What could Starmer do next and what have former PMs done?

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The departing PM said he was leaving “with good grace” and was “proud of everything we have achieved,” as he left Downing Street before giving his resignation to the King.

Sir Keir said: "It has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as Prime Minister.”

With precedent suggesting that new PM Andy Burnham will not want to keep a predecessor in the Cabinet, it seems that Sir Keir will have little brief beyond being Holborn and St Pancras MP.

But that could quickly change, as the experience and expertise of a well-connected politician will make him an attractive appointment for a number of private sector companies.

From after dinner speaking, to book writing, to peddling conspiracy theories on YouTube, here is what other former prime ministers have done next and what Sir Keir might do in his new chapter.

Read also: Andy Burnham promises Brits 'more breathing room' as he prepares to become Prime Minister

What will Sir Keir Starmer do next?

Sir Keir has not made any grand announcements about his immediate plans and it is expected that he will remain in the Commons at least until 2029, as an MP.

According to the Guardian, he has joked about taking a cookery course but might now take time out to consider his options.

“He’s got an incredible amount of experience to offer,” a friend told the Guardian.

“It feels like he’ll end up doing something international-facing. That’s his comfort zone and also what he’s best at.”

While he will not be part of any Cabinet, he may offer Mr Burnham advice in private.

He will also have more time to spend with his wife Victoria and their two teenage children.

Sir Keir said last week: “I leave probably the most high-profile job in the country to the most important, which is to be the best dad I can to my kids and best husband I can to my wife.”

What have other former prime ministers gone on to do?

John Major

John Major did not leave the Commons after his Conservative Party lost the 1997 election, and he served until 2001, but turned down the chance to become a Lord.

Since leaving Parliament, he has kept a low profile and has focused on writing as well as charity work, and, at 83, is the oldest living former PM.

Tony Blair

The Labour PM from 1997 to 2007, Mr Blair has been far more visible since leaving Parliament and was immediately appointed special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East.

After leaving that role in 2015, he set up the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and has pursued projects in the private sector.

Gordon Brown

Mr Blair’s successor as prime minister, Gordon Brown left office in 2010 and continued as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath until 2015.

Since then, he has frequently written ed-ops, completed lectures, been the World Health Organisation’s global ambassador and was Sir Keir’s special envoy on global finance.

David Cameron

Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton has been a House of Lords member since 2023, when he re-entered politics to become Rishi Sunak’s foreign secretary.

The 59-year-old resigned from Parliament after Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, but after serving as president of Alzheimer's Research UK from 2017 to 2023, is the only person on this list to have made something of a political comeback.

Theresa May

Mrs May is the only former Prime Minister in recent times to have continued as an MP beyond the election cycle and only resigned from her Maidenhead constituency in 2024.

The PM from 2017 to 2019, who is 69, has since entered the House of Lords as Baroness May of Maidenhead and is also the leader of a think tank.

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s post-parliamentary career has been a little more mysterious as several announced projects, including a GB News show and a book about Shakespeare, have never materialised.

Instead, Mr Johnson has published a memoir called Unleashed, and writes pieces for the Mail while he has grown his family with his Carrie, his third wife, with his ninth child Poppy being born last year.

Liz Truss

Ms Truss, 50, left the political frontline not long after her 49-day stint as PM ended in 2022, and she has since decried the “deep state” for crashing her agenda.

She lost her seat in the Commons in July 2024, and since December 2025 she has fronted the John Solomon-funded Liz Truss Show on YouTube.

Rishi Sunak

Since 2024, Mr Sunak, 46, has been a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and has also been a regular on the public-speaking circuit.

He is also a senior advisor at Goldman Sachs and a paid advisor to both Microsoft and Anthropic.