Each answer resolves YES at 00:01 on the date listed in the answer, if Keir Starmer is Prime Minister AND has been so continuously since his appointment following the 2024 election.
If he loses his job for any reason (including death/firing/resignation/losing an election) then all remaining answers will resolve NO.
Add more dates if you want more granularity.
People are also trading
Up to 3 months before Makerfield writ (but I am guessing much shorter is highly likely)
Then 3-4 weeks before bye election date
Then ? before triggering leadership election
Then ~3.5 months for leadership election before Starmer ousted.
It is going to go on a while but into 2027 seems unlikely?
@ChristopherRandles I think writ will be very fast. I also think leadership challenge will come pretty quickly after entering parliament. Everybody knows exactly why he's doing this, he knows he's got the support, and if you're going to do it, the sooner the better. Clock is ticking until the next general election!
For me, the probability mass of Starmer still being PM at the end of the year comes more from Burnham not getting elected, and nobody else having enough support, rather than Burnham being slow but getting there in 2027.
@Fion yes Burnham not getting elected is a possibility. If that happens, with over 81 having said they want Starmer to go or set out timetable to go, these MPs may well not agree on which replacement. However I figure they find someone to wield the dagger and once leadership election triggered, others can then join. The one who wields the dagger usually doesn't win so it can be a sacrificial lamb candidate before the real candidates join. Still need 81 MPs? Can an MP be on more than 1 person's 81MP list?
What might be a problem is if Burnham loses by-election narrowly and seems intent on finding another Westminster seat. Some MPs might want to wait while others don't but don't have the numbers?
@ChristopherRandles yes, I'm pretty sure anyone who wants to jump on the bandwagon and join the leadership contest also needs 81 MPs, and once you've nominated somebody, you can't change to somebody else. So I don't think "sacrificial lamb" dynamics will apply. If you nominate somebody, it's because they're the candidate you want to win. Probably.
I think with Burnham out of the picture, Streeting and Rayner could both get 81 signatures. But I'm far from certain.
But I don't think Burnham gets a second chance. If he loses this by-election (losing a Labour seat for nothing), it would be insane hubris to go for a second one.
@Fion Yes I think you are essentially right: "No Switching: Once an MP formally endorses and submits a nomination for a candidate, they are unable to switch their support to a different contender. The only exception is if the candidate they originally backed drops out of the race entirely."
So if 2 candidates each have say 60 MPs and they expect to get to at least 81 after leadership election is triggered, they could persuade enough (40 each?) of their supporters to nominate a sacrificial lamb who then drops out? However, if the sacrificial lamb as the only contender to Starmer drops out before anyone else reached 81 and enters election, is the contest then over and they are back to square 1? One of the candidates would have to find 60 more nominators after election is triggered which might not happen?
@Noit Just to make sure I'm understanding right, this market is based on when Starmer actually stops being PM, not when his resignation/removal is announced, correct?
@archvenison correct, if he e.g. announces in June he'll be leaving in December , it resolves to December and not June. The key part is whether he is holding the post.
@Noit OK so the June one should be strictly greater that the inverse of this market: https://manifold.markets/brod/starmer-out-before-july
@archvenison and the difference between the two should be this market: /Fion/will-starmer-be-in-the-process-of-l
@Noit thanks. I think he will, but I'm long on Starmer in multiple markets, so pleased to de-risk. :)
@Fion this market isn't an exact arb, but if anybody wants to come and bail me out here, go for it: https://manifold.markets/brod/starmer-out-before-july?r=Rmlvbg
Lots of liquidity in this one!
13 December 2019: Jeremy Corbyn announces his resignation as leader of the Labour Party effective the outcome of the 2020 leadership election
4 April 2020: Result of the membership ballot announced
so over 3.5 months last time.
He won't go before local elections May 7th. Whether there will be a reflection period before resignation, well who knows.
They might shorten the election process to reduce long period with lame duck PM but how long will that take to organise after local elections on May 7th? Add the shortened process length that they will want to appear as a proper process not a fix. So is it highly likely he will still be there at 30 June 2026 even with very bad local election results on 7th May?
@astroblob at this point if he is to go, there won't be a challenge, it will be the Thatcher scenario.
Whoever replaces him, in this current environment, would likely be much less friendly. This is something which is unlikely to be let to happen.
Feel free to bring the odds back down so I can bet more.
Honestly I think the prices on a 2026 leave date are daft. I’m happy to keep sticking limit orders on, but 2026-out buyers, what process do you see this happening by? Starmer isn’t going to resign short of losing a leadership contest. Burnham isn’t getting the Gorton and Denton seat, so any challenger has to be a current MP. And they have to be able to get 120 other MPs on board to even trigger that contest. Do you think Streeting has that level of support? Or Rayner? I don’t.
If you don’t want to tell me then just buy into my limit orders.
@Noit Burnham turning down an offer of a seat in 2027 might mean he hasn't given up on 2026 ambitions: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/26/andy-burnham-try-again-westminster-return
Also, we don't know yet how the May elections are going to go. If they're bad enough, there might be enough MPs calling for Starmer to resign that he'll consider his position untenable. Or even if he doesn't, maybe the Rayner/Streeting supporters will reach 120.
I'm not saying this is very likely to happen, and I'm certainly not buying your limit orders, but I'm hesitant to move the market much higher than where it is just now.
@Flusskrebs it’s a generational fumble and I’m fuming. The only bright side is that everything I said is still true, he has to resign, and I don’t think he will, or Labour has to unite around a backup. So the ball’s in Streeting and Rayner’s court, I guess.
@Noit oh absolutely, he's stubborn. But even the Guardian are headlining with "PM done" type stuff now, and is it more likely there's further scandal to come related to the Mandelson case, or that this is all of it?