May 12 (Reuters) - - It now looks like a case of when, not if, Keir Starmer exits Downing Street, after a flood of Labour lawmakers urged him to quit. The key question for sterling is who might follow Starmer, and when?

If Wes Streeting is Britain's next prime minister, the pound could rally, as Streeting is a centrist - and thus market-friendly. In contrast, GBP could sink if either Andy Burnham or Angela Rayner takes up residence in Number 10. Last autumn, Burnham said: "We've got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond market."

The process by which Starmer replaced his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn took four months, and before that it took Corbyn five months to replace Ed Miliband.

Labour's annual party conference is four-and-a-half months away, in Liverpool on September 27-30. GBP/USD slid to a May low of 1.3503 on Tuesday, with GBP/EUR falling to a three-week low of 1.1499, as the pound was negatively impacted by the UK political uncertainty and higher gilt yields.

Related:
GBPEUR


(Robert Howard is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)