Lady Starmer leads 'Team Keir' in Downing Street as PM's family and closest allies gather to watch his tearful resignation - but where was Rachel Reeves?

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:51, 22 June 2026 | Updated: 14:59, 22 June 2026 Victoria Starmer led 'Team Keir' in Downing Street this morning as the Prime Minister's family and closest allies gathered to watch his tearful resignation speech. Shortly after 9.30am, Keir Starmer was greeted by cheers and applause from his supporters as he stepped out of No10 together with Lady Starmer. The PM's wife then stood together with Sir Keir's top team as he went on to announce he will depart as premier and Labour leader in the coming weeks. Following his emotional address to the nation just outside No10's black door, Sir Keir was applauded again by the crowd behind him.  Among those who turned out to support Sir Keir were Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Attorney General Richard Hermer, and International Development minister Jenny Chapman. Sir Keir's son also made a rare public appearance to hear his father's tribute to 'my beautiful children, who are my pride and my joy'. But there was one notable absentee from the group who gathered in Downing Street as Chancellor Rachel Reeves chose not to attend. This is despite her residing in the two-bedroom flat above No10, while Sir Keir's family are in the larger flat above No11. Ms Reeves, who is said to be hoping to remain as Chancellor under Sir Keir's successor, later paid tribute to the departing PM in a social media post. 'We have achieved a lot together to be proud of, and there is more to do,' she wrote.  'I am grateful for Keir's leadership and the work he has done to build a stronger, more secure Britain.'  Among 'Team Keir' were Victoria Starmer (1), Richard Hermer (2), Ben Nunn (3), Jenny Chapman (4), and Miatta Fahnbulleh (5) Others to gather in Downing Street included Jon Pearce (6), Darren Jones (7), David Lammy (8), and Sir Keir's son (9) Westminster journalists-turned-advisers Liz Bates (10) and John Stevens (11) were also among those to attend the PM's resignation speech No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.