March 13, 2026: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheal Martin meet in Co Cork for the second annual UK-Ireland Summit.RollingNews.ie

Leading Irish politicians have responded to Keir Starmer's announcement on Monday, June 22, that he is resigning as leader of the British Labour Party and as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin conveyed in a statement his "best wishes" to Starmer following the Prime Minister's announcement.

Martin and Starmer formally met for a UK-Ireland summit in Cork this past March, a year after the inaugural UK-Ireland summit took place between the two leaders in Liverpool. After the inaugural summit, the two leaders unveiled an "ambitious programme of co-operation" under the title UK-Ireland 2030.

The Taoiseach said on Monday: "I want to acknowledge the significant role Keir played in resetting the Irish-British relationship as well as relations between the UK and the European Union during his time as Prime Minister.

"Since Keir took office two years ago, he has worked with us to set a new direction and depth in the relationship between Ireland and the UK, for the benefit of all our citizens, north-south and east-west.

"Our two Governments also took an important step forward in dealing with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland, publishing a Joint Framework on addressing the legacy of the Troubles.

"Keir is a person of great ability, decency, and honour, and I want to wish him, his wife Victoria, and their family, very well in their next chapter.

"I have no doubt that his successor as Prime Minister will wish to continue to deepen and strengthen the relationship between the UK and Ireland, and we will continue to work in furtherance of that objective."

Separately, Tánaiste Simon Harris wrote on social media that Starmer "leaves the relationship between our two islands stronger than he found it."

Not long after Starmer became Prime Minister in July 2024, he and then-Taoiseach Harris agreed that it was time to "reset" the Irish-British relationship. That September, Harris welcomed Starmer to Dublin for his first official visit as Prime Minister.

"Together we agreed to reset that relationship," Harris wrote on Monday. "To build it on peace, prosperity, mutual respect, and friendship. To honour our shared duty as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

"Keir approached that work with seriousness, with decency, and with heart.

"Thank you, Keir, because of your leadership, British and Irish relations can only go from strength to strength.

"I wish you, Victoria, and your family every happiness in the years ahead."

July 17, 2024: Then-Taoiseach Simon Harris and Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Chequers. (RollingNews.ie)

Sinn Féin leaders respond

In Northern Ireland, First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who is also the Vice President of the all-island nationalist party Sinn Féin, offered a statement with a markedly different tone.

Starmer's "departure underscores the chaos of Westminster and how our future is better served by breaking our links with Britain," O'Neill said.

"Successive British governments have cut our public services and weakened our economy, leaving ordinary people struggling to make ends meet while a small elite grows ever wealthier.

"I stand ready to work constructively with the incoming British Prime Minister, but I will be clear that a hugely different approach is needed. People here are not second-class citizens. They deserve proper and fair investment in our public services, real support through the cost of living crisis, and respect for our democratic right to decide our own future."

O'Neill's sentiment was echoed by Sinn Féin party leader Mary Lou McDonald, TD Dublin Central, who said Starmer's departure "is the latest chapter in the revolving door of Westminster politics."

"Prime Ministers come and go. Governments come and go. More chaos from those who have no interest in Ireland," McDonald said.

"That is why the time to prepare for Irish Unity is now. Ireland's future lies in our own hands. The opportunity before us is to build a new and united Ireland - one that delivers good public services, economic opportunity and a better future for all who share this island. That conversation is no longer about if constitutional change will happen, but how we prepare for it and ensure that it works for everyone that calls this island home."

July 2024: New Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill.

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Keir Starmer's resignation

Starmer qualified as a barrister in 1987, working in private practice before working as a legal advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

After serving as MP for Holborn and St Pancras for five years, Starmer was elected leader of the UK Labour Party in April 2020. In July 2024, he became the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his Labour Party clinched what was deemed a "landslide" victory over the Conservatives, who had been in power for more than a decade.

In the days after being elected as the new Prime Minister, he addressed the potential of a Border poll while in Northern Ireland.

“This is provided for by the Good Friday Agreement,” Starmer told reporters at Government Buildings in Belfast when asked about a potential Border poll.

“The framework is set out, and I’m absolutely committed to the Good Friday Agreement.

“Today is a recommitment to that and to the approach and the role of the UK government, and that is the honest broker.

“I am Prime Minister for the whole of the UK, elected into office just a few days ago.

“But to reaffirm the importance of the principles of the Good Friday Agreement is part and parcel of why I am here today.”

However, less than a year before becoming Prime Minister, Starmer said an Irish border poll is "absolutely hypothetical" and "not even on the horizon." He had previously said that he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK if a referendum were held during his lifetime, stating that he would "make the case for the United Kingdom."

On Monday morning, June 22, following mounting speculation, Starmer announced his resignation as leader of the UK Labour Party.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election," Starmer said in a speech on London's Downing Street.

"I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question. And I accept that answer with good grace.

“Every decision I’ve taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision."

Starmer said he would be asking the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to set out a timetable, with nominations opening on July 9 and completed by the summer recess.

"In the case of a contest, this will ensure a new leader is in place before Parliament returns in September," Starmer said.

“I will remain in post as Prime Minister until the contest is complete. And I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power." He added that his Labour successor will have his "full and unequivocal support."