Keir Starmer resigns – industry reaction
Keir Starmer has resigned in an emotional speech outside of Number 10 this morning.
Keir Starmer has resigned in an emotional speech outside of Number 10 this morning.
It means there have been seven Prime Ministers in ten years.
And it is the third time in four years that a prime minister has announced their plan to leave office due to a lack of support.
Andy Burnham
His resignation follows Andy Burnham’s win at the Makerfield by-election last week.
It paves the way for Burnham to become the country’s new Prime Minister.
Under Labour’s rules, a leadership contest is triggered if one challenger can get nominations from 81 MPs.
It is understood that this is a threshold that Andy Burnham would easily reach given his popularity.
Any other contender – such as Wes Streeting – would also need to meet the same threshold.
The timetable for a vote by party members would be then set by the ruling National Executive Committee, and the winner would then become Prime Minister.
If there is no contest, Burnham could be the country’s new Prime Minister within a matter of weeks.
Starmer said he will remain as Prime Minister until his successor is appointed.
Market confidence
The resignation means a new cabinet, including another housing minister. There has been a total of 17 different housing ministers since 2010.
Charlotte Kennedy, Chartered Financial Planner at Rathbones, says: “A departing prime minister rarely changes your finances overnight, but political upheaval can create uncertainty that affects markets, confidence and expectations.
“While Andy Burnham appears to be in pole position to take the helm, whoever ultimately takes power will inherit the same difficult fiscal backdrop and quickly discover there are no easy wins. Sluggish growth, stretched public services and strained public finances mean difficult choices have been deferred, not avoided.
Tom Bill, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: “Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election will ignite a wave of speculation about what happens next.
“His emphatic win in the north-west England constituency will encourage Labour MPs to believe he is the answer to their electoral malaise. A leadership contest could follow, or alternatively a more orderly transition if cabinet ministers apply enough pressure on Keir Starmer to step aside.
“If he becomes Prime Minister, pleasing everyone will be impossible.
“What does that mean for the property market? It won’t be a top priority but a move to tax the asset rather than the transaction appears to be on Burnham’s radar. He supports a proposal by campaign group Fairer Share, which wants to replace Stamp Duty and council tax with a levy equivalent to 0.48% of a property’s value.”
Market stability
Meanwhile, Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says confidence and stability needs to be returned to the property market.
He said: “I am sure what Andy Burnham and Keir Starmer could agree on is the importance of additional activity in the housing market, which is not only good for property but the wider economy in view of its multiplier effect.
“The key element which has been holding back activity has been lack of confidence and instability. After a promising start, unfortunately Starmer seems to have lost touch with what people on the ground want and need from their housing.
“What we are looking for is the shortest possible handover of power to reduce that instability and transition towards a more growth-orientated agenda where prospective owners and tenants can more readily aspire to homeownership and better rentals. Unfortunately, the lack of direction has prompted too many people to sit on their hands rather than getting on with their lives when it comes to their properties.”
