By Anadolu Agency
May 15, 2026 5:11 pmISTANBUL
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the latest leader threatened by the country’s decade-long political volatility after a damaging setback for the Labour Party in last week’s elections.
The elections, held across Scotland, Wales, and 136 English local authorities, were the largest electoral test since Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election.
The results across England were disastrous for the Labour Party. Defending just over 2,500 seats, Labour won only 1,068 and lost 1,496, while Reform UK increased its number of councillors by 1,451 seats — the largest gain among all contenders.
In Wales, Labour suffered a historic defeat in the Senedd elections, losing a national election vote for the first time in over 100 years. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party retained power for a fifth consecutive term.
Although Starmer has expressed that he will “get on with governing,” more than 80 lawmakers, as well as some of his Cabinet members, have called for him to resign immediately, or set a timetable for his leave.
On Thursday, Wes Streeting resigned as UK health secretary citing the electoral loss as a driving factor in his decision.
In his resignation letter, Streeting said he has lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership. He is not alone in voicing concerns about Starmer’s leadership. Streeting is the first Cabinet minister and 5th minister overall to resign after Jess Phillips, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed.
Since David Cameron resigned in 2016 after the Brexit referendum, there have been five UK prime ministers: Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer.
This means that the UK, on average, has had a new prime minister every two years. However, this level of political volatility is not unprecedented. There were seven governments between 1827-1835, eight between 1852-1868 and seven between 1922-1937.
The difference this time around is that the current instability is unusual compared to the last 47 years. Between 1979-2016, Britain had only five prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron.
Here’s a look at the last five prime ministers of the UK.
Having previously served as home secretary, May became prime minister in July 2016 after Cameron resigned due to the Brexit referendum earlier in the year. She became the second female prime minister after Thatcher.
Being a supporter of Brexit, May began the process of withdrawing by triggering Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union in March 2017.
For most of her premiership, May and her government struggled with drafting a withdrawal agreement, being subject to two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and in January 2019 in the process.
After Parliament rejected versions of her draft withdrawal agreement three times and her party’s poor performance in the 2019 European Parliament election, she left office in July and was succeeded by Boris Johnson, her former foreign secretary.
Johnson’s tenure began in July 2019 with the immediate task of finalizing the Brexit deal. After heated debates, concerns regarding the conditions of EU secession and a snap general election that won the largest number of seats since 1987 for the Conservative Party, the UK left the EU on Jan. 31, 2020.
On the same day as Brexit, the first UK COVID-19 cases were confirmed in York. Until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic would continue to dominate Johnson’s agenda.
The beginning of the end was the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray on the “Partygate” scandal, which was about gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gatherings.
Following a defeat in the by-elections in June 2022, calls for Johnson’s resignation started to grow, with the prime minister announcing that he had no intentions of leaving his post.
After barely surviving a vote of no-confidence in June, Johnson resigned a few weeks later after 62 of the UK’s 179 ministers and secretaries resigned. He was succeeded by Truss, his foreign secretary.
Truss’s first major shock just two days into her premiership was the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022.
After her Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng announced a controversial mini budget aimed to respond to the cost of living crisis by cutting taxes and increasing borrowing, Truss’s popularity tanked. Resigning on her 50th day, Truss became the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. She was succeeded by Sunak.
Sunak came into office and outlined five key priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt, reducing National Health Service waiting lists, and stopping small-boat crossings of the English Channel by enacting the Rwanda asylum plan.
On foreign policy, Sunak continued supporting Ukraine and pledged support for Israel after the October 7 attacks, later calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
However, he was unable to avert further unpopularity for the Conservatives, reflected in the party’s poor performances in the 2023 and 2024 local elections. Despite being expected to call an election in the autumn of 2024, Sunak called a general election for July 2024. In a historic defeat that ended 14 years of Conservative government, Sunak conceded against Starmer and the Labour Party.
After achieving a landslide victory at the 2024 general election, Starmer started tackling several public-sector strikes, immigration issues and rising economic uncertainties.
In foreign policy, Starmer has continued support for Ukraine and called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza war, later formally recognizing the State of Palestine.
Despite entering office with slightly positive approval ratings, Starmer’s popularity has steadily declined.
According to a YouGov poll, his net approval rating fell to minus 54% by November 2025.
An Ipsos poll conducted after the May 7 elections found that two-thirds of respondents believe Starmer should resign before the next general election, with 35% saying he should step down immediately.
After a series of damaging setbacks for Labour in the May 7 elections, the pressure on Starmer is high.
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