Swindon and Wiltshire politicians react to Starmer’s resignation
Sir Keir announced this morning (Monday) that he will step down as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party
Last updated 22nd Jun 2026
Members of Parliament and senior politicians from Swindon and Wiltshire have been reacting to the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Sir Keir announced this morning (Monday) that he will step down as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, triggering a leadership contest while remaining in Downing Street until a successor is chosen.
In a statement outside Number 10, the PM – who led his party to a landslide victory just under two years ago – said he had listened to his parliamentary party’s view that he was no longer the best person to lead Labour into the next general election, and accepted that verdict “with humility”.
Swindon has two Labour MPs, while Wiltshire is represented in Parliament by Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and Reform UK.
One of the government’s most senior MPs is Swindon South’s Heidi Alexander, who was given the post of Transport secretary soon after Labour won the 2024 general election.
Ms Alexander was one of the ministers who moved against Keir Starmer before today’s announcement, publicly urging him to set out a clear timetable for his departure.
Publicly, she has been a strong supporter of Keir Starmer’s leadership, describing him as “the best person” to lead the country and repeatedly batting away talk of plots against him as recently as May.
Politically, she is a long-standing supporter of Andy Burnham, having in both the 2010 and 2015 Labour leadership contests.
As transport secretary, she has worked closely with him in his Greater Manchester mayoral role, including signing a formal rail agreement with him in January on plans for a new Liverpool–Manchester line.
This morning, her Parliamentary team told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she would not be making any press statements today.
Meanwhile, Labour colleague Will Stone, MP for Swindon North, was quick to pay tribute to the outgoing PM, posting a picture of the two men together on his Facebook page.
“Today I want to send my deepest thanks to the Prime Minister,” said Mr Stone.
“Keir Starmer is a man who has worked tirelessly for our country, taking on the toughest job in the country.
“He has led our efforts to stabilise the economy, lift half a million children out of poverty and helped me deliver jobs here in Swindon.
“I know the Prime Minister to be a man of honour and deep personal kindness and will forever be grateful to him for the changes he made to our party and the way he led us to the first Labour election victory in 14 years in July 2024.”
Mr Stone hosted the PM at Swindon’s Workshed last July, when the government launched its Small Business Plan there.
More recently, the MP hosted the Prime Minister at the Swindon manufacturing plant of defence tech firm Stark, in his drive to make Swindon the drone manufacturing hub of the UK.
Elsewhere, South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage, whose constituency straddles the Wiltshire/Gloucestershire border, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’ve been feeling quite torn about this.
“On the one hand, I feel that as a country we need to get used to not kicking a prime minister out every year or two, because we have deep systemic issues that do need to be addressed, and they will take time.
“On the other hand, Keir Starmer was doing a really poor job. He just wasn’t telling us a compelling story about where we are going as a country.”
The Liberal Democrat said: “On balance, I do feel that this is ultimately good news. If he had hung in there until the next general election, he would’ve been driving the country into the arms of Reform.
“It’s important to really highlight that it’s not just about replacing who is in Number 10, it’s about fixing our broken politics so that we can rebuild the trust with the British public, ensuring that we deliver for them and their communities.”
And Lib Dem colleague Sarah Gibson, MP for Chippenham, told the LDRS: “Changing the leader doesn’t change the issues the country is facing; some of which our outside our control, such as International conflicts.
“But many of the issues we’re facing at home require long-term vision and the bravery to rise above party politics to deliver the real change that the people of our country deserve.
She continued: “I have real concerns about Andy Burnham as our Prime Minister.
“I believe he will be detrimental for Wiltshire as his understanding of deprivation and growth will be focused or the North he believes were ignored under the last government.
“Wiltshire has huge potential for economic growth, but we also have deprivation which needs tackling and if you’re only looking North, you’ll miss the opportunities and potential the south west brings.
And she added: “These 10 years of instability curiously coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Since then, Brexit has made the UK poorer, and the decisions harder.
“Recent estimates suggest that UK is around six per cent to eight per cent poorer than it otherwise would have been. That is why we should be focusing on working together as a country to improve our relationship with Europe.
“This matters for our economy, for our security, and for the opportunities available to young people to work and study abroad.”
Wiltshire East MP Danny Kruger, a senior figure in Reform, the party Andy Burnham beat in a by-election last week to find his way back into Parliament, said: “That was a dignified resignation speech from Keir Starmer.
“But he’s going because he and his party have failed in office – and because Reform are challenging them for the support of working people in the places left behind by the model of government they stand for.
“Rather than technocratic liberalism we need patriotic, common sense, pro-business, problem-solving government committed to family, community, country.
“Burnham will utter words like these, but he and his party deep down don’t believe in them, and are too split to deliver anyway.
“The next general election cannot come soon enough.”
And Jim Robbins, who was leader of Swindon Borough Council until the May local elections, and leads the Labour group on the council, said: “It is sad to see the Prime Minister’s announcement.
“I don’t know him well, but have met him quite a few times and have always been struck by his decency and determination to focus on the best outcomes for the country.
“He was a massive supporter of what we were trying to do in Swindon, and I’m grateful for the help he gave us.
“I do worry that the country is becoming increasingly hard to lead, and that it is impossible for Prime Ministers to last long in a world of social media and people demanding easy answers and instant change.
“I wish him all the best with whatever he chooses to do, when he stands down.”