Sir Keir Starmer was visibly upset as he said he planned to spend time being the “best husband” and “best dad I can to my beautiful children”, after he announced his resignation as Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister’s voice wavered as he concluded the speech setting out an end point for his time inside No 10 Downing Street, which follows months of pressure for him to stand down and make way for a new Labour leader.
Sir Keir’s voice broke as he said: “When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job: being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy.”
The emotional statement followed a weekend spent mulling his future with his family at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country residence.
Sir Keir’s wife, Victoria, has reportedly been a leading advocate in telling the Prime Minister to stay in post and fight on.
She persuaded him against resigning in May, after a string of resignations by ministers following the local elections, according to the Times.
The Prime Minister and Lady Starmer have two children, a son, 17, and a daughter, 15.
They have largely been protected from the public eye, with the intention of giving them as normal a childhood as possible while their father runs the country.
Sir Keir has faced growing calls to stand aside since Labour’s poor showing in May’s local and devolved elections.
A growing number of Labour MPs were losing confidence in Sir Keir’s ability to lead the country after a series of what were widely viewed as policy mistakes, and because they did not believe he could meet the challenge from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at the next election.
Labour former minister Andy Burnham, who returns to Parliament on Monday after winning the crucial Makerfield by-election, and ex-health secretary Wes Streeting, have both said they will stand in a contest to succeed Sir Keir, should one be held.
