Labour is marking their first 100 days in power on Sunday in what began as a shaky start for the new prime minister Keir Starmer.
Since winning the General Election in July, Starmer has been followed by a series of political scandals and controversies, with many of them self-inflicted.
Although his dramas may be milder than recent political scandals such as Liz Truss whose economic plan triggered global financial turmoil prompting her resignation after 45 days in office. Or Boris Johnson being booted out for attending Covid rule-breaking parties.
But only 100 days after a remarkable electoral victory, it’s surprising how quickly Starmer’s shine has worn off.
A recent YouGov poll shows currently only 27 per cent of Britons have a positive view of the Prime Minister while 63 per cent have a negative opinion. Listed below is a series of hurdles Starmer faced in the first few months of his premiership.
- Sue Gray resignation
The latest of Starmer’s political setbacks was the resignation of Sue Gray, the former civil servant who served as Downing Street chief of staff.
It came after it was revealed that Gray’s £170,000 salary topped that of the Prime Minister and that her friend and Labour peer Waheed Alli had been given a No 10 pass after his work leading the election fundraising campaign.
The former civil servant claimed she had decided to move as the “intense commentary” around her position “risked becoming a distraction.”
Downing Street has confirmed Gray will be taking on a new Government role as “envoy for regions and nations.”
- Freebie scandal
Second, Starmer found himself in the centre of a freebie scandal as it was revealed the prime minister had accepted more than £100,000 worth of gifts, more than any other MP since 2019.
The biggest donor of gifts and hospitality was from Labour peer Waheed Alli, who gave the equivalent of £39,122.
These donations included an unspecified donation of accommodation worth £20,437, “work clothing” worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485.
- Out of touch
In connection with Freebie-gate, another controversial moment in Starmer’s first 100 days was when the prime minister defended borrowing an £18 million penthouse flat from Labour donor Alli during the election saying his son needed to study for his GCSEs.
Starmer said he took the offer so that his son could study without having to walk past journalists and protestors outside their family home.
Starmer’s defence was hit with backlash with some pointing out the prime minister was in a position of privilege as a politician and that many people might want a private place for their children to study in peace for their GCSEs but do not have this privilege.
- Winter Fuel Payments
The prime minister has also caused a stir amongst not just the public but his own party after announcing a cut to the Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that from this winter, households in England and Wales will no longer be entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment unless they receive Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits.
Charity Age UK has identified around two million older people who are on low incomes or who have other vulnerabilities, such as a disability, who are just above the pension credit threshold and will be affected by the cuts.
The move is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, saving the exchequer around £1.4 billion this year.
- Prisoners
In September, more than 1,700 prisoners were released early in England and Wales as part of a government scheme to ease overcrowding in prisons.
Under the scheme, offenders in jails serving sentences of fewer than five years were released on licence into the community after having served 40 per cent of their sentences, instead of 50 per cent.
The government said offenders jailed for violent offences with sentences of at least four years, sex offenders and domestic abusers were not eligible for early release.
However, the scheme proved problematic after some 37 prisoners who were jailed for breaching restraining orders were incorrectly let out after their offences were logged on the system under outdated legislation.
Furthermore, a former inmate allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on the same day he was freed.
The government were forced to defend the scheme again after Amari Ward, 31, allegedly assaulted a woman at a train station hours after his release and was later arrested at an address in south London.
Additionally, despite prisoners being released early, citizens were sent to prison for stirring up hatred and violence with social media posts online in the aftermath of the Southport attack in the UK.
- Above-inflation pay rises for train drivers
Labour was accused of favouring train drivers over pensioners, as tens of thousands more rail workers were given above-inflation pay rises.
Aslef union members accepted an offer which included a 5 per cent backdated pay rise for 2022-23, a 4.75 per cent rise for 23-24, and a 4.5 per cent increase for 24-25.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK told GB News: “In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been taken aback by just how many older people have taken the trouble to contact us at Age UK to express their dismay and disgust at the Government’s announcement about means-testing Winter Fuel Payment.
“More recently, some of these members of the public have also unfavourably contrasted this decision with the steps the Government is taking to settle long-standing industrial disputes, and Ministers’ apparent willingness to use some public money for this purpose but not for Winter Fuel Payment.”
- U-turn on non-dom tax
Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to rethink parts of Labour’s crackdown on non-dom tax status over concerns that the plans would not raise any money.
Treasury officials feared the OBR would conclude the policy would fail to raise any money, because of the impact of super-rich non-domiciles leaving the UK.
After the Conservatives announced plans to phase out the non-dom regime, Labour had hoped to raise a further £2.6 billion over the course of parliament by clamping down on loopholes.
- Negativity harming the economy
Since taking over the running of the economy there has been a constant air of doom and gloom in the messaging coming from the Government about public finances.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a “£22 billion black hole” in public finances accompanied by warnings from the prime minister that the upcoming budget would be “painful.”
But this constant negativity about the state of our nation from the sitting government deters people from investing in the country.
The Institute of Directors conference index which measures business leader optimism fell in September to –38 from –12 in August, the lowest since December 2022.
Furthermore, S&P Global’s purchase managing index found that confidence in the UK manufacturing sector fell last month at the quickest pace since March 2020.
Finally, Reeves is believed to have told ministers to draw up billions of pounds in cuts to infrastructure projects over the next 18 months.
Members of the Cabinet have been asked to model their investment plans of up to 10 per cent of their annual capital spending meaning big projects like hospital improvements and road building would be slowed down or stopped altogether.
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- Handling of the protests
This summer, protests erupted over the country after the killing of three girls in a knife attack in Southport.
Many of these demonstrations turned violent, with police making hundreds of arrests and sustaining serious injuries.
According to a YouGov poll from around the time of the protests, almost half of Britons believed the prime minister had handled the riots badly.
The poll found that 49 per cent of 2,114 adults surveyed in August felt Starmer was dealing with the riots badly while only 31 per cent agreed he was managing it well.
Many criticised Starmer for failing to answer questions about the underlying causes of the riots, which according to a Savanta public opinion poll, was about migration rather than the Southport killings.
The reason for avoiding talking about the underlying tensions causing the riots could be that discussing them might be misinterpreted as suggesting any of the violence was justified.
Nevertheless, after weeks of rioting, Keir Starmer’s net approval rating plummeted by 16 points with 35 per cent of the public approving of him as prime minister compared to 32 per cent who disapproved.
- Return of the sausages
Keir Starmer went viral in September after an unfortunate slip of the tongue during his party conference speech.
The prime minister was in full flow during his speech when he accidently called for the return of the “sausages” instead of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Starmer was calling for restraint and de-escalation between Lebanon and Israel, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the return of the hostages, or “sausages”, taken by Hamas on October 7.
During the speech he quickly corrected himself to say “hostages” instead.
It is still early days for the prime minister despite a slippery start, but with the October Budget looming ahead, Starmer has his work cut out for him to restore voter confidence and deliver on the promises made before the general election.
11. Chagos islands
Starmer sparked fury over the return of the Chagos islands to Mauritius. Nigel Farage has written to David Lammy calling for an urgent debate on what he deemed as a “surrender” of the Chagos Islands.
The Reform UK leader published the letter he has written to the Foreign Secretary, requesting a debate on the issue once Parliament is recalled.
