Keir Starmer's first 100 days: how did they go?
Honeymoon period dominated by rows over gifts and infighting but there are 'signs of a progressive philosophy emerging'
Keir Starmer's first 100 days in power have not exactly gone to plan.
Labour's supposed honeymoon period has been dominated by far-right riots, "Freebie-gate", rows over winter fuel payment cuts, infighting and Starmer's own plummeting approval ratings.
But it has also, quietly, begun setting up the national wealth fund and GB Energy, putting a new planning framework in place to facilitate the faster building of essential national infrastructure and more homebuilding. It sought to end the seemingly never-ending series of public sector strikes by agreeing pay deals with unions, introduce House of Lords reform, and started recruiting additional police officers and teachers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If you look at the list of what we have already done in 11 weeks," Starmer told reporters in September, "then I would argue strongly that we've done far more than the last government did probably in the last 11 years".
What did the commentators say?
It is hard to think of a British prime minister who has had a "more catastrophic first hundred days" than Starmer, said The Telegraph. There has been an "almost unprecedented catalogue of misfortunes, almost all of them self-inflicted". The series of scandals that brought down his chief of staff Sue Gray "and may yet do for her boss, too, were all the result of avarice, greed and insouciance".
Gray had been blamed for the new government's "complete failure to set the political weather" since 4 July, HuffPost UK reported.
Elected on a landslide, Starmer should have been "firing ahead" with his policy plans "instead of being embroiled in political infighting, scandal and an overhaul of his Number 10 operation", said Sky News political editor Beth Rigby. It is a "pretty dreadful start in government".
Perhaps most worrying for Labour's long-term prospects is the perception that has quickly emerged that the new government is really not that different from its Conservative predecessors – characterised by corruption and incompetence, but with hypocrisy thrown in to the mix for good measure.
Last month's Conference was supposed to be a "reset moment", said HuffPost, "but the row over freebies for senior Labour figures has refused to go away, completely overshadowing the government's attempts to get back on the front foot".
What next?
Labour has made more "avoidable mistakes" in its first 100 days than "any postwar government", said Will Hutton in The Guardian, "but there are signs of a progressive philosophy emerging".
The party's aim to "build a strong social floor, ladders of opportunity and a high-investment economy, combining socialism and social liberalism" is a "compelling vision, and to argue for it would reveal the government’s direction of travel."
By naming election campaign supremo Morgan McSweeney his new chief of staff, Starmer has given his administration a more "explicitly political stamp" and sought to "turn a crisis into an opportunity" by reshaping his wider Downing Street team, said George Eaton for The New Statesman.
This includes a new strategic communications team, "a concession to cabinet ministers and others who have complained that Labour has failed to tell an appealing story about itself" during its first 100 days in power.
Starmer and his refreshed team now have a "serious stabilisation job to do", said Rigby.
In the face of growing tensions in the Middle East and the much-anticipated Budget on 30 October, it is the "very opposite of what he needs.
"But looking at the first 100 days, this is a prime minister who has probably concluded that things can only get better. He now needs his team to pull together and prove him right."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
What might a Trump victory mean for the global economy?
Today's Big Question A second term in office for the 'America First' administration would send shockwaves far beyond the United States' shores
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why might The Washington Post's nonendorsement matter more?
Today's Big Question The Jeff Bezos-owned publication's last-minute decision to rescind its presidential preference might not tip the electoral scales, but it could be a sign of ominous things to come
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Was Georgia's election stolen?
Today's Big Question The incumbent Georgian Dream party seized a majority in the disputed poll, defying predictions
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Will Elon Musk's million-dollar election scheme pay off?
Today's Big Question By offering a million bucks to prospective voters to sign his pro-Trump petition, the Tesla billionaire is playing a risky electoral game — and a potentially criminal one, too
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How would slavery reparations work?
Today's Big Question Caribbean nations lead call for 'meaningful' conversations on reparations at Commonwealth summit
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is legal weed a bipartisan issue now?
Today's Big Question Trump and Harris both favor legalization
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is Labour risking the 'special relationship'?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer forced to deny Donald Trump's formal complaint that Labour staffers are 'interfering' to help Harris campaign
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published