UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned Monday as party leader and head of government after a revolt by roughly 100 Labour MPs. The move came one day after Donald Trump predicted the resignation on Truth Social, citing failures on energy and immigration. Starmer's departure ends a tenure that began with a historic Labour landslide in 2024 but soured as the party lost over 1,000 council seats in May's local elections. Now the leadership contest opens with Andy Burnham — a vocal supporter of digital assets — as the clear frontrunner.
Burnham's crypto stance
Burnham, who won the Makerfield by-election with 54.8% of the vote, has openly backed digital assets and wants Manchester to lead the crypto sector. That puts him directly at odds with current Labour policy: in March 2026 the party imposed a moratorium on crypto donations to political parties. Burnham hasn't publicly called for repealing the moratorium, but his platform would likely mean a rethink. Prediction markets have swung sharply in his favor since Starmer's resignation, though no formal leadership election date has been set.
The energy backdrop
Starmer's downfall wasn't just about internal Labour disputes over welfare reform or the Peter Mandelson appointment — it was also about energy costs. In November 2025 the UK banned all new North Sea oil and gas exploration licenses, making it the largest economy to do so. Then an Iran conflict that began in early 2026 drove Brent crude from about $73 to nearly $114 per barrel, pushing UK household energy bills up 13% — from £1,641 to £1,862 annually. Oxford's Smith School found that even full North Sea output would have cut bills by only £16 to £82 a year, but the political damage was done.
What comes next
Labour will elect a new leader in the coming weeks, with Burnham as the odds-on favorite. His embrace of digital assets could pull the party away from the cautious stance Starmer took, especially on the donation moratorium. The question for crypto firms and advocates is whether a Burnham-led Labour party would actively court the industry — or whether the internal friction that brought down Starmer will simply shift to a new set of battles. For now, Manchester's crypto ambitions have a powerful ally in the race.
