Former PM Keir Starmer to stand down as MP for Holborn and St Pancras

Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced he will stand down as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

Starmer, who stood down as Prime Minister in July, had served as an MP since 2015 and became shadow immigration minister and shadow Brexit secretary under Jeremy Corbyn.

Following the 2019 election defeat, Starmer was elected leader of the Labour Party with 56.2 percent in April 2020, going onto secure a landslide election victory for Labour in the 2024 general election.

However, despite successes including the Employment Rights Act, Renters’ Rights Act and legislation to renationalise the railways, Starmer saw his approval plummet among the public and faced criticism over successive policy U-turns and the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

After announcing his resignation as Prime Minister, Starmer told MPs: “This is the end of my political journey. Every Prime Minister knows when they take up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me.”

Starmer’s resignation as an MP will trigger a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras – the seventh by-election of this Parliament and first in London since the resignation of former Prime Minister as an MP Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2013.

It has been an honour and a privilege to represent Holborn and St Pancras for the last 11 years.

My statement. pic.twitter.com/xzu4xcIno2

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 1, 2026

In a statement on social media, Starmer said: “Over the summer, I have had time to reflect and consider my future. I have decided that now is the right time to step down as MP for Holborn and St Pancras and hand the baton over to a successor.

“It’s been an honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country since taking over from the great Frank Dobson 11 years ago. But it is now time to step aside and focus on other issues: international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast changing world. I will also continue working with others as I have done over many decades to tackle violence against women and girls.

“As I do that, I will always remain immensely proud to have represented the place Vic, the kids and I call home.

“There will now be a process to appoint my successor ahead of a by-election. Whoever is lucky enough to become the Labour candidate here will have my full support and backing and I will continue to give my full support to the Prime Minister and this Labour government.”

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‘This will not be an easy by-election’

The by-election looks set to be a close fight between Labour and the Green Party, after the Greens made significant gains in Camden in May’s local elections. Green Party leader Zack Polanski is rumoured to be interested as standing for the seat, with a spokesperson telling The Guardian: “Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP.”

Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “The Labour Party owes Keir Starmer a debt of gratitude for the work he did both as Leader of the opposition to make the party electable and for winning a large mandate for change at the election.

“While I am sure he is disappointed with how his premiership ended he can also be -proud of much of the work that was done in fixing the foundations that will now be built on by his successor.

“This will not be an easy by-election for Labour. Camden Council – in which the seat falls – saw a large loss to the Greens and Liberal Democrats in the recent local elections. This will be a key early electoral test for the turnaround Labour has seen over the summer. It will also be a test of whether the Greens can translate their recent local success on the national stage.”

‘Starmer left the country in a better place than he found it’

Tributes have been paid by some Labour MPs following the news.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, who served as Paymaster General under Starmer, said: “Keir led Labour from its worst defeat since 1935 to a landslide victory in 2024. His work as Prime Minister left the country in a better place than he found it.

“Thank you, Keir, for all your service and all best wishes to you and your family for the future.”

Former Cabinet minister Peter Kyle said that Starmer’s achievements were “too numerous for a tweet” and said he “led with grit, driven by a love of country”.

Jo Stevens, who served as Starmer’s Welsh Secretary, said his resignation from as an MP would be a “great loss to the Parliamentary Labour Party and to Parliament”.

She said: “In every one of his many roles, he has served our party and his constituents with great diligence and dedication. I will miss him as a colleague, but I’m pretty certain this is not the last we will hear about Keir, a great public servant.”

More to follow.

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