jumping several hurdles" when asked if there should be a general election if he becomes prime minister.

We'll bring you more in a moment.

Andy Burnham's train has just arrived at London Euston station - our reporters on the ground will try to speak to the man on course to be the next prime minister.

He'll be formally sworn in as the new MP for Makerfield shortly.

Jamie Moughton
Reporting from the 10:54 Manchester to London train

I've just spoken to the deputy leader of the Labour Party and longstanding Burnham ally Lucy Powell on the train taking the new Makerfield MP to Westminster.

Powell praises Starmer for "turning the party around" and says the PM gave a "dignified and graceful" resignation speech.

She says the party now needs to show it can "do an orderly transition well", and says that she will make sure the process is "fair and smooth and hopefully relatively quick".

Asked if she expects a job in any future Burnham-led government, she replies: "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Mark Lowen
Reporting from Euston

A few dozen journalists have gathered at London Euston station, waiting for the most famous passenger of the 10:54 from Manchester Piccadilly to arrive.

Station staff are here too, knowing there’s no way to keep the cameras and microphones in check.

The scramble to get a word with the likely next occupant of No 10 is likely to be big and messy.

Image source, Reuters

Andy Burnham is taking an Avanti West Coast service from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston.

The service is running slightly behind schedule and is now expected to arrive at 13:28 rather than 13:09 BST. National Rail says this is due to a late-running train ahead on the line.

Our reporter Jamie Moughton is on the same service. He tried to speak to Burnham about his leadership bid, but the new MP for Makerfield is keeping tight-lipped during the journey.

Burnham is accompanied by a team of around half a dozen staff, and appears to have a security detail with him too,Moughton writes from the train.

Jane, 65, from Cardiff, says Starmer gave an "excellent speech" in Downing Street this morning, and describes him as a "man of integrity". She says she is "sorry he's stepping down".

Adrian, 68, from Truro, is more critical of the prime minister, saying he and Chancellor Rachel Reeves "ruined the job market for youngsters especially, closed thousands of businesses...[and] targeted pensioners".

Lorna in Norwich says "you can sack as many managers as you want" but unless you address "the work culture or other workers, nothing will change".

Richard in Ashford describes today's news as a "nasty hatchet job on an honourable man, doing his best for the country".

But Sally in Yorkshire says Starmer's resignation is "better late than never" and calls for a general election "urgently".

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Image source, PA Media

While Labour MPs have previously raised concerns about Starmer's communication skills, No 10's former communications director believes his downfall isn't down to messaging.

Speaking to BBC News, James Lyons, who left the post last year, says "I don’t think you can put it down to communications", noting that Starmer has overseen several changes in No 10 communications team while in office.

He says Labour's initial 2024 decision to cut winter fuel payments - although since largely reversed - is "still brought up by voters on the doorstep".

Lyons says last summer's welfare vote "cast him into political purgatory", but adds that Starmer will be remembered by some for "rescuing" the Labour Party after its 2019 election loss.

Fact-checking Starmer’s claims about time as PMpublished at 12:55 BST

12:55 BST

By Lucy Gilder and Tamara Kovacevic

Keir Starmer made several claims about his record as prime minister when he announced his resignation.

'Small boat crossings falling, asylum hotels closing'

Small boat crossings fell in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2025. About 10,000 crossings were recorded up to 20 June - a 42% decrease on the same period last year.

But last year’s total was the second highest after 2022’s peak under the previous Conservative government.

Starmer’s government has cut the use of hotels for asylum seekers - transferring them to other types of accommodation including former military sites. Government figures do not show the number of asylum seekers in houses of multiple occupancy.

As of April there were just under 190 hotels still in use, external down from a peak of nearly 400 in 2023. However, this number had already halved to 213 in June 2024 under the Conservatives, according to data obtained by BBC Verify.

'The biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War'

Starmer’s government planned to spend 2.5% of GDP in 2027/28, rising to 3% in the next parliament, making it the biggest increase since the Cold War.

In the 1950s, defence spending was over 7% of GDP. By 1989 - when the Berlin Wall came down - it was 3.3% and at times has fallen below 2%, so spending 2.5% of GDP on defence would eclipse any small increases since the 1990s.

After days of speculation, Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as Labour leader and PM.

It comes after Andy Burnham's victory in last week's Makerfield by-election - he is now on his way to Westminster to be sworn in.

Here are some of Monday's key moments:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

As Starmer has announced he is standing down as Labour leader, a process will begin to appoint his successor.

There may or may not be a contest, depending on how many candidates put their name forward.

Here are the key dates to keep in mind:

Jamie Moughton
Reporting from the 10:54 Manchester to London train

Andy Burnham is currently on a train, heading towards London Euston, ahead of his swearing in as an MP later today.

We're in the carriage next to Burnham, who declined to speak to us about his leadership bid announcement, giving the same response to other reporters we saw try.

He's accompanied by a team of around half a dozen staff, and appears to have a security detail with him too.

Image source, Reuters

James Cook
Scotland editor

Image source, PA Media

Supporters of Scottish independence say Sir Keir Starmer's resignation boosts their case.

In the decade since the UK voted to leave the European Union (against the wishes of a majority of Scottish voters) the nation has had six prime ministers.

There are now nationalist first ministers in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. Coincidence? Or consequence?

Scottish nationalists say they don't believe that a seventh PM in 10 years will be able to repair what they characterise as "Broken Brexit Britain" – a nation of entrenched low growth, poor productivity and high inequality.

Where, they ask, is the stability and prosperity promised by those who successfully campaigned in favour of the union in 2014?

"This is no way to govern. Scotland deserves better," says first minister and Scottish National Party leader, John Swinney.

But supporters of Scotland remaining in the UK insist independence would add chaos to instability.

They want the focus to be on improving governance and are highly critical of the SNP’s stewardship of public services.

The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, called for the prime minister to resign before last month's Holyrood elections — the implication being that management in London and Edinburgh was the problem, rather than the constitution.

Responding to Starmer's resignation, Sarwar has thanked Starmer for his leadership and the 2024 general election win - adding: "The Labour Party must quickly return its focus to the purpose it was elected for – to deliver the change people need."

Image source, EPA

Cabinet ministers have continued to react to the news of Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says Starmer has "decisively restored Britain’s credibility" and praised him for Labour's 2024 general election win after "one of our worst defeats in history in 2019".

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says she is "grateful to him and his family for the sacrifices they have made... they deserve all our thanks".

Newly appointed Health Secretary James Murray thanked Starmer for "everything you have done for the country and our party".

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens describes Starmer as a man of "dignity, duty and commitment to our country" and says he has transformed the Labour Party and "rebuilt public trust".

Business Secretary Peter Kyle writes in a statement: "Keir earned my respect when I saw him fight to save Labour. He earned even more of it as prime minister, restoring Britain’s place in the world."

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

The Kremlin won’t be sorry to see Keir Starmer leave Downing Street.

"Keir Starmer hasn’t distinguished himself at all in terms of Russia-UK relations,” President Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells me on the daily Kremlin conference call for journalists.

“He was always a supporter of maintaining these relations at the very lowest level...We don’t remember anything noteworthy about him in the job."

But the Russian authorities aren’t expecting much to change, in terms of the relationship between Russia and Britain.

“It’s unlikely that anyone on the British political scene will have a different position to Keir Starmer on our bilateral relations,” Peskov says.

This morning’s edition of the Russian government newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, describes Andy Burnham as “a consistent critic of Russia, who constantly calls for the West to adopt a tougher stance on Russia".

Ben King
Business reporter

There was a muted reaction on financial markets to Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister.

The effective interest rate on the benchmark 10-year UK government bond fell around 0.035%, a slightly larger fall than other European bonds.

There was a notable drop in UK bond yields shortly after 11am, as Wes Streeting announced that he was backing Andy Burnham - reducing the likelihood of a long and bruising succession battle.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose about 25 points following Streeting's announcement, to hit 10,388.

The pound is up around 0.5 cents against the dollar since Sir Keir's resignation, though the euro was also up against the dollar - suggesting the move is not entirely in response to UK political news.