In the period between the July 2024 general election and early March 2026, 12 ministers resigned from Keir Starmer’s Labour government, an unusually high number for an administration which has been in power for just over 18 months. Indeed, this is the second highest total of any recent PM at this point in their premiership. The most high-profile departure has been deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who left her post in September 2025. Consequently, this seems an appropriate time to consider how many ministers have left recent administrations, the reasons why they resign and who has left the current Labour government’s ranks over the last year and a half or so. Boris Johnson’s premiership (2019-2022) tops the list with 48 resignations during his period at No.10. Around 30 of these came in a flurry of departures in early July 2022 which forced Johnson to resign as PM. The total number of ministerial resignations under each PM in the years 1979-2026 are shown in the table below:

Why ministers resign

Generally speaking, government ministers tender their resignations for one, or a combination,of the three reasons given below:

Unable to abide by collective responsibility

Under the convention of collective responsibility, ministers can debate and disagree on policy issues behind closed doors but as soon as the government has decided its stance on any matter, ministers are expected to fall in line and defend the official position in parliament and in public. If, at this point, a minister still disagrees with the government view on the issue, they can opt to resign rather than be constrained by collective responsibility. In February 2025, Anneliese Dodds, then Minister for Development, resigned from her post because she ‘fundamentally disagreed’ with the Starmer government’s proposed cuts to the international aid budget. In a similar vein, Robert Jenrick resigned as Minister for Immigration in December 2023 because he felt he could no longer back the Sunak government’s immigration policy. In rare instances, a minister may flout collective responsibility and then refuse to resign, which usually results in the PM sacking the individual involved. In April 2021, PM Boris Johnson sacked Johnny Mercer, the Minister for Defence People and Veterans, after the latter criticized the government’s Overseas Operations Bill (due to its lack of legal protection for military veterans who had served in Northern Ireland) and then refused to resign immediately.

A breach of the ministerial code or other unethical behaviour

According to the ministerial code, ministers are obliged to conduct themselves in line with the ‘highest possible standards’ and Sir Laurie Magnus, the current independent adviser on ministerial standards, investigates ministerial behaviour which may have potentially breached the code. In November 2024, Starmer strengthened the code by enabling the independent adviser to launch an investigation without prior permission from the PM. Angela Rayner resigned as Deputy Prime Minister in September 2025 after Magnus concluded she had broken the ministerial code by failing to pay the required amount of stamp duty on a property. It should be noted, however, that breaches of the ministerial code do not always lead to a resignation. Previously, some transgressions have led PMs to accept an apology or an assurance of better conduct in future from the minister concerned rather than insist on their resignation. Conversely, on occasion, ministers may step down even if they are cleared of any breach of the ministerial code. Labour Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq resigned in January 2025 after an investigation cleared her of breaching the code. She argued that if she remained in post, the issue (her connections with her aunt’s former government in Bangladesh) would become a distraction for Starmer’s administration.

Personal reasons

Ministers can also stand down for a variety of personal reasons, including medical issues, family or care commitments and retirement. For example, Baroness Margaret Curran, a Labour Minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, resigned in June 2025 due to health problems. In March 2024, Robert Halfon resigned as Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education in Sunak’s Conservative government as part of his planned retirement from parliamentary politics at the next general election.

Ministerial resignations during Starmer’s premiership

The table below contains the key information about the 12 ministerial resignations that have taken place since Starmer became PM (there have been several subsequent resignations since the local election 2026 as part of the crisis around Starmer's leadership.)