Keir Starmer: what went wrong

From the start of his premiership in July 2024, Keir Starmer’s woes began to pile up, hit by a series of scandals, missteps and policy U-turns.

Welfare cuts, tax hikes

Starmer’s first 100 days were seen as a clumsy foray into the art of governing.

First came a row over Labour ministers, including Starmer, accepting gifts, clothing, tickets and free accommodation.

Even though the donations were within parliament’s rules, Starmer announced he would return around £6,000 (US$7,840) worth -- but only after the scandal had been allowed to grow for several weeks.

Then the government completely misjudged public anger over removing the winter fuel allowance granted to 10 million elderly and had to backtrack, under pressure from Labour’s leftwing.

UK businesses were then angered when finance minister Rachel Reeves announced major tax hikes in her first budget, seeking to raise an additional £40 billion (US$52 million).

Reeves said £25 billion would come from hiking employers’ national insurance -- a payrolls tax used to help pay for social care benefits such as unemployment benefit, maternity leave and pensions.

Mandelson scandal

Starmer knew about the ties between veteran Labour politician Peter Mandelson and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

But despite that, he went ahead and appointed Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington in December 2024 -- the most prestigious diplomatic posting.

The hope was Mandelson would help build ties with US President Donald Trump.

But only a few months later in September 2025, Starmer was forced to sack Mandelson when new Epstein emails unveiled the depth of their friendship.

The prime minister accused Mandelson of lying about their cosy relationship which continued even after Epstein’s conviction for sex-trafficking.

He apologised to Mandelson’s victims, and police are now investigating the former envoy for misconduct in public office for sharing confidential government information with Epstein.

Rise of hard-right

In February 2025, the anti-immigrant hard-right Reform UK party, led by pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, overtook Labour in a YouGov poll on national voting intentions.

It has repeatedly said that the numbers of undocumented migrants arriving on small boats across the Channel is too high.

Starmer’s government took new measures to drive arrivals down, including hardening conditions for permanent residency.

But the numbers of irregular immigrants surpassed 41,000 in 2025 -- just slightly less than the record of 45,774 registered in 2022, according to the interior ministry.

During local elections in May this year, Reform won nearly 1,500 seats, many in previous Labour strongholds.

Defence spending

Starmer’s government repeatedly warned about the threat from Russia and agreed to increase defence spending under immense US pressure.

Despite the UK’s fiscal straightjacket, Starmer promised in June 2025 to boost defence spending to five percent of GDP.

But the government delayed the publication of its defence spending plan.

Starmer’s highly respected defence minister Keir Starmer: what went wrong and armed forces minister Al Carns then resigned earlier this month.

“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” Healey wrote in a scathing resignation letter.

Row with Trump

Britain has long touted its special relationship with the United States and at the start of Trump’s second term, Starmer seemed to have hit on a winning formula for appeasing the US leader.

Washington only imposed a 10-percent tariff on British imports to the United States.

But ties have since soured over the Iran war.

Starmer refused permission for US planes to take off from UK bases to bomb Iran, before later agreeing the bases could be used for protecting Gulf allies.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of Starmer.

In a final dig, Trump announced on Sunday that Starmer was resigning -- before the UK leader had even done so himself.

Catherine Triomphe, AFP