Former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced his resignation as MP for Holborn and St Pancras to focus on international affairs.
Starmer announced his resignation as Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras to the Camden New Journal on Tuesday, noting that it had been a “huge honour and privilege” to represent the constituency for 11 years. He said that he will “now focus on international affairs, including defence, security, trade and technology in a rapidly changing world.”
He went on to say that he “will also continue, as I have done for a long time now alongside others, to work on combating violence against women and girls. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’ve stepped down as an MP.”
“So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other,” Starmer emphasised.
He resigned as Prime Minister in the middle of June, passing the reins to Andy Burnham. In a BBC interview shortly after stepping down as Prime Minister, Starmer said that he would remain as MP until the next general election; nevertheless, on Tuesday he did say that he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor,” adding that the Party “has got many, many fantastic people and there will be no shortage of first class candidates.”
Starmer also said that he is “proud of what we delivered. I’ve achieved it by being a locally based MP with a fantastically supportive CLP. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible for me to step up and lead the Labour Party and then change the Labour Party to face the country and put it in a position to win the election and be in government.”
Holborn and St Pancras had traditionally been a Labour stronghold, with Starmer taking a lead of more than 11,000 votes in the 2024 general election.
