Carmichael reacts to Prime Minister’s resignation

Alistair Carmichael MP has said the UK Government cannot “descend into the chaos” of its predecessors, following the news of the Prime Minister’s resignation plans.

In a statement outside Number 10, Keir Starmer announced that he was to resign as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, but will remain in post until a new leader is decided — which if contested, could be as late as September. 

This follows Mr Starmer facing calls to set out a timeline for him leaving Number 10, after only two years since winning the election.

Mr Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, said: “It is difficult to see what else Keir Starmer could have done by this stage than to resign as he has done this morning.

“We live in an age of unprecedented geopolitical volatility and we need a prime minister with authority to navigate that. 

“Whatever comes next must come as quickly as possible. We cannot allow this to descend into the chaos of psychodrama that we have seen in the last Conservative government.  

“There is no good outcome for Labour or for the country here. The best we can hope for is the least bad.  Whoever comes next has got to understand that the United Kingdom doesn’t just need a change of government but a change in how we are governed.  

“We need electoral reform and greater decentralisation of power. Labour talk a lot about change. They have to understand that the present political system is incapable of delivering that.”

Nominations for the new Labour party leader will open on July 9, and are aiming to be completed by July 16, allowing for whomever takes up the mantle to be in place by September 1.