Sir Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister.
Starmer, who had been feeling the political heat for some months, announced his resignation outside 10 Downing Street this morning, two years after winning a landslide general election.
If there is a leadership contest, the process would be completed by the summer recess, or the end of August, ensuring a new leader would be in place before Parliament returns in early September.
But it is possible there will be a "coronation" of Andy Burnham, the newly-elected MP for Makerfield and former Mayor of Greater Manchester, in which case the timescale would be shorter.
Burnham confirmed on X shortly after Starmer's speech that he was putting himself forward to help with the transition of the new leadership, with former health and social care secretary Wes Streeting backing him for the top job. Streeting resigned in May and was tipped to be a contender for the leadership.
Starmer's resignation comes as Burnham, widely regarded as the leadership favourite, is in Westminster, where he is expected to be sworn in as MP for Makerfield after his by-election victory last week.
The Prime Minister, who was Labour party leader for more than six years, argued in his speech that he had restored trust in the "economy, defence and national" security during his time as leader, guided by a sole aim of "chang[ing] Britain for the better".
But he said that he had heard the concerns of his own party about whether he was the right person to lead them into the next general election, ultimately deciding it was best for a new leader to help Labour win a second term in office.
Starmer said he had informed the King of his decision and that he would ask the national executive committee of the Labour party to set out a timetable with nominations for the next leader to open on 9 July.
Burnham who was MP for Leigh from 2001 until 2017 and Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until this year, has previously shown support for replacing council tax and stamp duty with land value tax, and abolishing business rates for shops, cafes and restaurants
The departure of Starmer will lead to the entrance of almost an entirely new team at the top, with the Cabinet likely to undergo a severe reshaping over the next few weeks and months. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is likely to be among them.
Property leaders continue to seek a move onwards from instability and towards steady leadership to encourage global investment and help tackle viability challenges, after Sir Keir Starmer became the seventh new Prime Minister in 10 years.
Mark Stansfield, senior director of market analytics, CoStar, said: "Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister adds a further layer of uncertainty to an already-subdued property investment climate, providing would-be buyers with another reason to delay deals or ask for late discounts.
"However, industry stakeholders will hope that a quick coronation and a firm, relatively business-friendly economic plan will help restore investor and bond market confidence and stimulate a recovery before the end of the year."
Vanessa Hale, chief executive, Real Estate:UK, said: "The resignation of Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister and the prospect of our seventh Prime Minister in the last 10 years is doing little to position the UK internationally as a stable location for investment, and subsequently to be able to continue to attract the global capital required to build the homes, infrastructure, and economic growth that the country desperately needs.
"Given that viability challenges have effectively stalled building activity across the country, it is vital that the governing party moves quickly to identify a successor to Sir Keir and restore a more stable, predictable policy environment, so that we can work together across the public and private sectors to support delivery of new homes, grow the economy and revitalise town centres."
Burnham’s priorities
Burnham acknowledged in his social media post this morning that “people want to see progress on economic growth” as well as housing, potentially indicating his early priorities, should he become the next Labour leader and Prime Minister.
As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham prioritised investment in improving transport and infrastructure, and in real estate, particularly social housing. He also launched the £1 billion Good Growth Fund in November, aimed at supporting 30 projects across 10 boroughs in the area.
In regard to business rates, another key focus for the property sector, Burnham said in January this year that he would consider cutting the tax for pubs and music venues by 20%. He also said he would abolish business rates for shops, cafes and restaurants, limiting this to single site venues. This would all be funded by increasing taxes on online tech giants and their warehouses.
On land value tax, Burnham proposed a LVT in 2010 when he first attempted to become Labour leader. Last month he said that he "continues to believe land is under-taxed". It was reported that he has committed to the economic rules of Chancellor Rachel Reeves during his by-election campaign.
Starmer's property legacy: ‘Beat the blockers’
One area that was central to Starmer’s leadership during his time at the helm was planning, with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet pledging to “beat the blockers” to “get Britain building again”.
Principally this took the form of numerous revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, including a “permanent presumption in favour of suitably located development” and a “default yes” for suitable schemes around railway stations.
Starmer’s government also moved to encourage development by modernising green belt usage, allowing the release of low-quality "grey belt" land and revising its definition in a bid to achieve its target of delivering 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament.
The first Labour government in 14 years also reintroduced mandatory housing targets, aiming for 370,000 homes across England each year. Under Starmer Labour also launched the New Towns draft programme, bringing forward seven locations, down from a initial 12, for development.
Paul Rickard, chief executive of affordable housing developer Pocket Living, urged the next leader of the Labour party to continue to help remove barriers to development, which he said started under the departing PM.
“Over the coming weeks much will be written about the legacy of Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, but for the housing and development sector his government was one which finally grasped the need for a radical reform of the planning system and the political imperative of building new homes.
"While challenges around viability and broader economic headwinds have made the latter increasingly challenging, we can start to see the positive impacts of planning reform starting to emerge.
“In seeking to build upon this, we would urge that Sir Keir’s successor continues to focus on addressing the barriers to get Britain building, as well as maintaining a positive investment climate for all types of housing."
Delivering devolution
Devolution was also a key priority of Starmer’s government. It published the English Devolution White Paper at the end of 2024, seeking to give local leaders “unprecedented powers” to drive growth, increase housebuilding and improve transport links.
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill was made law in April this year, including key policy change affecting the real estate industry, perhaps the key one being a ban on upwards only rents reviews for commercial properties.
The controversial plans were first announced in July 2025, with the government arguing it would “help end the blight of vacant high streets”. But they were heavily criticised by the industry, who argued the changes had hit investment in UK real estate by September.
Peter Ware, partner and head of government at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, said: “The English devolution programme has been one of the most significant shifts in local government architecture in a generation.
“The move from a two-tier to unitary authority structure, along with a greater number of mayoral strategic authorities, should unlock more place-based decision-making and give local areas real tools to shape their own economic futures.”
He added: “The biggest challenge for this government has been the erosion of a coherent, communicable vision. What began as a bold mission-driven programme gradually lost its shape under the pressure of fiscal constraint and political turbulence.
“It’s therefore crucial the next Prime Minister sets out a new vision that goes further and faster, while giving the public and private sectors something tangible to get behind.”
Renters' Rights
Another significant impact Starmer made on the property industry during his time in Downing Street was the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, Phase One of which came into force in England at the start of May.
The Act introduced new rights for tenants alongside new rules for private landlords, with the aim of improving housing standards. Key pillars of the work included the removal of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, introduction of rent controls and inclusion of periodic tenancies.
Real estate legal experts highlight the new law, specifically around the removal of section 21, have significantly limited landlords’ ability to recover possession for strategic or commercial reasons.
Under the changes rents increases are also limited to once per year, while rental "bidding wars" are banned. Property lawyers add that this has reduced income predictability for landlords and limits how quickly they can respond to market conditions.
Others have also expressed their concerns that the new law threatens to overwhelm the property tribunal system, particularly around challenges to rent increases from tenants.
Speaking about Starmer’s influence on the residential sector more widely, Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said that he expected the next Prime Minister avoid major change around housing policy give the short run-up to the next election.
“In a similar way to last year, the biggest risk for the residential market over the next few months is speculation. Further uncertainty around wealth and property taxation means buyers and sellers may hesitate while the content of the next Budget and the identity of the next Chancellor remains unclear.
“The reality is that policies like a fundamental overhaul of stamp duty is not something a government on the financial back foot with two and a half years before the next scheduled general election can manage.
“Bond markets have priced in a Burnham victory to some extent, but mortgage costs could be pushed higher if investors read stories that point to higher taxes and untargeted spending.”