United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation as both prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, saying he had accepted that his party no longer believes he is the best person to lead it into the next general election, the BBC reports.

In an emotional statement outside 10 Downing Street, Mr Starmer said Labour had been asking whether he was “best placed to lead us into the next general election” and that he had “heard the answer.”

“Every decision I have made in office has been about putting the country I love first,” he said.

Mr Starmer said he had informed King Charles III of his decision and asked Labour’s National Executive Committee to begin the process of selecting a new party leader.

Nominations are expected to open on 9 July, with the process scheduled to conclude before Parliament returns from its summer recess in September.