Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he would resign, with a new ​leader to be in place by the time parliament returns in September, paving the way for Britain to have its seventh leader ‌in 10 years.

Less than two years after he won a landslide election victory that promised to end chaos in British politics, Starmer said it was clear that his party wanted him to go, Reuters reported.

“The question my party is asking now ​is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election, I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party ​to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace,” he said.

PRESSURE HAD BEEN BUILDING FOR MONTHS

The threat to ⁠Starmer, which had been building for months, increased sharply on Friday when Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, decisively won a parliamentary election to return to Westminster, ​beating a candidate from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has led national opinion polls for more than a year.

That victory gave hope to Labour lawmakers that ​Burnham, a career politician known for his communication skills, could transform the fortunes of a party that has lost support under Starmer, whose popularity ratings have sunk to the lowest for any British leader.

Starmer thanked his colleagues for their support, his voice cracking with emotion as he also paid tribute to his wife and children.

The pound and British government ​bonds were steady in the immediate aftermath of Starmer’s announcement, which investors had widely expected.

Despite the attempt at a smooth handover, the change is not ​without risk.

Beyond saying that the country needs fundamental change and to bring down the cost of living, Burnham has yet to make clear his approach to foreign affairs, the economy ‌and defence.

Like ⁠Starmer, he could find he has little room to manoeuvre, hemmed in by bond market investors opposed to any additional borrowing, and confronted by an angry electorate which believes the country is not working properly.

Britain already has the highest borrowing costs in the Group of Seven wealthy nations due to its high debt and interest payments, years of anaemic economic growth, its struggles to cut spending and the need to invest in areas like defence.

Investors spoken to by Reuters were divided over whether Burnham, ​who said last September that Britain ​had to get “beyond this thing of ⁠being in hock to the bond markets” would respect the need to reassure markets.

He has since said he was misrepresented.

“In our view, a Burnham premiership would inherit a precarious fiscal situation with few tools to deliver meaningful change,” ​economists at Citibank said on Friday.

STARMER HAD PLEDGED TO FIGHT ANY CHALLENGE

Starmer had said on Friday he would stand ​in any formal Labour ⁠leadership contest that sought to replace him. But that appeared to change over the weekend.

Whoever replaces Starmer will become Britain’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote to leave the European Union which took place 10 years ago this week.

That level of turnover – the highest in Britain in nearly two centuries – underlines the struggle of maintaining the ⁠support of ​voters angry at successive failures to improve living standards, public services and tackle illegal immigration.

The political ​advisory group Eurasia had said the best outcome could be for Starmer to say he will step down in September, enabling him to attend a UK-European Union reset summit in July and ​give Burnham time to prepare for government.

Hundreds of Pakistani truck drivers and conductors who were stranded in Afghanistan for nearly nine months have begun returning home, marking the end of a prolonged disruption caused by the closure of the Torkham crossing in October 2025.

The repatriation of stranded Pakistani nationals follows weeks of diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Kabul. Local political and community leaders have confirmed that the process is now underway and expected to conclude in the coming days, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Maulana Ijaz Shinwari, a senior district leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), said the return process had formally begun.

“The return of stranded Pakistani trucks, drivers and conductors is underway, and we expect all of them to reach home soon,” he said, adding that the crossing closure had severely damaged bilateral trade and worsened economic conditions in communities along the Durand Line.

According to him, the suspension of operations not only disrupted commerce but also triggered a humanitarian crisis, increasing poverty and unemployment across the region.

Local officials say the immediate priority is the safe return of all stranded Pakistani citizens, after which authorities are expected to outline a roadmap for the gradual restoration of trade.

While Pakistani transport workers are returning home, Afghan nationals are simultaneously moving back to Afghanistan in significant numbers from Pakistan.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has instructed relevant departments to accelerate the repatriation process and complete ongoing operations within 30 to 45 days.

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Interior Tariq Saeed Marwat said temporary transit camps are operating in Peshawar, Charsadda, Kohat, and Hangu to assist returning Afghan families.

“We have reviewed all pending visa and stay-related matters concerning Afghan citizens,” he said. “The dignity, self-respect, and fundamental rights of those returning will be protected throughout the process.”

According to the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 2.5 million Afghan nationals have returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan between September 2023 and June 2026.

The report states that 2,500,712 Afghans returned during this period, including over 1.9 million voluntary returns, 334,929 through UN-supported repatriation programmes, and 252,844 deportations.

The pace of returns has also accelerated in recent weeks. Between June 7 and June 13 alone, 28,285 Afghan citizens crossed back through major points including Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Chaman, Badini, and Bahramcha.

This marks an 11 percent increase in overall returns and a 22 percent rise in deportations compared to the previous week.