ICAEW has called for a smooth transition of UK leadership, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer resigned on 22 June after two years in government.

Starmer, the sixth UK premier in a decade, had been under considerable pressure to stand aside for a new leadership, from Labour Party colleagues as well as opposition parties.

In a six-minute speech in front of Number 10, Starmer said he would remain in post until the Labour Party chooses its new leader. Speculation about a change in leadership arose following the local elections.

Things came to a head after former Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham won the Makerfield parliamentary by-election on 18 June. Burnham has long been touted as a challenger to the former prime minister for the Labour Party leadership.

In his farewell speech, Starmer pointed to what he described as the government’s economic successes during his two years in office. Nominations for the next leader will open on 9 July, with an expectation that the new leader will be in place by September.

“I will remain in post as prime minister until the contest is complete,” Starmer said in his speech. “And I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.”

Following the Prime Minister’s resignation Alan Vallance, ICAEW Chief Executive, thanked him for setting out an orderly transition, “at a time when businesses need certainty and stability above all else”.

“We hope that the next prime minister will listen to the voices of business and the profession to ensure that the UK develops the conditions necessary to encourage growth,” Vallance said.