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Keir Starmer’s First 100 Days in Power: A Report Card 

The Prime Minister reached the milestone as his popularity plummets in the aftermath of a freebies scandal and Sue Gray’s resignation. But has it all been bad?

Newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer greets well-wishers as he arrives at his official London residence at No 10 Downing Street for the first time on July 5. Photo: PA Images / Alamy
Newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer greets well-wishers as he arrives at his official London residence at No 10 Downing Street for the first time on July 5. Photo: PA Images / Alamy

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In less than 100 days in office, the shine of Keir Starmer‘s landslide election win has well and truly worn off.

Recent polls have Labour just one point ahead of the Conservatives who, just three months ago, suffered their worst defeat in parliamentary history. And on a more personal note, Starmer’s approval rating, according to think tank More in Common, has plummeted 45 points since July 5, with the PM now one point below Rishi Sunak.

Starmer, who passed the milestone on Saturday having lost his chief of staff almost a week prior, vowed on entering office to end the era of Conservative corruption and kickbacks and restore public trust – pledges long-since overshadowed by his £100,000 football tickets and other freebies scandal.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers EPL match, at the Emirates Stadium, London, UK on 17 August, 2024. Photo: Paul Marriott / Alamy
Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers EPL match, at the Emirates Stadium, London, UK on 17 August, 2024. Photo: Paul Marriott / Alamy

But, weighed against his predecessors in power, Starmer’s rocky start, is barely a stumble. Liz Truss lasted just 45 days and her mini-budget sent global markets into meltdown. Boris Johnson did damage of a different sort telling a litany of lies along the way, and Rishi got little right.

Nevertheless, Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera: “It’s easily the worst start to a Government’s time in office in living memory – and it wasn’t as if Labour were that popular anyway.”

That assessment aside, Starmer does appear on track to deliver on, at least some of his many promises to re-build Britain and re-energine the economy. The only question left, is how is he going to pay for it without returning to austerity. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will answer that with her Budget on 30 October.

To mark the PM’s first 100 days, we asked a number of charities and think tanks to give us their report card on Starmer.

Here’s what they said:


Dr Doug Parr – Greenpeace

“Ultimately, Labour needs to invest at scale for national renewal.”

On climate and nature, the Labour Government faced a very easy task and a very tough one: to do better than its predecessor and to do well enough to tackle the sheer scale of the problem. After 100 days, the first target has been smashed but the second is still some way off.

The new Government stormed out of the starting blocks with a raft of strong announcements on climate and energy. Within days, they had lifted David Cameron’s absurd ban on new onshore wind, tabled the Bill to set up publicly-owned Great British Energy, increased funding for renewable energy auctions and unblocked solar projects stuck in Nimby limbo.

There has been less of a sprint to act on the nature crisis, though the introduction of a new bill to crack down on water companies and clean up our rivers was a welcome move. 

So we have seen a clean break with the past, but is it enough as a bridge to a better future? Not quite, and there have been a few slip-ups along the way. Deciding to invest a whopping £22 billion in unproven carbon capture technology, especially after warnings from scientists, was a faux pas, as is the continued obsession with building ever-costlier and permanently-delayed nuclear reactors.

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That level of investment would have been better deployed to support making the homes of the fuel-poor warmer and help workers and communities dependent on high-carbon industries, including the steelworkers at Port Talbot. 

On the global stage, the Government’s attempt to regain the initiative has already shown some promising signs, such as the UK joining a group of countries pushing for a strong Global Plastic Treaty. But there’s also been a surprising inertia on something as straightforward as ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty, a big conservation win.

Ultimately, Labour needs to invest at scale for national renewal. As leading economists have already argued, serious levels of Government spending will be needed to build vital infrastructure, fix tottering public services and help key industries transition to net zero.

The autumn statement offers the Chancellor the perfect opportunity to start funding this national renewal programme. And instead of repeating the mistake of cutting winter fuel payments to pensioners, she should focus on taxing the super-rich and use the money to pay for climate solutions that would benefit millions of people, like cheaper public transport and warmer homes.


Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation 

“The worrying signals from the first 100 days are that the Government has doubled down on its pre-election promises not to raise key taxes”

One of the frustrating things about Labour’s first 100 days when it comes to the economy is the timing of the budget. Holding it in late October means that the new Government has now spent months in power without showing its hand on big economic matters like taxes, investment or indeed the very fiscal rules that shape both. 

The promising news is that the Government recognises that something must be done to fix crumbling public services, reduce poverty and invest in the green transition. Indeed, Rachel Reeves talked about the need to invest no fewer than 27 times in her speech at the Labour Party Conference – from “homegrown energy” to “our schools, our hospitals, our police, and all our public services”.   

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But investment needs expenditure, which in turn needs revenue or borrowing. The worrying signals from the first 100 days are that the Government has doubled down on its pre-election promises not to raise key taxes. And while the rumoured changes to fiscal rules are welcome, the Chancellor could still go further to free up public borrowing and therefore spending.

Whether Reeves can square this circle will have a profound impact on the economic strategy of this Government over its entire term, and indeed shape whether it wins the right to a second term. 

In the short-term, the Chancellor is likely to tweak the basis on which the Government debt is measured and, I hope, introduce measures such as the “green golden rule” which would allow it to borrow specifically for environmentally sustainable projects.

But the real answer lies in ditching these rigid, outdated rules with a more flexible, accountable, and forward-looking framework.  

Politically, the new Government may have had a bumpy first 100 days, but it will be day 118 (Budget Day) that will shape the economic road ahead. 


Harry Gold – Compass

“A successful approach on devolution can’t just be about small nudges in the right direction, however positive they may be – it needs to come alongside a root and branch overhaul of our entire political culture

On his fifth day as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer met with England’s regional mayors at 10 Downing Street as reports claimed he was looking to “kickstart a new era of devolution”.

This was a positive symbolic gesture, and an important one: much of the Government’s agenda – whether on planning reform, GB energy or housing – will depend on a productive relationship between central Government and devolved regions.

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The big-picture vision for devolution has been a little unclear so far, but the rhetoric has been good: Starmer has spoken about handing more power to those with skin in the game and of the importance of a politics that does things with people, not to them. But, as the PM himself says, governments ultimately will be judged on deeds, not words. 

A joined-up approach on devolution means looking at the issue through both ends of the telescope – replicating and building on the successes of local Government in action, while giving away more power to those with limited access to it.

It’s still early days, but Labour has already shown some initial promise on both. Last month, the Government unveiled plans to build on Andy Burnham’s success in Greater Manchester by empowering local leaders to take control of their own bus services and reportedly is looking to invite local authorities in so-called ‘devolution deserts’ to take on more power. 

But the rhetoric and announcements we’ve seen so far, while positive, are far from sufficient. A successful approach on devolution can’t just be about small nudges in the right direction, however positive they may be – it needs to come alongside a root and branch overhaul of our entire political culture. This means, crucially, coming to terms with new centres of power beyond the grip of Westminster and Whitehall.

Labour has always been prone to excessive centralisation, and the party under Starmer is no exception. Dispersing genuine power across the country means learning to let go of this tendency, and embracing the change with open arms.

Despite the rhetoric, it’s not yet clear that Labour is ready for what this might entail. 


Baroness Ruth Lister – Labour Peer

“The early weeks in Government weren’t on the whole promising”

Despite the slash and burn policies of the past decade, Labour’s manifesto had very little to say about social security and its potential contribution to the new Government’s missions. 

The early weeks in Government weren’t on the whole promising.  First was the continued refusal to abolish the two-child limit, in the face of widespread pressure and clear evidence that it acts as a key driver of the rise in child poverty, especially deep poverty. 

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The early announcement of a ministerial task force to develop a child poverty strategy was welcome but struggling parents and children deprived of a decent childhood need the money now. 

Second was the surprise announcement of the means-testing of the winter fuel allowance, without a review of and consultation on options for its reform.  The temporary extension of the local authority Household Support Fund, while welcome, is no answer especially as its longer-term future remains uncertain. 

In her first speech as Secretary of State, Liz Kendall emphasised that the DWP would change from a ‘Department for Welfare’ to a ‘Department for Work’.  While positively, she has talked about ending the ‘blame culture’ that demonises claimants, she has also emphasised the obligation to seek and take work. 

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A promised White Paper will no doubt clarify where the balance will lie between carrot and stick particularly in relation to disabled and long-term sick claimants.  In the meantime, the PM has announced yet another crackdown on fraud, with the apparent resurrection of the ‘snooper’s charter’, which will require banks to share data with DWP officials.  There is no word yet about the universal credit review promised in the manifesto.

Much will depend on what is in the forthcoming White Paper and the Budget, with hints that further cuts could be on the cards.  But from what has been said – and not said – so far it seems as if, shades of New Labour, social security matters purely in terms of getting people into paid work rather than as a key pillar of the welfare state, the function of which is to provide genuine security for all.


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