After just a few months in government, Sir Keir Starmer has already made many critical mistakes.

In July, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won a historic 411 seats in the House of Commons, putting an end to 14 years of Conservative rule. In large part, this election was the voter’s clamour for political change. And indeed, Starmer’s main campaign slogan was the single word: “change.” 

However, just a few months after taking office as Prime Minister, Starmer has already seen his approval ratings drastically drop. What “change” could Starmer have implemented such that he would go from a landslide victory to being even less popular than his Tory opponent Rishi Sunak in just a few short months? What are his mess-ups so far?

For one, shortly after he took office, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £22 billion worth of spending cuts, calling it a financial “black hole” left by the preceding Conservative administration. To an extent, the Labour Party wanted to come across as surprised to find the state of UK finances, though critics including voices from the Institute for Fiscal Studies argue that the “black hole” was “obvious to anyone who dared to look.” Reeves’ cuts were far-reaching, cancelling plans to cap the lifetime cost of social care and various road schemes, and replacing universal pensioners' winter fuel payment with a means-tested alternative. These decisions have received significant backlash. 

The Winter Fuel Payment would have provided pensioners with money to turn on the heater as the days get shorter and colder, which saves lives. The change in policy means that as many as two million pensioners will now no longer be eligible for the payment. This has caused particular uproar in Scotland, which due to its colder climate has significantly higher rates of fuel poverty than England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Following two recent by-election defeats in Dundee, Scottish Labour has indicated that this unpopular decision on the Winter Fuel Payment was a large reason for their loss.

Another policy failure early in Starmer’s administration is his rejection of scrapping the two-child benefit cap. In 2017, the Conservative Party took away certain child benefits for parents with more than two children, a decision that is both morally and economically backwards. Not only does this policy leave large families in the dust – families that are disproportionately affected by poverty anyway – but it also stifles development among children, which might cause large-scale economic damage for decades to come.

Reeves hadn't even laid out the Budget by the time her party had let down children and pensioners.

After this year’s change of government, there was hope among many that this harmful policy may be reversed, and these crucial child benefits will be reintroduced. However, almost all Labour MPs voted against this change at the House of Commons, with Starmer going as far to suspend those who didn’t.

Reeves hadn't even laid out the Budget by the time her party had let down children and pensioners. When the Budget was announced at the end of October, there were a number of tax changes. The Labour Party stuck to its promise not to increase income tax or employees’ national insurance credit (NIC). However, they did increase employer’s NIC, which some argue will be passed onto the workers in the long term. 

There has also been an overhaul of inheritance tax, including taxing the inheritance of farms worth more than £1 million a change that has caused uproar amongst small farmers. Since farms are often asset-rich but cash-poor, many farmers argue that this change will hit the livelihood of their industry over the coming years.

As if Starmer was trying to anger all parts of British society, he also ticked off students a few weeks ago. In early November, the UK Government announced that tuition fees would rise from £9,250 to £9,535. Granted, British universities are currently in desperate need of additional funding rendering the increase understandable. However, there is a clear difference in tone and direction between the Labour-run UK government and the SNP-run Scottish Government, the latter of which ensures that every Scottish-domiciled person can have five years of Higher Education for free.

At a time when the UK’s public services critically need more funding, it is a welcome change that the Budget sees the biggest increase in day-to-day spending in 20 years. Perhaps Starmer will need more time in government to persuade the public of his ability. Yet so far, he has largely done the opposite.

Published 24 November 2024