U.S. President Donald Trump has predicted that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be forced to resign after failing on issues such as immigration and energy.
As speculation runs rampant in Westminster over the political shelf-life of the Starmer administration, chief rival Andy Burnham is entering parliament after this week’s special by-election in Makerfield, enabling the former Manchester Mayor to launch a leadership challenge against the deeply unpopular Labour Party leader.
The transparent effort by Burnham to take over the party was launched in the wake of the local elections in May, in which Starmer’s Labour Party suffered historic losses to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, the leftist Greens, and pro-Gaza Muslim independent candidates. With the rise of Reform, which has consistently led in all national polls for over a year, the left-wing Labour Party began to look for alternatives.
Although Burnham has failed multiple times to become Labour leader, his victory in Makerfield over Reform this week has seemingly convinced the party establishment that they have a better shot at defeating Farage with Burnham over Starmer. Reports have thus begun to swirl that Starmer is considering resigning from his post instead of being forced out in a palace coup by the former Manchester Mayor.
However, veteran Westminster politics reporter Robert Peston has said that Starmer has not made any decision on resigning, and that no announcement is likely until Tuesday. While the walls are clearly closing in around the PM, it is not outside of the realm of possibility that he could rally support and fend off a challenge from Burnham.
Apparently not confident in such a comeback, President Donald Trump pre-empted any potential resignation announcement from the UK leader and predicted on his Truth Social platform that Starmer would resign.
“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well!” President Trump wrote on Sunday morning.
It is unclear whether Mr Trump has been briefed on an impending leadership change in London, or whether he was merely reacting to articles in the British press predicting a resignation.
Nevertheless, commentators were quick to describe the U.S. President’s prediction as deeply embarrassing for the embattled Prime Minister, with former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan describing Trump’s pose as the “final humiliation” for Starmer.
Relations between the two leaders were initially friendly, with Starmer waging a transparent charm offensive following Trump’s return to the White House. This initially bore fruit for Britain, with the UK receiving preferential tariff treatment from the White House compared to the European Union.
However, ties deteriorated greatly over the conflict in Iran, during which President Trump frequently aired his disappointment with Britain and Starmer, who initially refused access to military bases on UK territory, before later only allowing “defensive” operations against Iran.
President Trump also expressed disappointment over London’s refusal to take part in missions to clear the Strait of Hormuz of sea mines launched by the Islamist regime in Tehran. In a moment of apparent exasperation with Starmer, President Trump lamented in March that it was “not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with” while describing Britain as a “once great ally”.
It remains to be seen whether relations will improve with the ousting of Starmer; however, given that Burnham has already positioned himself against Trump’s America, which he has described as captured by “poisonous politics“. Burnham is also unlikely to adopt President Trump’s policies on immigration or energy, with the former Manchester mayor casting himself as being to the left of Starmer.
The political chaos embroiling the left-wing Labour Party government may ultimately redound to the benefit of the international Trumpist movement, however, with Brexit boss and longtime Trump ally Nigel Farage waiting in the wings to potentially overthrow the two-party system at the next general election. Unlike Starmer and Burnham, Farage advocates ending mass migration, large-scale deportations, and lifting green agenda restrictions on British energy production.