Ten years after Brexit and six Prime Ministers later, British politics is anything but stable. There was another heavy-hearted, unwilling, and premature departure from No. 10 Downing Street in Westminster on Monday — the sixth in the last 10 years of Brexit Britain. Speaking to the media and staff in front of the iconic black door of No. 10, with his voice breaking, Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as Labour leader and UK Prime Minister after months of political pressure, paving the way for a seventh Prime Minister to take office. ALSO READ: ‘Disarm AI — Pope Leo appeals to the tech world British Prime Ministers are often regarded as the very epitome of the stiff upper lip culture. The only times I have seen them crack are when standing outside No. 10 to announce their resignations. I have witnessed all six recent departures, each leader struggling to hold back tears after being hounded from office by their own party colleagues. It makes me wonder what Brexit has done to British politics. We used to think it was a Tory thing, and Labour had a field day criticising the Conservatives as they tore themselves apart and threw one Prime Minister after another out of office. Now, some people are saying it has become a British thing after the Labour Party has done exactly the same. British political culture can be brutal and merciless in times like these. Once a Prime Minister loses the support of parliamentary colleagues, for whatever reason, cabinet members begin to abandon him or her by resigning their positions, switching allegiance to opponents, or threatening to launch leadership challenges. The kinder ones tell the Prime Minister directly, It's over, mate. Your time is up, and then begin briefing Britain's unforgiving media. The media, in turn, intensifies the pressure, asking day after day, Prime Minister, when are you going to resign? – until the leader eventually does. In a parliamentary democracy, there is very little a Prime Minister can do in such circumstances except call it quits. A few loyal colleagues may stand by him to the end, but often at the risk of being cast into political oblivion under the new leadership that follows. As recently as last week, the Prime Minister was talking tough, insisting that he would not go anywhere and would face down any leadership challenge. Pressure had been mounting for Mr Starmer to resign, with critics citing poor performance, particularly after the local council elections of May 7, in which the ruling Labour Party performed badly. In such a situation, one might expect the governing party to pull together, assess why it lost, review its policies if necessary, and work to regain public confidence before the next election. Not in today's British politics. Instead, the party falls apart, blames the leader, and eventually throws him out, installing the next party favourite—only to discard that person at the first sign of trouble. Pressure on the Prime Minister intensified further when former Manchester Mayor Andrew Murray Burnham won the Makerfield seat and announced that he would challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership and the premiership. Indeed, a week is a long time in politics, as the saying goes. Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer apparently reconsidered his position and decided to resign, only two years after leading Labour to a landslide victory over the Conservative Party, which had been in power for 14 years. His departure now paves the way for Andy Burnham, in all likelihood, to assume the leadership of the Labour Party and become the next UK Prime Minister. Will he succeed where the other six have failed? Only if the British body politic returns to functioning as a collective, organised, and sovereign system, in accordance with its uncodified constitution. The writer is a keen observer of global affairs.
